Philadelphia Phillies

Spring has sprung, and with it come spring training and the return of baseball.

Pitchers stretch and play catch on the fresh, green, and manicured lawns. Hitters work the cages, exchange trade secrets, and work out the kinks spawned from an idle winter.

The temperature is rising, the sun is shining, and optimism permeates throughout. For it is hard to be pessimistic during spring training—unless you're from Philadelphia.

For us, it is just too easy.

The Phillies made a valiant attempt to defend their championship last season, but came up shy as they eventually fell to the Yankees in the World Series. Nonetheless, the loss to the Bronx Bombers should not diminish the club’s accomplishments during the season—an NL East title (with a 93-69 record) and a second straight National League pennant.

Upon reading the headline of this article, you are sitting there saying to yourself that I’m an idiot.

I’m sure most are only reading this to merely find out how stupid I possibly could be that I would have the audacity to say a middle reliever leaving is going to have more impact than the loss of a former Cy Young winner.

Just hear me out on this.

It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.

The Phillies have certainly proven that cliché true in recent seasons.

But is this the year the Fightins finally look like a championship-caliber club from April through the end of Autumn? The answer is yes, because the Phillies are just that complete of a team in 2010.

Once again, the offense is the least of the Phils’ concerns. This team will hit.

 "I can't wait for it to end."

With one simple comment, Cole Hamels sparked a searing firestorm of questions from his team, baseball fans, and the nationwide sports media alike.

Was he quitting on his team at the most crucial point in the season?

The Phillies were on the brink of elimination at the hands of the mighty New York Yankees in last season's World Series. Times were tough and here was a young man, who just one season ago helped guide them to the promised land, ready now to hang up his cleats and put the glove away for the winter.

Rarely does a player experience such extremes from one year to the next, but Phillies closer Brad Lidge has lived that way since coming to the team in a trade two years ago. 

As Phillies fans, we all remember Joe Blanton going yard against the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series.

Looking at the batting averages, however, Blanton is only a .111 lifetime hitter, so he musta been feed a real juicy fastball to hit.

Most Phillies historians remember that Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton was traded for Rick Wise.

Both however, were pretty good hitting pitchers.

In his presentation, I will pick the top Phillies pitching hitters.

Criteria includes that they played for more than one season for the Phillies and unless they had an awesome display of power one game,

Picking players in the first round is always a hot topic. And while your first round selections WILL NOT make your team, it is those players who are on the cusp of being first rounders that could significantly impact your team’s performance.

J.A. Happ is one of those players.

Last year Happ enjoyed a very promising season going 12-4 for "Dem Phightin Phils" while posting a 2.93 ERA.

Joe Blanton had a renaissance of sorts in 2009, though it’s impossible for me to say that he was impressive.

He was solid, but is that enough to make him relevant to fantasy owners?  Before we answer that we have to take a closer look at his results.

It was his first full year in the National League, leading to his third-best ERA of his five-year career. The stats:

• 12 wins
• 195.1 innings
• 4.05 ERA
• 1.32 WHIP
• 163 strikeouts (7.51 Ks/9 IP)
• 59 Walks (2.72 BBs/99 IP)
• .302 BABIP

Every year as a Phillies fan, I’ve grown accustomed to saying “wait until next year.”

Next year we’ll pick up a big-name player in free agency. We’ll overtake the Braves or Mets in the division race. We’ll get a couple of good breaks, stay healthy all season, and win it all.

Guess what?

It happened.