PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Starting Lineup
SS Jimmy Rollins: production dropped greatly in HR's, 3B's, and RBI's but he's still the best player on the best team in baseball
CF Shane Victorino: the switch-hitter has developed into a very solid all-around player and teams with Rollins to set the stage for Utley and Howard
2B Chase Utley: has quickly become one of the elite hitters in baseball; recovering from hip surgery and is questionable to be ready by opening day UPDATE 3/20 - barring a setback, he'll be on the opening day roster
1B Ryan Howard: had the lowest BA of his career (.251) and struck out 199 times for the second straight season but his 48 HR's during the regular season and 3 HR's and 6 RBI's in the WS more than make up for that
LF Raul Ibanez: big offseason acquisition replaces the productive Pat Burrell (33 HR, 86 RBI's), although Ibanez has averaged 22 HR's over the last seven seasons and is a career .286 batter
RF Jayson Werth: had his first 20-20 season at age 29 and is guaranteed a starting job going into the season for the first time in his career
3B Pedro Feliz: a liability offensively, with a career OBP of .290, but he's solid defensively and was 6-for-18 in the WS UPDATE 3/20 - barring a setback, he'll also be on the opening day roster
C Carlos Ruiz: like Feliz, he is an offensive liability and could be pushed by newly-acquired Ronny Paulino

Bench
C Chris Coste: solid veteran backup is likely out of a job with the acquisition of Paulino UPDATE 3/4 - injury is further hurting his chances UPDATE 3/25 - apparently has secured the backup job despite a poor spring
IF Greg Dobbs: has batted .284 with 19 HR's and 95 RBI's in two seasons with Philly
IF Eric Bruntlett: had 2 HR's in 212 regular season AB's and 1 HR in 3 World Series AB's; could be in line to start the season at 2B if Utley isn't ready
UTL Miguel Cairo: the list of candidates continues to grow for a bench job that may not even be open if Utley is OK to start the season UPDATE 3/24 - if the Phils go with an 11-man rotation, Cairo is a likely candidate for the opening day roster UPDATE 3/31 - the release of Geoff Jenkins opens up a spot on the bench for Cairo although the team could be interested in Gary Sheffield
OF Matt Stairs: batted once in the NLCS and he hit a two-run HR; good guy to have coming off the bench UPDATE 3/12 -battling with Giles, Mayberry, and Donald for the last bench job

Starting Rotation
RHP Brett Myers: sent to the minors after a poor start but came on strong down the stretch (7-4, 3.06 ERA in the 2nd half) and into the postseason UPDATE 3/31 - named the team's opening day starter
LHP Jamie Moyer: he'll keep pitching at age 46; he wasn't bad at age 45, going 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA during the regular season
RHP Joe Blanton: including the postseason, the mid-season acquisition from Oakland was 6-0 with a 4.00 ERA with the Phils
LHP Cole Hamels: established himself as one of the premier pitchers in the game in 2008 UPDATE 3/17 - despite an MRI showing no structural damage in his left elbow, Hamels is questionable for opening day UPDATE 3/24 - unlikely to be ready for opening day but is a possibility for the fourth game of the season
RHP Chan Ho Park: signed to be the team's #5 starter; was very effective as a reliever for the Dodgers in '08 but also had a 2.16 ERA in five starts UPDATE 3/2 - click here for more on the #5 starter competition UPDATE 3/31 - officially named the team's #5 starter

Bullpen
RHP Brad Lidge: call him "Mr. Perfect"; saved 48 games in 48 opportunities, including the postseason
RHP Ryan Madson: emerged as the #1 setup man for closer Lidge with a 3.05 ERA in 76 appearances
RHP Chad Durbin: stepped up big-time with a 2.87 ERA in 71 appearances for the champs
LHP Scott Eyre: had a 1.88 ERA in 19 games for the Phils after being acquired from the Cubs in August
RHP Clay Condrey: a 3.26 ERA in 56 games gives him the edge for a bullpen spot in 2009
LHP Jack Taschner: career ERA of 5.01 ERA doesn't help his chances in a much-improved Giants bullpen but his experience gives him an edge over some of the younger competitors UPDATE 3/27 - acquired from the Giants, he'll help to fill the void left by J.C. Romero's 50-game suspension
LHP J.A. Happ: pitched well in 4 regular season starts; has a good chance to earn a bullpen spot UPDATE 3/27 - the Taschner acquisition makes it likely he'll start in AAA unless he beats out Park for the #5 spot in the rotation UPDATE 3/31 - lost out to Chan Ho Park to be the team's #5 starter but he is still competing for one of the last two bullpen spots UPDATE 4/3 - has made the team as a reliever

In limbo
RHP Mike Koplove: UPDATE 3/23 - has pitched 5.1 scoreless innings this spring; has a chance to make the opening roster if the Phils start the season with seven relievers UPDATE 3/30 - informed he wouldn't be making the team UPDATE 3/31 - will start the season in AAA
IF Pablo Ozuna: signed as a minor league free agent after tearing up the Dominican winter league, winning the batting title with a .390 BA UPDATE 3/30 - informed he wouldn't be making the team
RHP Gary Majewski: has not been the same pitcher since a 2006 injury that was discovered after a trade to the Reds UPDATE 3/23 - has allowed just 2 ER in 9 IP this spring UPDATE 3/24 - could win the final bullpen spot ... if there is a bullpen spot to win as the team might be leaning towards an 11-man rotation UPDATE 4/3 - lost out to Happ and Taschner; will be reassigned to the minors

suspended list
LHP J.C. Romero: has been one of the best lefty relievers around in 1 1/2 seasons with the Phils but will miss the first 50 games of the season because of a failed drug test

Traded
C Ronny Paulino: the fact that he's thrown out 31% of base stealers in his ML career and has shown more offensive ability should give him a good shot to take playing time away from Ruiz UPDATE 3/25 - according to Ken Rosenthal, Paulino is available with Coste securing the backup job UPDATE 3/27 - traded to the Giants

Reassigned to Minor League Camp
RHP Kyle Kendrick: has won 21 games in his first two ML seasons but he is the odd man out with his 5.49 ERA in '08; more likely to be used in long relief UPDATE 3/9 - David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News has some good insight on the battle for the last few bullpen spots UPDATE 3/11 - behind Happ and Park for the #5 spot in the rotation UPDATE 3/23 - optioned to minor league camp
RHP Dave Borkowski: UPDATE 3/23 - optioned to the minors despite allowing just two hits in five scoreless innings this spring
IF Jason Donald: the team could choose to take a look at one of its top infield prospects if Utley is not ready to start the season UPDATE 3/23 - optioned to the minors

Optioned to the minors
C Lou Marson: team's #3 prospect, according to BA, could be the starting catcher at some point in 2009 after some time in AAA UPDATE 3/23 - optioned to minor league camp
OF John Mayberry, Jr. UPDATE 3/6 - 25 year-old could make the team if the Phils decide that they want a right-handed bat off the bench UPDATE 3/30 - optioned to AAA
RHP Carlos Carrasco: team's top pitching prospect is probably in need of at least a half season at AAA before he's ready UPDATE 3/30 - optioned to AAA

Released
IF Marcus Giles: and once again, more insurance in case Utley isn't ready UPDATE 3/30 - released
OF Geoff Jenkins: playing time will decrease now that Ibanez and Werth are entrenched at the corner OF spots UPDATE 3/31 - released by the team

Returned to the Angels (Rule V)
RHP Robert Mosebach: the roster of the WS Champs will be tough to crack for this rule V draftee UPDATE 4/2 - Rule V pick returned to the Los Angeles Angels