30 Teams In 30 Days

Philadelphia Phillies: Stop Complaining, Philadelphia
(Over the next 30 days, BERNing on Sports will be previewing every team in the Majors, yes, even the Royals. Only one a day, every day, so try not to get too hooked.)

We Shouldn't Be Hearing From You Anymore, Philly fans...

But you know we will. I was happy for the Phillies fans last year that they final got a championship in their city for the first time in 25 years. But I still contend that their drought really wasn't that bad and we shouldn't have heard so much about it. (After all, anyone over the age of 35 in Phliadelphia would remember the Sixers title in 1983 or the Phillies last world series crown in 1980.) Philadelphians like to whine and complain a lot, so it's not surprising, but now that the Phillies took home the 2008 World Series crown, we shouldn't be hearing from these complainers anymore. Enjoy your championship, and don't complain if they don't win it again this year. Although they still have a good team, and should contend to win another.

Pat The Bat vs. Raul Ibanez's Bat

Pat Burrell took a lot of heat during his nine year run in Philadelphia. The former number one pick in the 1998 draft was placed with enormous expectations immediately and the city of Philadelphia isn't exactly forgiving, or rational, about their sports teams most of the time. Burrell didn't hit for a high average during his teure in the city of brotherly love and could be frustratingly inconsistent, but he did hit a lot of home runs. 251 in fact. And most recently, Burrell provided that lethal right handed bat to sandwich between lefties Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. That was one of the biggest reasons the Phillies couldn't be beaten in last year's run through October. Replacing him is another lefty, Raul Ibanez. He's an excellent hitter who should fit into the offense quite nicely, assuming that the soon-to-be 38-year old doesn't tail off his production. He and Burrell are both weak defensive players, so Philadelphia doesn't really gain or lose anything there. But will he be a better fit than Burrell? I'm not so sure.

Pitching Still A Problem

Cole Hamels established himself as a brilliant pitcher in the playoffs last year if he hadn't already established this fact before. His presence at the top of the Phillies rotation anchored their run to the World Series title, and will key whatever run Philadelphia ever makes in the future. But maybe even more important to the Phils success in October was the suprising performances of Brett Myers, Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer. (Both Myers and Blanton were hitting homers in the playoffs, which should have been the sign from above that the Phillies were going to win it all.) Sure, Myers had a great second half after being sent to the minors to figure things out after an abysmal first half. But can he sustain a good year for the entire season? Can Joe Blanton, who has been a fairly average pitcher for most of his career, be the pitcher he was in the post season for an entire year? And is Jamie Moyer getting the senior citizen discount at the movies yet? The Phils rotation has a lot of questions to answer, as usual. If their rotation is good, they're the favorites again in the NL East despite the Mets high-priced additions. But if not, they'll have trouble winning their third consecutive division crown.

Would the Real Brad Lidge Please Stand Up?

Last year was an incredible year for the Phillies closer, as former GM Pat Gillick looks like a genius now for acquiring the guy who had worn out his welcome in Houston. He didn't blow a save last year except for in the All-Star game, and was absolutely unhittable and spectacular. And yes, he has been that good before, prior to the torpedo he served up to Albert Pujols in the 2006 NLCS. But I'm not totally convinced that he'll be as good this year as he was last year. If he is, the Phils are all set in the late innings. But with the ups and downs Lidge has had over the last few seasons, I'm not so sure we can expect Lidge to be as great as he was for another year.

Bold Predictions

1. Ryan Howard will hit .275 or higher this year, finally returning to the form he had when he hit .313 in is MVP award winning 2006 season.
2. Shane Victorino will have his first 20-20 campaign, finially reaching the 20 homer plateau while continuing to steal well over 20 bases.
3. And the Phillies will still win the NL East, despite the moves made by the Mets to improve.

Up Next...Monday, Cubs.