So here we have an interesting turn of events in the NL East division. The Phillies come into the season with a truly stacked bullpen, bolted down with Halladay and Lee as the 1-2 punch that can go a combined 18 innings in two nights, rounded up with two capable stars named Oswalt and Hamels. However if you look back at the 2010 New York Mets, we had a very solid rotation and an excellent team ERA of 3.70 which ranked 7th in the MLB, with the Phillies being 6th (3.67). However our lack of an offense prevented us from being able to produce enough runs to win low-scoring games. I recall pitchers such as Jonathon Niese and Johan Santana finding the short-end of a 3-2 final score.
There were a couple of key injuries that prevented us from getting past the hurdles and they range from Jason Bay's concussion to Santana's season-ending injury.
When you look at the NL East, clearly the favorites are the Phillies followed closely by the Atlanta Braves. Some speculate that the Phillies could possibly win 100 games, however if you start the season off with an injury-plagued roster you're going to have struggles. A lot of struggles. For the Phillies it reminds me of the Mets over the past 4 years. When you lose a player, even for a short period of time, it can linger for much longer and have a brutal impact on your journey to success. Thus can be the same prediction for the Phillies. They come in with a remarkable rotation ranking among the likes of the mid-90s Braves and the Orioles in 1971. The paper is different than reality and that must always be remembered. Philadelphia's most all-around player, Second Baseman Chase Utley will start the season on the Disabled List due to patella tendinitis and bone inflamation in his right knee. That words 'Tendinitis' & 'Knee' remind me of a player on the Mets….
So now the Phillies have three key players out with injury — OF and rising prospect Dominic Brown will miss close to a month of the season with a wrist injury, Utley will start the season on the DL with knee tendinitis, and now CL Brad Lidge may start the season on DL with shoulder soreness. Lidge will have an MRI on his shoulder next week and the Phillies have not ruled out structural damage. If they lose Lidge for a significant period of time there will be added pressure on the rotation to last 7 or more innings. But what is more important is if this is a lingering issue and is indeed structural, the Phillies will have to look from within for a replacement closer, whether it's temporary or permanent. We've seen what can happen to a ballclub without it's closer, and often it is difficult to find a replacement from within, something the Mets have dealt with in the past.
What I am saying is, while it's unlikely though possible, this could be the beginning to a very rough season for the Phillies and there is the chance they could have more injury problems that will test their farm system, a system that many feel was "depleted" in order to acquire Roy Halladay.
