Phillies All-Decade Team

As the decade winds down, DirtyWudders takes a look back on the most successful decade in Phillies history. We put together a 25 man roster with players who had the best season of the decade at the position. Disagree with the choices? Well, that’s what the comment section is for.

Manager: Charlie Manuel ‘08

Batting Order:

1. SS. Jimmy Rollins ’07 (.296, 30 HR, 20 2B, 139 R, MVP, Gold Glove) – Jimmy did some talking in the preseason with his “Team to Beat” statement and all he did was win the NL MVP backing it up. Rollins became the first player in history to collect at least 200 hits, 30 homers, 20 triples and 25 steals in a season.


2. CF. Aaron Rowand ’07 (.309, 27 HR, 89 RBI, 107 R, Gold Glove) – He had only a short stint in Philadelphia but played a big part in changing the culture of the team. Most notably he decided to run through a wall instead of backing off to avoid the contact (Abreu/Lofton). Rowand had a great 2007 season, mostly hitting behind the heart of the order and also played a fantastic Center Field. The rest of the team after the jump.


3. 2B. Chase Utley ’06 (.309, 32 HR, 102 RBI, 131 R) – A model of consistency, DW could have picked any of the last 5 years as his best but we picked ’06 because of his career high's of 203 hits and 131 runs scored. No question, Chase Utley is the best second baseman in the game.


4. 1B. Ryan Howard ’06 (.313, 58 HR, 149 RBI, MVP) – You will be hard pressed to find anyone (clean) in the history of the game to put up numbers like these in a season. Ryan will have trouble hitting .313 again due to the shift teams use against him but he continues to drive runners in and is the premier power hitter in baseball.


5. 3B. Scott Rolen ’01 (.289, 25 HR, 107 RBI, Gold Glove) – Rolen was a star on the down teams of the decade. He really wasn’t cut out as a Philly guy. Played a great third base and always put up solid numbers. Claimed St. Louis was baseball heaven upon arrival and then baseball heaven got sick of him. Malcontent.


6. RF. Bobby Abreu ’01 (.289, 31 HR, 110 RBI, 118 R, 36 SB) – Pure numbers guy. His contract was traded to the Yankees in exchange for next to nothing and the Phillies immediately took off – finishing strong in ’06, before 3 straight playoff seasons. He was a guy who frustrated almost everyone during the season and then afterwards everyone wondered where those numbers came from.


7. LF. Pat Burrell ’02 (.282, 37 HR, 116 RBI, 96 R) – DW thought that this season was the beginning of something special. Although he had some great moments in Philadelphia – topped off by his lone ’08 World Series hit which came in Game 5 part two – Pat was a bit of a disappointment when considering the potential that he had. He always produced some solid power numbers and OBP.

8. C. Mike Lieberthal ’03 (.313, 13 HR, 81 RBI, 30 2B) – Although Lieby was an All-Star in ’00, he was more productive in ’03. Yeah, he was a rally killer towards the end of his career in Philly but the 2 time all star enjoyed a solid career in philadelphia.

Rotation:

1. Cole Hamels ’08 (14-10, 3.09, 227.1 IP, 196 K, 2 SHO) – Cole had an underrated regular season in ’08. He really should have won more games with the numbers that he put up. Of course no one will forget the way de dominated in the postseason.

2. Brett Myers ’05 (13-8, 3.72, 215.1 IP, 208 K, 2 CG) – Brett’s best season as a starter was his only that he reached 200 innings. It looked like he was on the verge of stardom.

3. Jamie Moyer ’08 (16-7, 3.71, 196.1 IP – 16 wins from a guy who was not expected to do much.

4. Randy Wolf ’02 (11-9, 3.20, 210.2, 172 K, 3 CG, 2SO) – Good numbers but couldn’t cash in on wins because of the mediocre team around him.

5. Vicente Padilla ’02 (14-11, 3.28, 206 IP, 1 CG SHO) – Another wasted solid season on the mediocre 80 win team. Drunk made the all-star team in ’02

Bullpen:

Swingman: J.A. Happ ’09 (12-4, 2.93, 166 IP, 119 K, 3 CG, 2 SHO) – Phenomenal rookie year deserves to be in the all-Decade rotation but Charlie was afraid Padilla would quit on the team if he was removed. Happ has pitched well in every role he has been put in. One wonders if he could have been used better in the '09 postseason.

Middle Reliever: Ryan Madson ’08 (3.05) – Developed into a top notch setup guy in the second half of ’08. His fastball came out of nowhere.

Middle Reliever: Rheal Cormier ’03 (8-0, 1.70) – Consistently inconsistent, Cormier had a very good ’03 campaign, sandwiched by a bunch of bad ones. ’07 Romero has an argument but he did not play the full season in Philadelphia.(DW expects some push back on this selection - Namesake always hated the Rheal Dheal)

Setup: (RH): Jose Mesa ’01 (2.34, 42 saves) – Joe Table is the all-time leader in saves for the Phillies (and I believe Indians) although he is often a punch line.

Setup: (LH): Billy Wagner ’05 (1.51, 38 saves): Little guy threw gas. He never really understood Philadelphia and in turn really fit Queens NY. Good pitcher but came up small in big games (like I said perfect fit in perfectly in Queens). Biggio’s homerun still scars me.

Closer: Brad Lidge ’08 (1.95, 41 saves): The glue that held the ’08 team together. Perfect Season. We will not bring up his ’09 campaign and hope to soon forget it.

Bench:

Pinch Hitter: Greg Dobbs ’08 (.301, 9HR) – One of the best pinch hitting seasons in memory. He was a weapon the '09 team lacked.

1B: Jim Thome ’03 (.266, 47 HR, 131 RBI) – The Horse was clutch. Single-handedly carried some of the Bowa teams to the verge of the playoffs. Could not get over the hump.

Utility: Placido Polanco ’04 (.298, 17 HR, 74 R) – Kept the seat warm for Utley to take over. DW still wonders why David Bell got the nod over him at 3rd. Traded to Detroit for Ugie!

Corner OF: Jayson Werth ’09 (..268, 36 HR, 99 RBI, 98 R) – Arguably the MVP of the ’09 Phillies. Was a bit of a question mark going in but really solidified himself as good player.

OF: Shane Victorino ’09 (.292, 102 R, 39 2B) – The current Phillies sparkplug does a little bit of everything.

Ok, well that is 24 guys. Who should be the 25th?

Would this be your Team? How would yours be different? How do they stack up against past Phillies All-Decade teams? Other current powerhouse teams like Boston and New York? Discuss. Rip. Have at it.

DW