Philadelphia Phillies

There won't be any beer served at Citizens Bank Park the rest of the season.

Why?

Because the Phillies lost the Opener.  (ba dum bum)

It's one of my father's favorite jokes.  And sadly, it comes out more often than not this time of year.

Whether it's a Punxatawny Phil-like projection of what's to come remains to be seen.  However, it should be noted that historically, Aprils have not been kind to the Fightin's. 

Yes, opening day is once again upon us, which means another group of 25 men have been assembled from the various nooks and crannies of our country. 

These men grew up places like California, St. Louis, Hawaii, and Florida.  All of them away from the passion, and love of a place like Philadelphia.

Some spent the year here last year, bringing a starving city a world championship.  Some have been added to increase the club’s chances of winning another. 

With new stadiums come the firsts. The first strikeout thrown, the first strikeout victim hurt, the first home run hit, and the first win, loss, and save completed.

We can add a new one to that list, first Phillies fan thrown out. It may just be a dubious honor. But for a Phillies fan you should hold it with honor and pride.

The Phillies concluded their spring schedule the same way they started it: with a loss.

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Phillies this afternoon by a score of 9-7 in a game that was affected very much by strong winds.

Cole Hamels got the start for the Phils and struggled from the outset. He was charged with six earned runs on six hits in five innings of work.

It's easy to argue that the National League East has the most pitching depth of any division in baseball.

From two of the best individual pitchers in the game residing in Philly and New York to Atlanta's deep group, the East features a variety of staff designs and clearly outclasses the rest of MLB.

The real question is: Which of the five teams in the division is the best?

I will go in-depth to determine that which I believe to be the best.

Good: New York Mets

Grades

Now, I think it’s time to put some of these projections into play across the entire National League East, to give a better feel for just what the Phillies may—or may not—be up against in the NL’s toughest division this year.

To keep things consolidated, I’ll be using PECOTA Value Over Replacement Player (VORP) projections, as provided by Baseball Prospectus.

Starting Rotation

The Philadelphia Phillies have reached out to the Texas Rangers for a possible trade involving Andruw Jones, according to a few online sources and Chris DiFrancesco, a fellow Bleacher Report writer.

This comes just a day after the news of Geoff Jenkins' release from the Phillies.

Gary Sheffield was also released yesterday from Detroit. Hours after his release, news broke that the Phillies had been in contact with Sheffield's agent.

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Note: The lineups and rotation order are done by my discretion. The projected lineups are done the way I would have them if I was the team's manager.

ATLANTA BRAVES

LINEUP

1. Kelly Johnson 2B .287 12 HR 69 RBI

2. Yunel Escobar SS .288 10 HR 60 RBI

3. Chipper Jones 3B .364 22 HR 75 RBI

4. Brian McCann C .301 23 HR 87 RBI

5. Casey Kotchman 1B .272 14 HR 74 RBI

6. Garret Anderson LF .293 15 HR 84 RBI

7. Jeff Francoeur RF .239 11 HR 71 RBI

8. Gregor Blanco CF .251 1 HR 38 RBI

9. PITCHER

On Tuesday, March 31, the Phillies parted ways with veteran outfielder Geoff Jenkins, an underproducing hitter who wasn't worth the eight million dollars he commanded in 2008.