Philadelphia Phillies

Over the course of the past few seasons and offseasons, you've probably heard it said quite a few times. "It's a great time to be a Phillies fan." While that indeed is the case, it got me to thinking—where do some of today's Phillies' stars rank among the greatest Phillies of all time? How many Phillies could be called the greatest at their position in the history of this lengthy franchise? Are there any who could be called the greatest?

I hate to look ahead and into the future, but it's looking like the 2012 free agency period may be an important one for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Many of the main cogs of the franchise will be over to the age of 35 or close to it.  The window isn't exactly opened all the way.

Not only do some of the Phillies prospects have to prosper down the line, Amaro is going to have to make some tough decisions.  Who does he want to re-sign or sign during this time frame.  Philadelphia's farm system is ranked in the top five by the way.

Heading into the 2011 season, the Philadelphia Phillies are widely believed to be the favorite in the National League East, and maybe even the National League. 

However, to say that a team is without holes is unreasonable; in the case of the 2011 Phillies, there are indeed many questions that remain as they head to Clearwater to begin training.  On Friday, the Phillies packed up their trucks and sent the team's gear down I-95 to Florida.

Here are the top 17 questions that remain going into Spring Training.

We here at Baseball Professor think about our readers first and ourselves second—albeit a close second. That’s why we decided to reach out to other bloggers (who follow their respective teams more closely than we do) to give you a deeper look into the important issues every fantasy owner has to come to grips with this season.

Fans are starting to notice a subtle decline in the Phillies overall success ever since their big banner year of 2008.

In 2009, they lost to the New York Yankees in the World Series. In 2010, they lost to the San Francisco Giants in the National League Conference Championship Series. Their only big hot stove move was surprisingly signing star pitcher Cliff Lee.

They now have a starting rotation of historical caliber, but are they set for another World Series run?

The injury bug was biting in Philadelphia in 2010 and the fallout was dramatic. Over the course of the regular season, three quarters of the Philadelphia Phillies' everyday regulars spent time on the disabled list for extended periods of time.

Who was the greatest catcher in Philadelphia Phillies history, at least based on their contributions while they played for the Phillies? If we limit our discussion to those backstops who played for the Phillies in a minimum of five major league seasons, it’s a position that has nine receivers worth mentioning, and one that has some quality depth.

How deep? The one-time major league career leader in games played behind the plate, and a fine defensive catcher, Bob Boone, doesn't even make the first cut.

The Phillies have pulled off some trades for some top pitching talent over the past few seasons. 

In 2008, the Phillies traded Josh Outman, Adrian Cardenas and one other to acquire Joe Blanton. 

In 2009, the Phillies traded Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald and Jason Knapp to acquire Cliff Lee. Then, in the offseason that year, the Phillies traded Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor and Travis D'Arnaud for Roy Halladay.  

During the 2010 season, the Phillies traded J.A. Happ, Anthony Gose and another player for Roy Oswalt.

The Philadelphia Phillies shocked the entire baseball world when they signed Cliff Lee last month to a $120 million contract. Ever since the fans in Philadelphia have been anxiously awaiting the start of the season. With the addition of Cliff Lee to their already-stellar rotation already consisting of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, the Phillies will be practically unstoppable and their opposition has the possibility of facing at least two of these four aces every series.

With all of the hype about the Phillies starting rotation, we all want to know how they are going to fair together.  This collective unit has been deemed the best in baseball, and with that title, they will need to live up to the hype.  Anything short of magnificent will be a let down for baseball fans.