Day 7: Philadelphia Phillies

The entire schedule of when team recaps will be.

Team: Philadelphia Phillies

2007 Regular Season Record: 89-73

2007 Postseason Record: 0-3; lost in NLDS

Cost per Win: $89,428,213 / 89 = $1,004,811 per win

2007 Season Recap: The Phillies had a somewhat successful season. The fact that they ended up winning their division would signal that it was a success but the way that they got in takes away from it a bit. In a lot of people’s opinions they didn’t win the division the Mets lost it. In the long run though it doesn’t’ matter how you got in just the fact that you got in. Once the Phillies got to the playoffs they just didn’t have nearly enough momentum on their side because they were matched up against the Rockies who without argument were the hottest team going into the playoffs. The Phillies ended up quickly getting swept out of the playoffs without putting up much of a fight.

The Phillies got some very good offensive performances in the regular season. Leading the group was NL MVP Jimmy Rollins who batted .296 with 41 stolen bases and 21 triples. Ryan Howard didn’t bat for a high average and was one of the league leaders in strikeouts this year but he did add 47 homeruns so no one was complaining about his performance. Also Chase Utley batted .332 with 22 home runs this season so he was also a positive.

The Phillies also had a few weak spots during the season. The key weak spot was at third base. The regular started Abraham Nunez batted only .234 on the season and a team needs much better offensive numbers from that position. Third base backup Wes Helms batted .246 last season so he wasn’t a better option either. Needless to say that is a position that needs to be addressed next season.

Key Free Agents: RP Antonio Alfonseca, 2B Tadahito Iguchi, SP Freddy Garcia, SP John Lieber, SP Kyle Lohse, CF Aaron Rowand; Rowand is probably the biggest loss for the Phillies because he was both a great defensive player, a good offensive player, and a great sparkplug to the team with his take no prisoners playing style. The loss of Iguchi is also a little bit of a worry but not as much simply because he was a mid-season trade who was only expected to play in the 2007 season. The loss of 3 starting pitchers is alarming and a worrisome thing especially with an offseason where pitchers are in high demand and not many good ones available.

Offseason Needs: The biggest need is at pitcher without a question. If the Phillies can’t add some strong arms then they are in big trouble and won’t be very competitive next season. The hole at 3rd base is also big and someone needs to be added there. Howard, Rollins, and Utley have the rest of the infield under control and are great players to build a team around. I haven’t heard it mentioned or anything but I think the Phillies should take a lot at making a deal for Dontrele Willis, especially with his reduced value this off-season.

Prediction for the 2008 season: The Phillies will have some problems next season unless they open their wallets really wide in the offseason. They haven’t done that yet and a lot of the big name pitchers are already on the verge of getting picked up. The Mets most likely won’t fall apart at the end of the regular season like this year so the Phillies will need to perform real well to stay in contention. I predict that they will miss out on the playoffs this year and in my opinion they will end the season in 3rd place in the NL east with the Braves taking 2nd place.