Roster is Close

Now that Corrasco and Mayberry have been sent to the minor league complex, the roster is pretty much set,
As I said earlier, they would pretty much go with the same bench as last year. Unless they trade Stairs or Jenkins, it will be Coste, Dobbs, Bruntlett, Stairs, and Jenkins.
Starting pitcher should be Park, he has earned it and deserves the shot. Happ will go to the pen or even be sent back to AAA.

I think relief may be the only surprise. Again, thinking Happ may go to the minors, they may keep Majewski on the roster. It was interesting to see Mosebach not sent away - He is a rule 5 - which needs to stay on the roster all year or be offered back to his original team. I hear he has a High-Speed fastball.

Interesting!!

Stuff

Nice to see Rollins play so well in the WBC over the last couple of weeks. He topped it off by going 4 for 4 in the loss to Japan.

Nice to see Utley playing and hitting a home run.

The Drama of Kendrick is over and now it is down to 3 pitchers for the 5th spot.

Hamels pitched 3 and change innings in a minor league game - that is a good sign.

Update on 3 Open Positions

Not much has changed in the battle for the open roster spots.

5th Starter
Looks like it is down to Happ and Park. Park has had some great outings, and I hear he has learned an excellent changeup from Jamie Moyer. As I said before It looks like Park gets the job and Happ becomes the much needed lefty in the Pen until Romero gets back from suspension.

Bench Players
Looks like Coste will be gone. After coming back from injury, he has done nothing and is 0-8 for the spring. It is kind of looking like the same 5 coming back other than Coste. Lefties, Stairs, Dobbs, and Jenkens. Righties Paulino and Bruntlett.

Bull Pen - Lidge, Durbin, Madson, Eyre, Condrey
As stated above I feel Happ will take one of the 2 remaining spots
I am thinking it will be Koplove or Majewski to take the last spot.

Thoughts Big and Small

Why the mystery with Chase Utley?
He played in a Minor league game, and then Charlie said not again till Monday.
He played again on Sunday going 0-2, why the mystery?

5th Starter - Seems Kendrick is out and Corassco is too inconsistent. That leaves Park and Happ who are both pitching well. It is a tough decision, but Park has good numbers in the Bull Pen and Happ has very little experience in the pen. On the other hand Park is doing very well and Happ would be a well needed left-hander in the pen.

Hamels elbow issues - Is it normal spring pain or Hamels hypo-condriac panic? Here's hoping it is either.

Jimmy is looking really good at the classic.

Follow-ups

After my posting yesterday about the prospects Donald and Mayberry, I have read a few articles on the same subject. One stated that Manual has been in 40 years worth of Spring camps and one thing he learned was to not make rash judgements after just 11 games. So maybe I was jumping the gun yesterday, saying these 2 should be on the roster.

Another article mentioned that Stairs roster spot may be in jeopardy, and Stairs shrugged his shoulders and said he has been around long enough not to worry about such things and they know what I can do. It also sounded like he is OK with retirement. His plans are to become a Manager or hitting coach in the big leagues. (I think Coste has said the same)

A third article was asking if Worth is really an every-day player. I also ask this question - because he cannot hit Righties very well. The article was mentioning if it makes sense to platoon Jenkins and Worth in right field. I guess it makes sense to hit Jenkins against tough righties.

Another mentioned that most likely Mayberry and Donald will start in AAA to get 4 at bats every game and not sit the bench in the majors. Makes sense I guess - I was thinking maybe they are looking at Donald as a replacement for Feliz after this season, and maybe Mayberry for a replacement for Ibanez after next season.

Nice Problem

Well, I am starting to believe that Mayberry and Donald need to make this team, at least until they cool off. I guess you have to wonder if they can do this as a pinch hitters off the bench, but I think it is worth a try.
Mayberrys' road blocks of course are Jenkins and Stairs, both of whom have their flaws. Jenkins, if you go by last year, has the very low batting average and did not come through in the clutch. He is also only hitting .200 in the Spring. Stairs, hitting just .222 in the spring, is a one dimensional player who can't even play the outfield any more. Mayberry can play a couple outfield positions, apparently has some power and can also run well.
Donald is leading the team with a .379 average and can play the 2 positions of the surgical patients on the team(2nd and 3rd). His competition of course is Bruntlett, who plays all 4 infield positions and is adding center field to his left field play from last year as well as Dobbs, the best pinch hitter in the league last year. I think Donald will have a hard time making the team.

So what makes a good bench player? In my opinion, I feel a high batting average is most important. Hoping for a Home run at exactly the right time is pie in the sky thinking. To me a consistent high batting average gets you the hits needed at the right times more often.
In my way of thinking, Donald and Mayberry make the team in the places of Jenkins and Stairs. I would not expect the Phils to eat another large salary(Eaton) like Jenkins again though.
It is just a shame though, that many players productive years are spent in the minors like Howard and Utley were. Oh well, I guess I have to wait till I become the GM.

Rollins

I was watching the World Baseball Classic(WBC) last night for a few innings and I realized I don't have a lot of interest in the games. I mean, sure I want the USA to win, but I have a hard time watching an entire game like I can with the Phils. It is very similar to spring training games, I find them hard to watch from beginning to end. Anyway, as I watched the game Rollins had just been pulled after going 2 for 3 to allow Jeter to play a little. The broadcasters were interviewing Rollins, and during the interview, Dunn hits a home run. Rollins stopped what he was saying and gave a little play-by-play. It was interesting and the broadcasters were just in love with Jimmy after he left. They followed him in the dugout for the next inning or two. At first Rollins was retelling his interview to Dunn and someone else. You could see him holding a fake mike and he gestured the track of the home run and joking with Dunn. After he was done with Dunn(haha) they followed him dancing in the dugout, he danced all the way from one end to the other to get a drink of water and back again. I mean he kept at it until I felt embarrassed for him. It looked like the coaches and other players were trying to ignore him and felt like saying "Go Away". I guess the moral is - Jimmy is real loose right now - good for the Phils.

Game Pause

Let's review the spring action so far.
Pitching wise - it has gone pretty well, Most of the roster pitchers have done well. I guess the only questions so far would be a bad outing by Carrasco and from Kendrick.
Hitting is average at best - We have seen some good at bats by Howard and Ibanez and by Mayberry. The rest of the starting 8 seem to be hitting under average or just slinging one hit in now and then.
Bull pen has not really done much pitching yet this spring

Interesting news is coming out about some injuries. Seems Rollins is hurt and has been hurt since the World Series. He is still playing for the World Baseball classic team.
Werth, Coste, and Durbin are almost recovered and hope to play in the next few days.
Utley is taking fielding and batting practice, but has not yet set a date for a return.

This is More Like it

Sorry for the delay, but I had a busy weekend, and 12 inches of snow to deal with yesterday. As "Philshats" mentioned in a comment, "They came out Swinging" over the last 3 games. Bruntlett(4 hits/3 rbis), Howard(3/4), Ibanez(2/2), Mayberry(4/4), Paulino 2/1), Donald(1/2), Rollins(2/1), Victorino(1/1), Dobbs(1/1), Jenkins(1/0), Stairs(1/0), Ruiz(1/0).
Pitching was up and down: Happ(3 inn/2runs), Corassco(3/5), Myers(3/2), Park(3/1), Kendrick(3/1), Eyre(1/1.
I saw some numbers from the "B" game yesterday:
Moyer went 3 innings - no runs
Blanton went 4 innings - no runs

Weehend thoughts:
Seems like Howard is doing ok with 2 homers.
Ibanez is looking good (it may be scary how many Rbi's he may have this year)
The big surprise is Mayberry - he is knocking in some runs, expect him to be the first position player called up from the minors if there is an injury.
I understand there was an error in center field by Bruntlett that shook Corassco up.
This is why he will start in the minors, but be the first called up due to a pitcher injury.