2010 Phillies lineup preview

2010 Philadelphia Phillies
(2009 record 93-69)
*New additions*

SS: Jimmy Rollins
3B: Placido Polanco
2B: Chase Utley
1B: Ryan Howard
RF: Jayson Werth
LF: Raul Ibanez
CF: Shane Victorino
C: Carlos Ruiz




SP 1: Roy Halladay (R)
SP 2: Cole Hamels (L)
SP 3: Joe Blanton (R)
SP 4: J.A. Happ (L)
SP 5: Kyle Kendrick (R)/Jamie Moyer (L)
SU: Ryan Madson (R)
CL: Brad Lidge (R)

Bench: Greg Dobbs (Primary Pinch Hitter/1B/3B), Brian Schneider (C), Juan Castro (UTIL), Ben Francisco (OF), Ross Gload (1B), John Mayberry (OF)

Bullpen: Chad Durbin (R), Danys Baez (R), JC Romero (L), Antonio Bastardo (L), Jose Contreras (R), Drew Naylor (R), Sergio Escalona (L), Andrew Carpenter (R)

Key Departures from 2009 - Cliff Lee, Pedro Feliz, Paul Bako, Matt Stairs, Chris Coste, Chan Ho Park, Scott Eyre, Pedro Martinez, Kyle Drabek (prospect), Michael Taylor (prospect)

Not so relevant departures - Eric "Butters" Bruntlett (FINALLY), Clay Condrey, Chris "Chemotherapy" Coste, Tyler Walker, Jack Taschner, Rodrigo Lopez, Miguel Cairo

Extremely solid club going into 2010 and clearly the favorites to win the NL East, if not the entire National League. The Phillies are a better team then last year, and on paper even look to be a better team then the 2008 World Series Championship team. I'm going to say the season starts out with the lineup I have up top (I'd rather see Victorino and Polanco switched) but I will not at all be surprised if Charlie switches it up throughout the year. I'm a big fan of what R.A. Jr. did in upgrading the bullpen with Baez and Contreras, both are upgrades. Those of you who know me understand the deep hatred I possess for one Jack "Batting Practice" Taschner. Still, it will come down to a few things when predicting how successful the 2010 Phillies will be...

Can Brad Lidge bounce back to 2008 form (or shave that nasty goatee)?
Can Rollins discover what the word consistency means?
Can the core of the lineup stay healthy?
Can Halladay deliver in his first year in the NL?
Can J.A. Happ avoid the dreaded sophomore slump?
Can this group of players gel like the Phils of 2008? (RIP Pat Burrell)
Can Charlie Manuel keep off the weight? (Oprah couldn't)

And what I feel will be the make or break for this team...

Can Cole Hamels re-establish himself as one of the top pitchers in baseball?

I guess we'll see...

(mlbtraderumors.com just put out a Phillies Offseason review too so check it out)