Philadelphia Phillies

If in spring training last season, you had told me the Philadelphia Phillies would be without closer Brad Lidge for the first week or two of the regular season, I would seriously be worried.

Now if you told me Lidge might miss one or two weeks at the start of season, I would say so what, no big deal. Funny what a difference a year makes.

In an interview with MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, the Phillies’ closer doesn’t think he will be ready by Opening Day.

When you are two-time National League champion, there is little room for non-roster players looking to make the squad.

As a Phillies fan, I am no longer looking hopefully as Ricky Ledee or John Wockenfuss are added to the squad, with past potential or successes leading to a promising Phillies season.

Nope. I am in baseball hog heaven. These are the gravy years.

An ESPN report over the weekend stated that the Philadelphia Phillies talked internally about the possibility of shipping first baseman Ryan Howard to the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Albert Pujols.

Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro told espn.com, "I don't know who you're talking to, but that's a lie."

Howard is hugely popular in Philadelphia, but Pujols is a God in St. Louis.

For baseball fans, it is a fun thing to consider. Fans in both cities, however, think the deal would be crazy. Especially in St. Louis.

During the better part of the year and a half prior to December 2009, many baseball fans were kept guessing as to whether or not Roy "Doc" Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays would be dealt from the team and where it would be.

For most, it was a question of "when" not "if" arguably the best pitcher in the game would land with a contender sporting a fat wallet.

In 1972, the Phillies Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton went 27-10 and won the Cy Young Award on a bad Phillies team.

The team went 59-97, but on every fourth or fifth day when Carlton pitched, the Phillies were a different team and played like champions.

Fast forward to today, as another Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay took the hill against the Atlanta Braves in pre-season action Tuesday night. Halladay pitched three scoreless innings, giving up three hits, striking out five and walking none.

The Phillies won the game, 7-4.

A few weeks back, respected columnist Joe Posnanski took his shot at projecting the 2010 Major League Baseball season. 

He called his projection system perfect, because it was flawed, pointless, and will quickly be forgotten about. 

Hey, that could all be true. 

For now, at least, we'll remember. And we'll talk about one pertinent subject in Posnanski's article. 

No disagreements with Posnanski on his projection that the Phillies will win 96 games; that may even be a little generous. 

A big factor in the Philadelphia Phillies run to a World Series Championship in 2008 was their bullpen. Besides having a closer with an unblemished record when handed the ball to nail down a win, each member of the relief corps found success in a defined role.

Lets begin Spring Training 2010 with a light news story.

A story made even lighter by Phillies' skipper Charlie Manuel.

Ok, so my jokes are about as cold as Ryan Howard’s bat is this time of year. But let’s turn our attention back to Mr. Manuel.

In early December of 1963, the Philadelphia Phillies made one of the great trades of all time. 

They sent outfielder Don Demeter, a Dodgers reject, along with pitcher Jack Hamilton, who is remembered for throwing the pitch that ruined Tony Conigliaro's career, to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for pitcher Jim Bunning and catcher Gus Triandos.

Two Masterpieces

This will begin my 2010 MLB preview. I intend to touch every team in the major leagues in installments by division. The lineups I provide will be what I predict will be the most productive for each team for the MAJORITY of the season (e.g., Jason Heyward will be listed as the Braves RF even though he may not begin the season as the starter).

I will also provide the stereotypical letter grade to each team's lineup, rotation, bullpen, and bench. Though it is trite, I think all baseball fans can identify with the letter grade system.