By Chris Kiel
I know it’s been quite awhile since I wrote a blog but I’ve been very busy lately. And of course by very busy I mean lying around on the couch. Originally I was going to do a preview of the NL East but I’ve decided to do a position by position comparison of the Braves and Phillies. I do think the Phillies are going to win the division but I think the Braves are going to give us some stiff competition. (I said stiff…. Lol!) Even before the all the injuries suffered by the Phillies they weren’t going to walk away with the division. So lets breakdown the two teams.
I know it’s been quite awhile since I wrote a blog but I’ve been very busy lately. And of course by very busy I mean lying around on the couch. Originally I was going to do a preview of the NL East but I’ve decided to do a position by position comparison of the Braves and Phillies. I do think the Phillies are going to win the division but I think the Braves are going to give us some stiff competition. (I said stiff…. Lol!) Even before the all the injuries suffered by the Phillies they weren’t going to walk away with the division. So lets breakdown the two teams.
Catcher: Carlos Ruiz/ Brian McCann
I’m going to start with this because I think my opinion here will create some controversy. Let me start out by saying I love Chooch. However, I would take McCann over him. And before I get crucified let me say why. Chooch’s best quality is his defense but I would trade his defense for McCann’s offense. I know Chooch calls a great game but our staff would still be dominant with McCann back there. McCann is not a bad defender. However on offense McCann is way ahead of Ruiz. Last year Chooch had a career year and hit .300 with 8 hrs and 53 RBI’s in a career high 121 games. McCann battled eye problems all year and had his worst season and batted .269 with 21hrs and 77 RBI’s. Before that he averaged 22hr’s 95 RBI’s while batting .295. He’s also never played less then 130 games. He’s also 27 years old and entering his prime.
Advantage Braves
1st base: Ryan Howard/ Freddie Freeman
The Braves are going to start the 21 year old rookie Freeman at first. Freeman has great potential. He has shown the ability to hit for power and average at the minor league level. Freeman did get 24 AB’s with the big club last year but is very inexperienced. It’s hard to say what you’re going to get out him. I’m not really going to go into detail about Howard. He’s one of the best sluggers in the game and was recently ranked as the number 6 1st baseman in the league.
Advantage Phillies
2nd base: Wilson Valdez, Luis Castillo / Dan Uggla
If the Phillies had a healthy Utley they would have the advantage but they don’t. The Braves made a good move getting Uggla. While watching him in the field can be painful he can mash the ball. He has four straight years of 30+ homeruns and hit a career high .287 last year. The Phillies are probably going to start with a Valdez/Castillo platoon. Valdez is solid defensively but my 90 year old grandmother could hit better then him. Who knows what we’ll get out of Castillo? I personally don’t think Utley will be back for awhile, maybe not all season.
Advantage Braves
Shortstop: Jimmy Rollins/Alex Gonzalez
The Braves acquired Gonzalez in a trade last year. Gonzalez is a solid veteran player. He’s decent at the plate. He’s averaged 16 hr’s 71 RBI’s a year over the course of his career. He’s a good fit for the Braves. Now let’s look at Rollins. I still think Rollins is better. How much better remains to be seen. Rollins has been in decline the last few years. I think Rollins is going to have a good year but who knows?
Advantage Philles
3rd base Placido Polanco/Chipper Jones
This is a hard one to do. Both are veteran players with some injury issues. Based on their whole careers Chipper is better. He’s probably a Hall of Famer. Polanco has been a very good player throughout his career. Chipper missed a lot of time last year and is about to be 39. He still has more power then Polanco but Polanco should hit for a higher average. Chipper has looked good this spring but I’m going to go with Polanco.
Slight Advantage Phillies
Centerfield: Shane Victorino/Nate McLouth
McLouth had a terrible year last year. He literally almost didn’t hit his weight. He is listed at 180 lbs and he hit .190. If he bounces back he can put up some decent numbers. He has decent power and speed. Last year Victorino hit a career high in homers but a career low in avg. I would like to see him put the ball on the ground more. He should also have more then 34 steals. In the field he covers a lot of ground.
Advantage Phillies
Left Field: Raul Ibanez/Martin Prado
Last year Prado played 2nd but with the addition of Uggla he moves to left. Prado really came into his own last year while making the All-Star team. He even finished 9th in the MVP voting. Prado only hit 15 hr’s which isn’t a lot for a corner outfielder but he hit .307 and scored 100 runs. Ibanez got off to a sizzling start his first few month here in 2009, but has been inconsistent at best since then. The other issue with him is that he turns 39 in June which is ancient for an everyday player who is not a DH.
Advantage Braves
Right Field: Ben Francisco/Jason Heyward
What can I say about Heyward? This kid is the real deal. He has a huge ceiling. He can hit for power and average and is patient at the plate. As a 21 year old he more then handled major league pitching last year while making the All-Star team. I think Francisco will have a solid year. He won’t put up Werth numbers but he will be good enough out there. Also expect Mayberry to see some playing time.
Advantage Braves
Starters Hallady, Hamels, Lee, Oswalt, Blanton/ Lowe, Hudson, Hanson, Jurrjens
I won’t go into details about the Phillies starters. We’ve all heard about the stats and accolades they’ve won. They are probably the best starting rotation in the league. The one thing I will say is that you should expect a monster year out of Hamels. While not as good as the Phillies the Braves rotation is nothing to sneeze at. Lowe and Hudson are solid veteran pitchers and Hanson and Jurrjens are good young pitchers.
Advantage Braves……Just kidding!!
Bullpen
Honestly I don’t know much about the Braves bullpen. I do know they have some young arms that can throw gas. Their closer is Craig Kimbrel who is only 22. They also have a few veteran arms in there if Kimbrel falters. George Sherrill and Scott Linebrink are capable of taking over. The Phillies bullpen has some question marks in it. The injury to Lidge hurts because it changes people’s roles. Contreras will take over as the closer and Madson will remain the setup man. They should do a good job. What we don’t know is what we’ll get out of JC Romero, Danys Baez, and Kyle Kendrick.
Advantage….Oh let’s call this a push
One more major advantage the Phillies have is their schedule. The record for the Phillies opponents in April was .471 last year. They open the season against the Astros and Mets which should get them off to a good start. The Braves have a tough 10 game West Coast trip in April. If the Phillies open up an early lead on the Braves it will really help later on in the season.
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