The Philadelphia Phillies enter the 2011 season as the class of the National League East by a large margin. The Phillies continue to upgrade their team while their divisional opponents struggle to keep up. The Mets continue to run their organization into the ground, the Nationals aren't quite ready yet, the Braves hired a manger who will cost them a dozen games this season, and the Marlins continue to trade away good players for nothing.
Yet doubts seem to be creeping in by certain people due to the fact that the Phillies have had a number of injuries during spring training. So let's take a deeper look at the Phillies team as a whole.
The rotation of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton is the best rotation in baseball by a mile. Cole Hamels could be a No. 1 starter on any other team in baseball, but is currently the Phillies No. 4 starter! Joe Blanton could easily be a No. 2 starter for most teams in baseball and there were doubts he was even good enough to make the rotation! Barring Oswalt and/or Lee missing a few starts due to nagging injuries, the rotation has the possibility of having four 20-game winners.
The bullpen is a little shaky at the moment due to the uncertainty of Brad Lidge. Having Jose Contreras close over Ryan Madson to start the season is a crapshoot, but once all the roles settle in towards the end of April, the bullpen should become a strength, at least in the late innings. The long relievers need to prove themselves to continue being on the major league roster.
First base is a strong position for many teams and the Phillies have one of the best in baseball. Second base is also a strong position for the Phillies. They have the second best second baseman in baseball if he can stay healthy, which has been a problem of late. At shortstop they have an adequate, cagey veteran in Jimmy Rollins who is looking for a new contract and may put up a decent year as a result. To round out the infield, the Phillies have one of the most underrated players in baseball history who will be more than serviceable yet again this season.
Behind the plate the Phillies have a catcher who could be dubbed the third best catcher in baseball. Outside of Joe Mauer and Brian McCann, there aren't any catchers that are any good, so the mere fact that Carlos Ruiz can hit puts him in this position.
In the outfield the Phillies have one of the better left fielders in baseball and probably the best centerfielder in baseball as well. There are many question marks surrounding right field though. The Phillies could simply wait out Dominic Brown's injury by having Ben Francisco play but currently it is a glaring weakness on a team that doesn't have many.
The Phillies need to stay healthy, though. The result of putting one of their stars on the sideline due to a lingering injury could put the team's chances in jeopardy.
The Phillies will make sports news if they don't have the most wins in baseball this season because it will have meant they had more injuries than they could deal with.
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