Projecting The Phillies Post-Season Roster

The Philadelphia Phillies have clinched a playoff spot! With that news, the discussion of playoff rosters now becomes relevant. Granted this is a piece often written and the only ones worth discussing are the people who will not see a ton of post-season playing time, but I need a quick blog piece to procrastinate my paper, so here goes nothing. Last year the Phillies went with 13 players and 12 pitchers to start the post-season. This year I think you go 14 and 11, if for no other reason, than because the biggest reason the Phillies went 13/12 last year is because they had at least 1 game (turned out to be 2) at Coors Field. The Rockies are not yet eliminated, but their hopes are not exactly sparkling. This piece is written with the thought in mind that they won't pull off the miraculous.

Catchers (2)
Carlos Ruiz
Brian Schneider

Infielders (7)
Ryan Howard
Chase Utley
Placido Polanco
Jimmy Rollins
Wilson Valdez
Greg Dobbs
Mike Sweeney

Outfielders (5)
Raul Ibanez
Shane Victorino
Jayson Werth
Ben Francisco
Ross Gload

Sweeney should be on the roster just based on huggability alone. But given that he is the only experienced 1st baseman on the team besides Ryan Howard, he needs to be there should something happen to Howard. The last thing I want to do is to rely on Ross Gload having to play there if Howard goes down. The same reasoning applies to bringing in Greg Dobbs. While Sweeney has some pop left, Dobbs has absolutely 0 pop, but, he is one of Charlie's guys and if the Phillies need an emergency 3rd baseman, Dobbs is needed, especially if Jimmy Rollins injures himself yet again and Valdez is stuck playing middle infield. Francisco, the sloppy seconds in the original Cliff Lee deal, has been this team's 4th outfielder all year long whereas Ross Gload brings with him some pop, a la Matt Stairs.

Notable absentee: Domonic Brown

Even though Domonic Brown is likely a future star, I don't want him anywhere near this post-season roster. The kid is young, he is inexperienced, and perhaps, he could be overwhelmed by the immense pressure. Not to mention, I don't want to give him the feeling that he has seen and done it all by playing in the playoffs. Leave the kid hungry. The downside to not bringing Brown is you lose his speed, but speed alone is not enough to warrant a spot for a rookie who has shown he is prone to rookie mistakes, and even though he does have speed, he is not gotten much of a chance to apply it in terms of stealing bases.

Pitching (11)
Roy Halladay
Cole Hamels
Roy Oswalt
Joe Blanton
Brad Lidge
Ryan Madson
Jose Contreras
Chad Durbin
J.C. Romero
Antonio Bastardo
Kyle Kendrick

Barring injury, all but the bottom 3 should are easy givens. I'm not a Romero fan at all, but he is a lefty, and the Phillies do not have many of those in The Pen. The same with Bastardo, who at times has shown flashes of brilliance. Plus I like Bastardo's potential. Romero has no more potential, though he is this team's top lefty, for whatever it is worth. His inconsistency is enough of a question mark for me that I won't call him an easy given, but if I were handicapping it, I would say 90% chance Romero makes it. The odds are much lesser for Bastardo, but I would tend to lean going with a 2nd lefty. Kyle Kendrick in case a game goes to extra innings or a starter is pulled early for whatever reason. He's by no means a great pitcher, but at least he can save a bullpen (and a starter) by going 3-4 innings without much of a problem. Plus he is one of the better athletes on the pitching staff and if need be, can take an AB without looking lost at the plate.

Notable absentees: Danys Baez, Vance Worley, David Herndon

If there is going to be a swap, I think it is Baez over Bastardo. I despise Baez. I think he is a terrible pitcher who makes Ryan Howard's ridiculous contract extension look like a good deal, but I think Charlie realizes Baez is terrible as well. The usage of him in the past few months has dropped dramatically. Tough call, but I don't think Baez has done enough to make the cut. Some people argue that Vance Worley should be the Phillies 5th starter. In the future, maybe, but for a guy whose minor league numbers are equitable to Kendrick's major league numbers, I don't see how he fits on the roster. Rule 5 draft pick David Herndon has had an up and down year and has been a long man for Charlie throughout the year (best example of this: Scott Barry and l'Affaire d'Astro), but given that Kendrick will likely be the long man (or if Charlie needs someone early in the NLDS, you could probably even bring in Blanton), Herndon, like Worley, loses his place on the roster.

So that's what I think? Any agreements? Disagreements? Again, the guys who will be argued are the guys who won't see a ton of playing time and will most likely come off the bench or the bullpen, but it is still a fun discussion to have. As always, feel free to chime in in the comments.