2010 Phillies

What was your New Year resolution? We all know the drill. I'm gonna lose 40 pounds. I'm gonna make it rich. I'm gonna ask that girl out in the office. Whatever the goal was, few of us have pulled through on the big plans. We have hope.

The Philadelphia Phillies begin their new season this year with a new batch of members that they hope can get us over the hump this year. The Sound of Philly is here now to give you a rundown of the newest members of the team. Please hold your applause until the end of the lineup...


Roy Halladay - If you don't know who this man is, then you must have been out of the country for a while (and Canada), but we’d be glad to fill you in. Halladay has been the ace of the Toronto staff since about 2002. His record since 2002 has been 130-59 with an overall career E.R.A. of 3.43. Impressive stuff considering that he has been pitching in the more offensive American League. The Phillies may have had to give up a bunch of prospects, including pitching stud Kyle Drabek, and they had to depart with ace Cliff Lee in the blockbuster three team trade done this offseason, but the Phillies have stated that they are committed to winning during this golden window of opportunity that they have. The front office made a move that will ultimately save money (Cliff Lee is looking for Sabbathia money next year) and in return for making the move, they are getting arguably the best pitcher in baseball in the peak of his career who has not been injury plagued. Knock on wood.

Danys Baez - Welcome to a below .500 pitcher lifetime with a journeyman status. A defector from Cuba, Baez hopes to resurrect his career with the Phillies and give a much needed boost to the setup position now that Scott Eyre is gone.

Juan Castro - This 37 year old is out trying to prove that he has something left in the tank. Castro is a journeyman that we hope can give help to the bullpen in case one of our beloved starters has a bad game.


Placido Polanco - Polanco is a new third baseman for the Phils that will give a little umph to the bottom of the lineup. Last year, I know that some of us were a little frustrated with the way that the old third baseman showed up to the plate in the postseason. Fingers crossed again.

Jose Contreras - The 38 year old is ready to help out in anyway he can. Born in Cuba, like Baez, Contreras is going to play any role that the Phillies give him at pitcher. He can start, although he will most likely relieve, the team needs a healthy Contreras to make it through the season if the team looks to improve.

The Phillies have decided to make moves this postseason. All last year, we were screaming for a bullpen that we didn't have to worry about. Ultimately though when Lidge came into the game, we held our breath, which was uncharacteristic due to his performance in 2008. The Phillies lost over 10 games that they had the lead in going into the ninth inning last year.

The Phillies new additions this year included three bullpen pitchers. We gained a phenomenal starter in Halladay, and we picked up a good position player. The other three are pitchers that are hiding an inconvenient truth.

The truth is, is that the bullpen will be considered great if Brad Lidge gives us a great year. In the end, we are going to be giving the ball to the guy that our skipper has the most trust in. It reminds me of how we gut out every game with McNabb at quarterback because he is all that we have at that position right now for who can give us the best shot at winning.

Is Lidge the Phillies equivalent to McNabb? I wouldn’t say so. Lidge has a ring, but when meeting our new Phillies, I think that we can see the management trying to build a more solid support group around “The Weakness” in the hopes that a strong offense will carry him.

Nothing was done to fix the closer position, except a hope that Lidge will be better. In the end, we have what we had. Solutions to the problem may be that we need to make a deal for a new reliever at some point during the season. They say that once a closer loses it, it’s gone, but can the men in the front office make the business decision when the time is necessary for Mr. Lidge to have a seat or find another place to go? We shall see, but we may have to play the first few games before making any brash decisions.

And we have to hope that he pitches lights out.

Play Ball.