2009 record: 93-69, first in NL East
Manager: Charlie Manuel
Key additions: SP Roy Halladay, 3B Placido Polanco, OF Ross Gload, SP Jose Contreras, RP Danys Baez, OF Dewayne Wise
Key losses: SP Cliff Lee, 3B Pedro Feliz, SP Pedro Martinez, RP Scott Eyre, RP Chan Ho Park, OF Matt Stairs, IF Miguel Cairo
Outlook: Let us put aside the Ryan Howard-for-Albert Pujols rumors, which, if true, would drastically alter things going forward.
But if true, it would also take a team that has redefined what it means to wheel and deal into a new stratosphere.
The precedent for that was set with the midseason acquisition of Cliff Lee last year, and then the three-team deal this offseason which shipped Lee to Seattle and ushered in the Roy Halladay era in Philadelphia.
Such daring maneuvers have kept the Phillies atop the NL East and in Halladay, perhaps more so than Lee, they have the horse who can keep them there.
With 69 wins over the past four years, all for a marginal Toronto team, Halladay finally found the consistent dominance he struggled to discover early in his career, when some superb seasons mixed with others marred by injury or ineffectiveness.
Yet while Halladay graces magazine covers and studio sets, the real key to the Phils maintaining their elite status rests on the bounce-back ability of Cole Hamels, whose reputation took a bit of a hit as he soured down the stretch of a difficult season.
In 2008, Hamels was what Halladay is. If both are in top form, then the East is all but sewn up, for nobody in the division — or in the league, for that matter — can match Philadelphia’s production at the plate.
The NL’s best offensive team may have even gotten better, replacing defensive stalwart Pedro Feliz at third base with Placido Polanco, a superior offensive player who will stretch out the lineup. Polanco will hit second behind Jimmy Rollins, moving Shane Victorino toward the bottom of the order.
He could be the best No. 8 hitter the NL has seen in years.
In Philadelphia, there is speed, power and patience and a host of players in their prime. Howard, Victorino, Rollins, Chase Utley and Jayson Werth are all between the ages of 29 and 31.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. knows that, and by signing Halladay to an extension through 2013 (with a 2014 option), he sent a signal to that core group and other cornerstones, like Hamels and starter J.A. Happ, that the future is now.
It’s a signal that needs to be sent, for Rollins and Werth are free agents after the season and Howard, Hamels, Raul Ibanez (34 home runs, 93 RBI in 2009) and up-and-down closer Brad Lidge (72 saves in two years with Phillies) are all free to go after 2011.
All that could change in a heartbeat, however. The Phils are not shy about changing the landscape, which is why they are the favorites in the National League. Again.
What it means to the Red Sox: Major League Baseball has installed the Phillies as the primary NL rival of the Red Sox, and it seems to work. The two meet this year in Philly in May and then at Fenway Park the next month, making this just the second time that the two clubs will play two series in a season.
The last time that happened was 2006, when Boston took five of six meetings.
The Sox have won 14 of 18 in the series over the past five years.
