As we all know the Phillies are a team in a rebuilding process. I’m focusing on this team because they have a lot of talent for the future that could pay off. Now I’m not bashing the Sixers or Eagles but the Sixers have a lot that can be talked about, and it's too early in the Eagles season to talk about their possible success down the road. Anyway, this article will give you the reasons as to why I think the Phillies are looking good for the future.
Young talent: The Phillies have a lot of young players on their squad with great potential. They are consistently bringing up new and younger guys and giving them some experience in the big leagues to prepare them to play if needed (I’ll talk more about this later). Some of whom the Phillies brought up this year alone are Roman Quinn, Emmanuel Burriss, and Tommy Joseph
Hot streaks: Earlier in the season they went on some hot streaks. I’m not saying winning a couple games, I’m talking about winning games against big opponents such as the Giants, the Nationals, the Indians and the Mets. I’m not talking one win against these teams either, I’m talking winning the series and at times series sweeps where they win every game of that particular series. The Phillies also won 13 games out of 19 games that were decided by one run if I remember correctly. The Phillies are looking very good for the future and the coach is definitely helping them develop.
Inexperience: Now this is definitely a factor in why they are not good. The Phillies especially, considering that they are a young team and Freddy Galvis has the most experience with just 4 years in the league, it will be awhile before they can make a run at the playoffs let alone the World Series. I did not include Ryan Howard because I wanted to prove how young the team is. Other than Howard, there have been only two guys who have been in the league longer than anyone on the current roster. Those two players are Peter Bourjos (2010) and Andres Blanco (2004) . All of the other players have at most 4 years of experience in the league.
Similarities: From what I've seen with the Phillies this past year there are a lot of similarities between this team and the team we had during our reign in the East. First off, Odubel Herrera is like a Shane Victorino, because of his speed, his glove, and he brings great energy to the team. Maikel Franco, Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez and Tommy Joseph are like the infield we had back then. We have speed once again in Galvis and Hernandez, and power in Tommy Joseph. Maikel Franco is like the third basemen we didn't really have, so he solidifies our infield at third base. Galvis, Hernandez, and Joseph are like the double play trio of Rollins, Utley, and Howard. Another thing, I may be going out on a limb here, but our bench may be better than the bench we had back then (more on that below).
Differences: Like I said we have a solid infield with the players we have at those positions. Another difference is the fact that in my opinion, we may have better pitching than we did in 2008 as well. Here's why, the starting rotation is solid with Nola, Hellickson, Eickhoff, Morgan and Valesquez. They can each deal pretty well, let alone throw some nasty breaking balls. The bullpen is also a great sight for us as well. Garcia, Ramos as the two set up men and Gomez as the closer? That's pretty good to say we have two set up pitchers and a "lights out" closer. The last difference is that we have a lot of speed on our team which means a lot of stolen bases. Plus we have plenty of players on the bench who are versatile and can be switched out from the bench to the starting lineup as well. I think each player on our bench like Bourjos, Goeddel, Blanco, and others have started multiple games. that gives us that reassurance that we have back ups who are just about as good as our starters.
So we have a pretty solid team with what we have. So it looks like we may have a great future ahead of us once these players gain more experience and mature. Who knows, this team could possibly bring multiple World Series titles to the City of Brotherly Love.
