Major League Baseball

Three reasons to watch the Phillies in 2015

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:34 p.m. ET

foxsports

Look, I’m not going to sugarcoat this thing. The Phillies, who finished last in 2014, are probably going to finish last this year. FanGraphs’ projections show the Phillies finishing 70-92, worst in the majors. Which of course manages to understate the case, considering the unlikelihood of Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee – more on them in a moment – combining for more than 30-odd starts.

The Phillies’ problem is simple: They don’t have enough good hitters. Also via FanGraphs we’ve got the Steamer projections, which suggest decently good seasons from Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz ... and then a whole lotta replacement-level baseball. With all due respect, when Cody Asche and Maikel Franco look like two of your better players, you’re probably in trouble.

But yes, I am going to sit at my desk with a completely straight face and recommend that yes, you should watch the Phillies this season. And not for the train-wreck reasons -- although if that’s your sort of thing, you sick bastard, I’m not going to tell you to look away -- but rather for these three good and wholesome reasons...

1. Saying our goodbyes?
They’re saying Cliff Lee’s hurt and might never be the same. They’re saying Cole Hamels is too good, too expensive for this rebuilding team, and needs to be traded.

It’s probably true, all of it. But we can still remember when these guys -- yeah, with a little help from this guy -- were anchoring one of the toughest rotations in living memory. Even if we’ve seen the best of Lee, and nearly the last of Hamels in a Phillies uniform, can’t we yet hope for a last glorious gasp or two? I don’t know about you, but I’m finding it difficult to take any pleasure from the demise of the dynasty, no matter how self-inflicted. So I’ll enjoy Lee and Hamels while I still can.

2. Oh, and they’re not the only ones ...
Thanks to various contract clauses, we can’t really say if Chase Utley will be gone after this season ... or if he’ll spend another four seasons with the Phillies. What we can say is that Utley, because of aging and injuries, is just a lesser simulacrum of his former, Hall of Fame-caliber self. Hey, he’s 36. These things happen. Utley’s still quite good, though. So if you did happen to miss his spectacular prime, it’s worth tuning in now for at least the occasional flash of greatness. Regardless of what he does next, Utley’s not actually going into the Hall someday. Most of his oh-so-valuable skills just weren’t obvious enough to the sporting press. We know, though. And we’re going to give Utley the farewell salute his performance deserves.

3. Relief heat
You need some relief from the Final Hurrah Tours? You and me both, brother. So how’s about some flame-throwing relief pitchers? If you’re mostly an American League guy, you might know about closer Jonathan Papelbon and not much else about the Phillies’ bullpen. But Papelbon’s (at best) the Phillies’ third-best relief pitcher, behind Ken Giles and the even less famous Jake Diekman. Among pitchers with at least 30 innings in the majors last season, Giles’ 97-miles-an-hour (average) fastball ranked second to only Aroldis Chapman, and Diekman’s 95.8 was ninth in the National League. Granted, the Reds and the Cardinals and the Mets all have similar tandems, so this isn’t a great reason to watch the Phillies ... but I swore to myself that I wouldn’t get into the train wrecks. So here we are, and I’m already wondering what I’ll write in this space a year from now.

Philadelphia Phillies
2014 record: 73-89
Playoffs: N/A
Projected 2015 record: 70-92*
Key additions: SP Aaron Harang, SP Chad Billingsley
Key subtractions: OF Marlon Byrd, SS Jimmy Rollins, LHP Antonio Bastardo, SP A.J. Burnett

*Projected records courtesy of Fangraphs