Phillies at the Halfway Mark

Phillies' second half loaded with potential

Jayson Werth was the first to say it. "We're a second-half team," the Phillies outfielder said last week. The statistics back him up. Last year, the Phillies were 44-44 heading into the All-Star break. They hit .269, and had a 4.91 team ERA.

The TrekMedic's take on the Fightin' Phils:

Let's go by position numbers:

1 - Starting Rotation:

• Hamels - Everything we've expected from him. Clearly, the team's ace.
• Myers - Victim of reliever adrenaline intoxication. Maybe his stint in the minors cleared his head.
• Kendrick - sophomore slump? What sophomore slump?
• Eaton - Go away. Please. Very soon.
  
• Moyer - Old Guys Rule! 'Nuff said.

2 - Catchers:

• Ruiz - Great defensive catcher. Needs to stop being so insecure about his job and just play the game
• Coste - See Moyer comment.

3 - First Base:

• Ryan Howard - OK,..we KNOW he's a cold bat in April. Will the sportwriters PLEASE give him a break. Anyone who bats .220 and puts up his kind of numbers deserves special consideration. Now, about his glove play,...well,..no MVP this year, Ryan,

4 - Second Base:

• Chase Utley - Putting up MVP-style numbers. But will anti-Phillies sentiment and that foul mouth of his cost us the infield trifecta?

5 - Third Base:

• Pedro Feliz - Everything we expected from him when we singed him up. Then again, anything would be an improvement over Wes "Prince Valium"Helms.
• Greg Dobbs - Great bench guy, holds down the fort, needs a stronger arm, though.

6 - Shortstop:

• Jimmy Rollins - seems a little off from last year's MVP season. Still better than 99% of the shortstops in the majors.
• Eric Bruntlett - filled in admirably for J-Roll when he was hurt. A solid player from the bench.

7 - Right Field:

• Jayson Werth - almost makes you forget about Aaron Rowand. Almost.
• Geoff Jenkins - sometimes makes you forget about Aaron Rowand. Sometimes makes you glad we have Jayson Werth.

8 - Centerfield:

• Shane Victorino - he's "The Flyin' Hawaiian" for a reason, folks.

9 - Left Field:

• Pat Burrell - Damn! We should have dangled a contract extension in front of him years ago. Imagine the pennants we've probably lost because of it? /snark

And,..the bullpen:

• Clay Condrey and Chad Durbin - solid, long-inning men. They've kept us in games that should've been blowouts.
• JD Romero - still a great set-up guy. Needs to get his temper to work FOR him, not against him.
• Ryan Madson - solid relief work. We may never see him live up to his full potential, though
• Tom "Flush" Gordon - why are you still here??
• Brad Lidge - "Lights Out" is right. And worth that 3-year deal. And,...he doesn't have a mouth like that a**hole up there at Shea.

And So Taguchi....?

So?

The TrekMedic's prediction? 90 wins and see you in October!