Philadelphia Phillies' Dog Days Are Over: Closing in on Full Strength

As May begins to wind down, so is the almost everlasting list of Phillies on the DL: Chase Utley, Brad Lidge, Domonic Brown, Roy Oswalt, Joe Blanton, J.C Romero, Jose Contreras, Carlos Ruiz and now Brian Schneider have all spent time on the DL.

Each and every player having a pivotal role in the overall success to this ball club. Don't worry, the end is near and so is the chance of any NL East team catching up with Philly's Finest.

Count it, nine starters were down and out for some point in this young season. It is not only an accomplishment, but downright amazing that the Phillies have the best record in baseball (25-12). Carlos Ruiz is back and still struggling at the plate, but he will come around.

Domonic Brown has been tearing up the minors, he is 19-for-53 .358 with 4 home runs. Brown's line is.358/.425/ 1.068. Wow, if he could produce similar numbers to these it could be the shock the Phillies lack luster offense needs. We just have to hope he bounces back from his jammed finger he recently suffered.

Joe Blanton won his first game of the season, finally. It wasn't pretty, but a W is a W. Personally, I think he will back on the DL sooner than later. It doesn't seem like that "impingement" in his elbow is getting any better. That is the least of their problems because Vance Worley is 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 16 innings pitched.

Also, Kyle Kendrick is 3-2 with a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings pitched. As Kyle matures he could develop into a good Major League pitcher. His sinker is great when he keeps it down and he makes batters hit into double plays on a regular basis. The key for Kyle is he must attack hitters and not rely on nibbling the strike zone, which often gets him into hitters' counts.

With Lidge and Contreras on the DL, Phillies have the highest save percentage in the big leagues (12-of-13, 92.3 percent). During this season, Madson will prove his worth as a closer. He has six saves in six opportunities and  soon enough the young arms will take over (Bastardo, Stutes). Finally we can shed Lidge's ridiculous contract, making him a memory here in Philadelphia. Thanks for one quality season and way too much indigestion. 

Roy Oswalt remains the biggest question mark. In his appearance in Clearwater, Ruiz was quoted saying Oswalt's fastball lacked any life. Is this because he doesn't want to bring it to a bunch of class-A minor leaguers, or is this a much more serious trend? He is scheduled to pitch next week in St. Louis. He has looked dominant most of the season other than his appearance in Arizona after finding out the tragic news about tornadoes touching down close to his family's home.

And now, what we in Phillies Nation have been waiting for all season, the return of Chase "You are the Man" Utley. The perennial all-star and tough-as-nails persona should be making his return to pinstripes before the month's end. As long as he has no setbacks, we might see him penciled into the three-hole sooner than later.

In his first game in Clearwater, Chase went 1-for-2 with a home run, walk and two runs scored in five innings of work. He also made strides in the field, moving to his right for an attempted double play. In last night's game in Clearwater, he went 2-for-4 with a double and played seven innings.

Not bad kid, not bad at all. Phillies fans want you back ASAP, but please make sure you are 100 percent because Philadelphia needs you in October. Because without Chase, Philadelphia will struggle to win a championship.  

Now this sounds like some run!

1) Jimmy Rollins SS

2) Placido Polanco 3B

3) Chase Utley 2B

4) Ryan Howard 1B

5) Shane Victorino CF

6) Domonic Brown RF

7) Raul Ibanez LF 

8) Carlos Ruiz C

How do you see the lineup evolving this season?