-In what was clearly the biggest news of the offseason, the Phillies will be wearing their Powder Blue road uniforms on May 14th against the Brewers, as part of Milwaukee’s Retro Weekend. It’s a great idea. While Milwaukee won’t be wearing the awesome “ball in glove” logo, it will still be great to see the Phillies wearing the powder blue specials for a game. I’d love to see the maroon pinstripes make an appearance at Citizens Bank Park in the future.
-The Phillies signed Carlos Ruiz, Joe Blanton and Shane Victorino to three-year extensions, avoiding arbitration. Locking all three of them in for 3 years was a solid move by Ruben Amaro. Ruiz has turned into the catcher the Phillies thought he would and should hold the spot for the foreseeable future. Blanton is a solid middle of the rotation starter and has been excellent for the Phillies since coming over from Oakland. Victorino has quickly become one of the best players in the league and is going to provide great production out of the 7 spot in the batting order this season, with Placido Polanco slotted in at the 2 spot.
-The Fightins’ also signed pitchers Jose Contreras and Danys Baez. Contreras will most likely pitch out of the bullpen, but he’s going to be given a chance to grab the fifth spot in the rotation if Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick, or someone else can’t step up and grab the spot. Baez is another addition to the bullpen, which has been a major target in this offseason. These moves were most likely the last in the bullpen, as Amaro said he would like to see the youngsters like Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Esxalona take the remaining spots.
While it’s pretty a somewhat slow offseason since the Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee trades, the news should start to ramp up in the next few weeks, as pitchers & catchers are scheduled to report to Clearwater in two weeks.
A few Phillies have even gotten a head start on the season. Halladay has already been showing up for 7 AM workouts to prepare for his first season with the Phils. It’s only a short drive from his offseason home, but that’s still just a sign of how dedicated Roy is going to be this year. I can’t wait to see him pitch. Ryan Howard has also gotten an early start, after seeing what it did for him last season. He was much better with the glove last season and can only get better the more he works on it.
With the 2010 season set to kick off in a few weeks, excitement is building in Philly. Can our Phillies, the professional franchise with the most losses in history, win a third straight National League pennant? I never thought I’d see the day in which I could write those words. With Roy Halladay and Placido Polanco added to the 2009 NL Champs, I’d say the chances are high for a run towards the NL pennant.
With pitchers and catchers reporting on Feb. 17th, the 2010 season is quickly approaching. It sure is great to be a Phillies’ fan.
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