With Spring Training underway for the Phillies, there\u2019s been quite a bit of talk on what are the BIG things to be concerned about: the health of Roy Halladay and Chase Utley, the recovery of Ryan Howard, the starting lineup, et al. Unfortunately, though, for die-hard fans who watch all the reports out of Clearwater daily hoping for some news on these developments, the answers (unless resoundingly negative) probably won\u2019t be revealed until the last week of camp, at the very earliest. Therefore, here\u2019s a few \u201cother things\u201d you can focus on during the pre-season that might have a large bearing on the overall success or failure of the 2013 Phillies.<\/p>\n
1. LATE-INNING DEFENSE.<\/strong> There\u2019s also Michael Young\u2019s \u201cD,\u201d which, undoubtedly, will be a step back from former multiple Gold Glove winner Placido Polanco, which means Freddy Galvis\u2019 learning a new position for the second straight spring becomes another key to watch as he looks to provide late-inning insurance at third base.<\/p>\n 2. THE YOUNG RELIEVERS.<\/strong> 3. THE BENCH.<\/strong> What concerns you most about the Phillies, and what \u201cplan B\u201d players are you focusing in on? Post a comment here and email us at RCNSportsTalk@rcn.com and we\u2019ll discuss it on our upcoming shows, live on Thursdays at 6pm on RCN-TV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Phils Spring Training\u2019s \u201cOther Things\u201d With Spring Training underway for the Phillies, there\u2019s been quite a bit of talk on what are the BIG things to be concerned about: the health of Roy Halladay and Chase Utley, the recovery of Ryan Howard, the starting lineup, et al. Unfortunately, though, for die-hard fans who watch all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[96,142,302,352,392,421,463,468,499],"class_list":["post-23831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop","tag-chase-utley","tag-darin-ruff","tag-laynce-nix","tag-mike-stutes","tag-opening-day","tag-phillies","tag-roy-halladay","tag-ryan-howard","tag-spring-training"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nWhile this isn\u2019t as sexy as who\u2019s leading off or who\u2019ll bat behind Howard, the Phils figure to play in a bunch of close games again this season, and improving on protecting those late inning leads will be key. Last year, the Phightins\u2019 were 13th in the league in defense, and you could argue that they took a step back from last year\u2019s squad in that regard. Assuming Delmon Young is healthy for Opening Day, Ruben Amaro, Jr. had said after signing Young that he felt he would be serviceable in right field. But \u201cserviceable\u201d may not cut it defensively, especially given the age and declining range of a number of other positions. Left field also could be a black hole of bloop-hits and singles-misplaced-into-extra-base-hits given the proven lack of defense in Laynce Nix, the unproven and unknown commodity of first baseman-turned-outfielder Darin Ruff, and the proven magical mystery ability that Dom Brown displayed frequently in chasing down balls in the gap. Ben Revere will need more than a speedy horse to cover all that extra open terrain, and while there\u2019s always \u201cdefensive replacement options,\u201d those might not always be available. Assuming John Mayberry, Jr. isn\u2019t used as a pinch-hitter, he can replace one spot, but your other \u201cbest defensive option\u201d is probably Rule 5 pick Ender Inciarte, who, because of a numbers crunch in the outfield, isn\u2019t even likely to stay on the team, barring injuries.<\/p>\n
\nEveryone agrees that the bullpen is much more fortified than a year ago, and I agree. But how much improved is the big question. Last year in front of Jonathan Papelbon, the Phils had the oft-injured Jose Contreras and the low-risk, high-reward Chad Qualls, who signed for just over $1 million on a one year deal. This year, the Phils have a younger and more pedigreed Mike Adams, who is also coming off an injury and may not be ready for Opening Day. In Chad Durbin, they have a former pitcher they let go, who passed through three other cities, and who signed a Qualls-like contract for just over a million dollars, later in the off-season than did Qualls. Any delay in Adams return and a hiccup by Durbin and the Phils must resort to the same options they had a year ago, in Antonio Bastardo, Mike Stutes (who\u2019s also coming off an injury), B. J. Rosenberg and Co. as the primary setup men. Granted, these pitchers have an extra year of maturity under their belt and were starting to improve as the 2012 season waned, but their continued progress this spring could go a long way in seeing if the team has in fact improved on one of its biggest weaknesses from a year ago.<\/p>\n
\nThis time last year, the Phillies were looking at Jim Thome and Nix as your left-handed power options, off the pine and the proven bat (but no defense) of Ty Wiggington and Mayberry, Jr., who impressed everyone with a solid 2nd half of 2011, as their right-handed options. Assuming\u2014and there\u2019s some major questions here\u2014that Young, Brown & Ruff are your everyday options in the corner outfield, you have Nix (coming off an injured year) and Mayberry, coming off a very lackluster performance, as your main options, which is certainly a step back. If D. Young isn\u2019t ready to go, and either Brown or Ruff lacks the ability to show that he can play every day and gets shipped back to the minors (a succinct possibility, especially in the case of Mr. Ruff), you now have to use Mayberry and perhaps even Nix in regular roles. This is not just a cataclysmic disaster offensively, but it leaves you with \u2026 gulp, Freddy Galvis, Kevin Frandsen and\/or Pete Orr as your late-inning power guys? Clearly, some of these corner outfielders HAVE to step-up to avoid the doomsday scenario listed here, but it\u2019s something you definitely have to keep your eyes on as spring training unfolds.<\/p>\n