The 2010 Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies were the first major league baseball team to lose over ten thousand games. They have only won two World Series. Needless to say, baseball fans in Philadelphia have gone through a lot of pain and suffering. However, the Phillies have experienced a renaissance with winning the National League pennant the last three years. The stadium is packed night after night. This year looked to be the same as any other year, with the Phillies heading to another pennant. However, they have fallen from first place to third and have seemed to be destined to head down to the cellar. As a die-hard Phillies fan since 1993, I'd like to offer some insight as to how to end the swoon and head back to first place.

Small ball- The Phillies are a team loaded to the gills with power. Each person in the lineup has the potential to hit at least 20 home runs a season. When dealing with a power hitter, there will be instances of dry spells where there won't be home runs hit and occasionally a base single here and there. However, when dealing with a team made completely of power hitters, if each person in the line up has a dry spell, that can spell for problems.

So, instead of relying on the big base hits, the Phillies need to get back into the habit of generating runs. By this, focus on getting on base, be it by base hit or drawing a walk. After that, steal bases, perform the hit and run, and sacrifice squeeze plays. This team has enough speed that they can be dangerous on the base path. Of course, the king of speed needs to be an inspiration for them.

J-Roll needs to play- Jimmy Rollins, the shortstop for the Phillies, has only played 12 games so far this year. He is the catalyst for the team and his absence definitely shows in their performance. While they have other dangers on the base paths that can be useful in the lead off spot, they do not have the same effect on the opposing team like Jimmy does. For instance, if Jimmy scores a run, in the twelve games he's played this year, the Phillies are 8-1. However, with Shane, the Phillies record is around .500. It's not that Shane is an ineffective lead off man. Jimmy has the ability to play mind games with the opposing pitchers with his speed and the way he presents himself on the base paths. For the Phillies to make it back to the World Series, they will need their spark plug back.

Pitching- The strength of the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies had taken a few hits this year. To start off the season, Joe Blanton and Brad Lidge ended up on the disabled list. The JA Happ, the rookie who was the pleasant surprise of 2008-2009, followed shortly after. This left the rotation very piece meal. To date, the current starting rotation has an ERA of 4.52. The 2009 starting rotation had an ERA of 3.92. The one time strength is definitely a weakness so far this year. It may be time to start looking for some help, although Amaro has not admitted to such a thing as of yet. Pedro, are you free to come back to Philly?

There are other items to consider such as trading struggling players (Ibanez to name one) to try to improve the club and if the claims of sign stealing were true. However, this leaves room for hours upon hours of hypothetical debate. The three items are things that need to be addressed soon. If they are not, maybe the 2011 season will have the Phigtin Phils going back to the World Series.