It's approximately one-fifth of the way through the season and the
Phils are in first place. They've avoided their recent pattern of
poor play during the spring. First place and good play in April are
both good news; how they've managed to do so is a bit surprising.
Utley and Burrell have carried the offense, the starting pitching has
been somewhat better than last year, and the bullpen has been
exceptional.
Fewer good things can be said, unfortunately, about several of the new
position players on the team. Feliz (OPS+ 45), Bruntlett (OPS+ 45),
and Taguchi (OPS+ 30) have been brutal. Jenkins has been disappointing
(OPS+ 74) and among the returning players Ruiz (39), Howard (65), and
Werth (74) have underperformed.
The optimist in me expects Howard to pick it up, Rollins to eventually
post MVP-like numbers after returning, and Werth to be somewhat above
league average by the end of the year. However the realist in me
(after all, my earliest s****ts-related memories are from '64) figures
Bruntlett, Taguchi, and Feliz to be WYSIWYG.
So whether other players are ready to carry the offense after Utley
and Burrell return to their expected performance level is the
question. If so, the team's chances look good. If not I guess we can
all root for the Marlins or Nats.
wes
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