Philadelphia Phillies

Since signing Cliff Lee to a surprising five-year contract, the Philadelphia Phillies have been eerily quiet in the market this offseason.

The team certainly isn't going to make any splashes quite as large as it did with the Lee signing, but by no means does that mean that the franchise isn't going to build depth for another possible World Series run.

As the spring draws closer, the talk of pitchers and catchers starts circulating amongst the fans.

Philadelphia Phillies fans, and baseball fans in general, start to grow restless as thoughts of homeruns and Cy Young Awards dance in their heads.

With a tumultuous offseason almost over, the Phillies roster has been altered in a big way.  It will be interesting to see the effects of the big addition of pitcher Cliff Lee and the departure of right handed hitter Jayson Werth.

In preparation for the 2011 MLB Fantasy Baseball season, The Fantasy Fix team will preview a team's pitching rotation each day. Tyler starts the series with the National League East's Philadelphia Phillies.

The Fantastic Four have come together to defeat the evil competition in the NL East.

When the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 2008, they did so primarily on the strength of their bullpen. With a weak starting rotation, the Phillies shortened games by bringing in reliever after reliever that could shut down the opposition for a single inning. One of those relievers was right-hander, Ryan Madson.

Don’t despair Phillies fans. What has all of the makings of a long, frigid, snowy winter will soon be interrupted with this announcement: “Pitchers and catchers report today!”

It was announced yesterday that the Philadelphia Phillies have shown interest in signing right handed pitcher John Maine.  The team has allegedly had discussions with Maine's agent Rex Gary. 

Maine is a decent pitcher in the back end of rotations.  Over his career Maine has posted a 41-36 record with a 4.35 ERA in 105 starts. 

It's been hard to read or hear anything about the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason without the words "Cliff Lee" or "four aces" or something of the sort attached to it. Oops, it looks like this isn't helping.

Winning the World Series requires the perfect balance between pitching and hitting.

When the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 2008, they did so on the strength of their bullpen, anchored by Brad Lidge, and an offense that went unrivaled in the National League.

When they returned to the World Series in 2009, the balance wasn't perfect. Lidge crumbled, and the bullpen followed suit. The powerful offense wasn't able to keep up with the bullpen's woes.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com, former New York Met and current free agent pitcher John Maine's agent Rex Gary has been contacted by NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies along with a few other teams.

Gary has said, "We have spoken to a lot of teams and there is a lot of interest."

I'm about to do something unheard of in sports journalism.  I am going to write an entire article about Marcus Thames.  Yes, that Marcus Thames, the 33-year-old outfielder who hit .288 with 12 HR for the Yankees last year.  The one the Yankees haven't re-signed.