Philadelphia Phillies Set To Win Another World Series Title?

Hello Phillies fans, LETS GO 2009!!

Alright, whether others want to admit it or not. The other teams in our division didn't help themselves as much as they might have liked and I truly believe they came up short (unless of course if the Mets by some chance sign Manny Ramirez)!

The Mets just beefed up their bullpen which I didn't believe brought them over the edge. Their offense was inconsistent and the defense could have been better.

The Braves signed a couple of over-the-hill starting pitchers. One who could have had a better post season in the majors and one unproven commodity who comes over from Japan in his mid-30's!

In addition to both teams trying to improve, the Braves lost what could be a find to Boston in John Smoltz (who I believe is not done yet).

Johan Santana I believe is a bust. I know, how could he be a bust right? Well I agree he is a good pitcher, but the best left-hander in the National League East is by far Cole Hamels! By far he proved without a doubt that he is one of the very best pitchers in the majors by having the post season he had. Winning both the NLCS and World Series MVP.

Marlins and Nationals are still a few years away. Both are young teams and full of talent. They don't have the biggest of markets and tend to trade away a lot of their younger talent or allow them to walk because they don't want to pay what it takes to keep good or great players around. I feel you for you guys though, for a while we were the ones doing exactly the same thing!

The Phillies return all their starters from last year, minus Pat "The Bat" Burrell. Although he will be missed, even though he had a few up and down years. I believe he will be better off in Tampa as less time in the outfield will keep him fresh and healthy. I also believe the guy we got from Seattle is much better overall.

Ibanez brings a consistent higher batting average. Believably even though he is a left handed hitter, almost hit close to .300 against left-handers. He also has more speed in the outfield and a better glove. So yes, that is a very good improvement. I am not worried about the drop in production as far as home runs and rbis go.

Ibanez has averaged between 20-30 homers the past couple of years. At "The Bank", those numbers will either stay the same or improve. His rbi count these past couple of years average 105-110. We also added a few more pieces to our bullpen which was already THE BEST in the majors and anyone who argues that face is just plain...well let's not go there.

The Phillies not only are experienced but are also starting to build a pretty formidable minor league system. They have at least five pitchers who could start in this league next year no problem and that doesn't include Adam Eaton (lol).

End, Phillies make the World Series again as the best team in the NL. Do they win it, I really don't know...but it will sure be fun to watch!