Transformed Philadelphia Phillies after All-Star break as Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard return
With Chase Utley already back and Ryan Howard along with Roy Halladay all set to join the Philadelphia Phillies, a transformed club is in the making. A combination which was never achieved in the season can now be realised.
So many questions come to mind for the Phillies as the team will obviously have some renewed confidence as their top players are coming back after injury. The Phillies will be looking towards securing a post-season spot and put all their efforts in to achieving
this goal.
A look at the National League East Division table presents a hopeless picture, one which discourages to establish anything positive about the Phillies. Behind the table leader by around 11 wins and eight by the team holding second position, only a miracle
to an extent of making them invincible through the second half of the season can save them.
Where will this miracle come from? One can easily say if Halladay follows immediately on return with shut-out games and Cole Hamels keeps his momentum intact, anything can be expected. To add to one’s belief, the Phillies will be hoping that Howard hits
some homers as consistently as he has done in his career. Similarly, Utley will be looked upon as a saviour.
Presumably if all goes as per expectations, will the miracle be enough to break what the Phillies have done thus far in their history? To make it simple, can the win-loss record Philadelphia posted last year that took them to play-offs be achieved this year?
Seen in context that in 78 games losing 13 games cannot be avoided regardless of how great they prove to be. It is just rationale to give up and induct prospects through trades, now. Thus, fate of Hamels can be pondered. Shane Victorino can be given a golden
hand-shake with a view to revamp a depleting farm-system.
While one will say that this will be too early or that they still have a chance, perhaps ignoring the tally of victories other teams in the Division have managed. Even more glaring is the progress they are making in terms of getting the injured players back
and consistency they are showing.
For example, the Washington Nationals in the National League East Division have become the best in the whole of the National League. This means that it is almost certain they are not going to vacate this place, even after the All-Star break.
Additionally, if return to form by their third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman and Michael Morse is anything to go by, one can believe that they are going to be permanent at the top position.
All this renders a strategy of making one more attempt by the Phillies insignificant or may be even counter-productive. Doing so will be at the expense of planning for the future. The cost can be as high as compromising over what lies ahead in the next season.
In-fact, this can translate into even poorer performance in 2013 regular season.
Therefore, saner option is to rebuild the side. Get rid of unproductive investments on the roster. Ageing staff can be replaced with younger blood.
The Division Championship won for the last five years by the club was the result of meticulous planning and objective understanding of facts on the ground. One will hope that the management will keep this in mind and initiate restructuring to get to the
same level again.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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