2011 Philadelphia Phillies Predictions
The Philadelphia Phillies are the class of the NL East. They have taken the division each of the last four seasons and have made two World Series trips during this span. After adding Cliff Lee to a rotation that was already considered one of the best in baseball, the Phillies have been deemed the favorite to win it all in 2011. MLB odds makers have listed the Philadelphia Phillies at +300 to win the 2011 World Series.
Pitching: The Phillies have assembled what could go down in the history books as the best starting rotation ever. Roy Halladay heads up this unit with Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels close behind. Together, this fantastic foursome owns 13 top-five finishes in Cy Young voting, three Cy Young awards, 13 All-Star nods, six seasons of at least 20 wins and a 20-8 postseason record.
Kyle Kendrick looks to be the favorite to take the fifth spot in the rotation.
With Philadelphia’s top four slated to start 132 of 162 games, we could be looking at a truly historic season.
Philly’s top four starters all gobble up a lot of innings, which should make life rather easy for the bullpen. When the skip does call for the pen, he’ll be looking to use Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras to set up closer Brad Lidge.
Lineup: Philly’s pitching staff is getting so much attention that perennial MVP candidates Chase Utley and Ryan Howard aren’t catching quite as many headlines these days. Headlines or not, these two make up the best right side of the infield in the NL. Utley missed some time in 2010 but still had 16 home runs and 65 RBIs in 115 games. Howard hit .276 with 31 round trippers and 108 RBIs. Howards 229 home runs and 680 RBIs the last five seasons are tops in the majors.
Shortstop Jimmy Rollins and third baseman Placido Polanco round out what has to be considered one of the best infields in the majors. Rollins is looking for a bounce back campaign after an injury-plagued 2010. Polanco is a career .303 hitter and has never struck out more than 47 times in a season.
Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez and Domonic Brown figure to take the outfield together most days in 2011. Victorino is coming off a third straight Gold Glove season. His batting average dropped off from .292 to .259, but his home runs were up from 10 to 18. Ibanez turned in a strong second half, hitting .309 with nine jacks and 44 RBIs following the All-Star break. He drove in a total of 83 runs for the year. Brown will be the everyday right fielder at some point and will be challenged to fill the big shoes of the departed Jayson Werth. Brown in considered one of Philly’s top prospects.
Carlos Ruiz will be back behind the plate. He is coming off a strong season in which he hit .302 with a .400 on-base percentage. More importantly, he does a great job of handling the pitching staff.
Prediction – 1st Place NL East: Considering the Phillies didn’t have Halladay, Lee or Oswalt when they won it all in 2008, anything short of a World Series title in 2011 will be considered a failure. The Phillies are listed at -300 to win the NL East.
