Underdog role doesn't bother Phillies

02/20/2006
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- In some recent winters, the Philadelphia Phillies were very popular with the preseason prognosticators. This February, the Phillies are preseason underdogs in the National League East.
They cannot be considered anything like distant underdogs or hapless underdogs or even decisive underdogs. They can, in fact, be fairly projected as contenders in the NL East. But they won't be considered favorites. At least they seem to be fine with this status.
"Underdog, that's something that we've been accustomed to, playing in Philadelphia," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said with a smile Monday. "We're always the underdog."
On the Phillies' side of the argument, this is still a club with a very impressive, versatile lineup. But the Atlanta Braves have won 14 division titles in a row. And the New York Mets made the division's biggest offseason improvements.
Thus, the Phillies, even though they missed the NL East title by just two games last season and the NL Wild Card berth by only one game, are seen by the prognosticating public as having slightly less of a chance to reach the postseason than they did last year. This doesn't exactly demoralize them, either.
"Expectations change every year," Rollins said. "People are going to believe what they want to believe. Personally, I believe we have a solid club."
Rollins would be one of the main reasons for genuine optimism. His 36-game hitting streak, still alive when the 2005 season ended, represented a major breakthrough. He now could be considered among the premier shortstops and leadoff men in the game.
Elsewhere, the presence of such impact players as Bobby Abreu in right, Chase Utley at second, a big run producer in Pat Burrell in left and emerging slugger Ryan Howard at first give the Phils plenty of pop and plenty of reason for hope. They lost Jim Thome, a leader on this club, but that loss came in a trade that gave them Aaron Rowand, a solid upgrade in center field.
So where is the drag on their public perception? It starts with the loss of Billy Wagner, a closer of the first rank. Not only did the Phillies lose him, they lost him to the Mets, making this the double whammy of closer departures.
Tom Gordon, most recently with the Yankees, will take over for Wagner. Gordon has closed before and closed successfully. But he hasn't closed full-time since 2001 and he is now 38 years old.
His stuff seemed to be largely intact in his last employment, as a setup man with the New York Yankees. This is what the Phillies see when they see Gordon. "The man still has it," Rollins said. "Tom Gordon still has it."
Even if he still has it, it is difficult to argue that he has as much of it as Wagner. There will be other changes and some at least initial uncertainty in the bullpen, as well. The primary setup role could go to lefty Arthur Rhodes, 36.
Beyond that, the Phillies' likely starting rotation of Jon Lieber, Brett Myers, Cory Lidle, Ryan Franklin and Ryan Madson is likely neither to spell disaster nor ultimate success.
Lieber is not an ace in the overpowering sense of the word, but he certainly is reliable and workmanlike He works quickly, throws strikes and generally keeps the ball down in the strike zone, a particularly good way to work given the extremely cozy dimensions of Citizens Bank Park. Myers had the best statistical season of his career in 2005, and the Phillies have a right to hope for even better things from him.
But the Phillies could use another quality starter. They attempted to find one via a trade in the offseason, but could not find the appropriate match. They could get bet a boost in this area without making a move, if lefty Randy Wolf has a successful return from Tommy John surgery in mid-season, as the Phillies hope.
When manager Charlie Manuel is asked where the Phillies need to make the improvement that could make them a postseason team, he says: "Basically, it's what we talked about mostly all last year: Pitching and depth in our pitching. Consistent starting pitching and depth in our pitching."
When Manuel is asked whether the Phillies can achieve that improvement with the pitching talent currently on hand, he responds:
"I think we've got guys in our camp that can definitely take us there as far as ability and everything. But I think we're in a process right now of seeing what we've really got. We do have a bunch of new faces and we've got some young pitchers, but we've also got some guys that we brought over here that are new to us. I think we've got to play some games and evaluate what we've got."
That is neither a yes nor a no. A maybe is always an honest Spring Training answer, but it also doesn't add up to a ringing endorsement.
The best-case scenario appears to be this: If the Phillies can avoid the kind of start they had last year -- a 10-14 April -- they could remain solidly in the hunt until pitching help arrives, either from the outside or from the return of a healthy, effective Wolf, or both.
If not, well, the fallback position is rarely pleasant, but at least this year, they're not supposed to win, anyway. The Phillies begin Spring Training as a club once again not that far away from baseball's elite. If their pitching improves, they take the next, big step. But that is exactly the kind of "if" that kept them inches away from the postseason last year, too.

Source: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/