Spring Training Week in Review: 3/11/2010 - 3/18/2010

The second week of Spring Training has ended. All in all, there really isn't much to complain about. The pitching staff continues to shutdown opponents and most Phillies are swinging the bat very well. Keep reading as I go into more detail.

Placido Polanco- Polanco injured his knee while attempting to field a fly ball, the injury does not seem to be serious and Polanco is expected back in the Lineup as early as Friday.

Brad Lidge- Lidge threw one inning in a Double A game Thursday. He says he felt great health wise but obviously needs to build up arm strength. Lidge threw 16 pitches(most being fastballs), allowing three hits and one run. While it doesn't sound too hot, he is still building arm strength, is coming off multiple surgeries, and the majority of his 16 pitches were fastballs.com

Ryan Howard- The big piece hit his first homer of the Spring this week... well homer might be an understatement. Howard's first homer of the Spring was a two-run bomb that nearly went completely out of Bright House Field. It was to deep right of Tiger's ace Justin Verlander. Howard has also hit the ball to left multiple times while the shift was on. One example was a pitch by Andy Petitte, Howard fought a tough pitch off and hit it in between the hole at shortstop-second base for an RBI.

Raul Ibanez- Ibanez seems to be struggling with the timing of his swing and his average for the Spring is at a very low .143. However, with two weeks of Spring Training left it's not quite time to be too concerned yet.

Domonic Brown- Brown opened many eyes when the Phillies faced off against the Tiger's at Bright House Field. He worked a nine pitch at bat against Justin Verlander and then crushed a ball clear out of Bright House Field onto Route 19. Brown then was credited for another home run in which a fan interefered, he still would have been credited with an RBI as there was a runner on 2nd. Brown also showed off his speed when he got a bases loaded infield hit. Brown has been sent to minor league camp and will be getting more playing time.

Starting Rotation- The rotation continues to be excellent, unless you count Jamie Moyer. Moyer got hit around giving up 5 runs in 3 innings. Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, J.A Happ, and Kyle Kendrick continue to shut down the opposistion. The five starters have combined for 27 innings allowing only 3 runs(two off Blanton, one off Halladay, and one unearned run off Hamels) in Grape Fruit League games. Due to the day off on Thursday, J.A Happ pitched five innings of two run ball in a Triple-A game.

Antonio Bastardo, Sergio Escalona, and David Herndon- Bastardo seems to be pitching better than Sergio Escalona for the left specialist job. Bastardo did however give up 4 runs (3 earned) in one outing which could have been avoided if he properly fielded the back end of a double play. Sergio Escalona has pitched 2 innings allowing 4 hits, 3 runs and 3 walks. Herndon continues to pitch shutout ball throwing another 3 innings allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk. In my opinion, the job for the lefty specialist between Bastardo and Escalona could go either way, it just depends on who pitches better between now and the end of Spring Training. I'd also like to see Herndon pitch earlier(so he see's less minor leaguers) in a Spring game and possibly grab a bullpen spot if he continues to pitch well.

Bullpen- Not counting Brad Lidge or players attempting to make the team, the bullpen has pitched 10 scoreless innings. 3 innings by Durbin, 2 innings by Madson, 2 innings by Baez(also saved a game), and 3 innings by Contreras.

Other Notes- Jayson Werth is beginning to swing the bat well, his latest game included 2 hits and 3 RBI. Jimmy Rollins is picking up the pace collecting 3 hits and 3 runs in his last two games. Chase Utley has an upper respiratory infection but is not expected to be out for a long and could possibly be in the lineup in the coming days. The bench is handling the bat pretty well, Gregg Dobbs, Ross Gload, Brian Schneider, and Juan Castro are performing well offensively and defensively.

Grade of the Week: A Yet again, I give the Phillies an A for the second week of Spring Training.