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Philadelphia Phillies Preview 

The Phillies were a tough team for bettors to get to the bottom of last season. Paying attention early on to their performance as an underdog could be the best thread to follow in 2006. I wouldn’t jump on the Phillies right away as there are still some questions up in the air with their pitching, but they have some solid bats, namely Bobby Abreu, that will keep them in games. Jimmy Rollins came into this season riding high on a 36 game hitting streak and should be a nice option at the leadoff spot for plenty of seasons to come. Speed is an asset the Phillies have been missing, and they are not alone as pro baseball has gone the way of the power hitter. But the Phillies have a good speed option in Rollins for certain. Solid sticks back up Abreu in Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, and Ryan Howard. Howard was dangerous in winning the rookie of the year last year and allowed the club to get rid of injury-riddled Jim Thome. They picked up Aaron Rowand for Thome and this guy should pan out well in center field.

The pitching staff did lose a lot in Billy Wagner, one of the games premier closers and best arms, and they are taking a chance that Tom Gordon can regain his form as a dominant closer. I just don’t see it happening as his fast ball used to set up his 12-6 curve and it is no longer lively enough to keep hitters off balance. Brett Myers has the stuff to be the ace of this staff, but it goes down hill after him.

The public never seems to fail when it comes to falling in love with favorites. The Philadelphia Phillies were the wrong favorite to fall in love with in 2005 however. Few bettors jumped on the Phillies as an underdog. If they would have done their homework, it wouldn’t take long to see that that’s where the best value was. Make sure you don’t fall into the same predicament that so many sports investors fell into a season ago. Often enough being an underdog coincides with being on the road. I would suggest looking for places to take the Phillies away from home as they have gained their supporters 14 units on the road the past 2 seasons.

The Phillies ended the 2005 season just 2 games behind Atlanta for the AL East title, but public perception seemed to be that Philly was a poor team last season, probably because they seemed to play a lot of close games. If this public perception persists in 2006 and bettors go against the Phillies, you should be able to find value in taking them, especially in the right spots as an underdog. I wouldn’t steer clear of the Phillies or go against them religiously like so many bettors did in 2005. Remember that they were a positive 4 unit team last season and they were even better as an underdog, which is where the best value is.

 

2006 Baseball Previews