Philadelphia Phillies: How Does the 2011 Team Compare with the 2008 Champions?

In 2008, the Phillies broke their 28 year drought between World Series victories. The team, powered by big bats and a solid bullpen, proved that they were the best in baseball with several great memories to spare.

It is amazing what has changed in Philadelphia since then.

Then, Cole Hamels was the undisputed ace, and he went 14-10 with a 3.08 ERA. He was supported by 45-year-old Jamie Moyer who turned in a great year at 16-7 with an ERA of 3.71.

Besides these two, the rest of the starting rotation was somewhat less successful, but I don't want to be too harsh on them because they did bring home a world championship.

The point is that the starting rotation was not the centerpiece of this team.

Now in 2011, the starting rotation is the centerpiece of the team's success.

Coming into the season, Hamels was regarded by some as the third or maybe even the fourth best pitcher in the rotation behind Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and maybe Roy Oswalt. However, he is having a great year at 9-4 with a 2.71 ERA and is throwing incredibly well.

Halladay is looking like his usual dominant self, and Lee is coming off of his third consecutive shutout, so that speaks for itself. Obviously, the injury to Oswalt has put a dent into the power of the rotation, but this is still a much different and more successful rotation than was in place in 2008.

So how did the Phillies conquer Major League Baseball in 2008?

The same way they have played for the past few years—they hit the ball hard.

Ryan Howard led the way with 48 home runs and drove in 146 RBIs. Chase Utley hit .292 with 33 home runs and 104 RBIs.

Every regular starter except for Carlos Ruiz had over 10 home runs, but Ruiz shared a lot of his time with everybody's favorite Cinderella story Chris Coste who had nine home runs himself.

On the base paths, Jimmy Rollins stole 47 bases while Shane Victorino sniped 36 of his own. Jayson Werth hit hard and ran well as he posted 24 home runs and 20 stolen bases.

Do I really need to say a lot more?

This team knew how to hit the ball.

In 2011, the Phillies have been relatively average if not a little bit below average in terms of offense.

Not that average is necessarily a terrible thing especially when supported by exceptional pitching, but the Phillies have been one of the top offensive teams in baseball for the past few years in terms of runs scored, so it is kind of a different look for the offense.

We are almost at the halfway point of the season (80 games have been played), and the only hitter who has double-digit home runs is Ryan Howard at 16.

Part of the reason for this is that Chase Utley was injured, so his numbers are understandably lower since he has only played for part of the season.

However, the Phillies are batting .245 which is six points below the National League average.

They have only hit 66 home runs which is one below the National League average.

Again, average is not terrible when the pitching is doing really well, but an average offense seems unusual compared to what the Phillies have been accustomed to over the past couple of years.

So what does this say about the Phillies this year?

These are obviously two incredibly different teams despite having several of the same players. 2011 is definitely not 2008. However, only time will tell if this new blend of talent will be able to bring home the trophy like they did in 2008.