Phillies Spring Training Talk

[SD_Eagle5]

Anyone else going opening day? My Uncle bought some standing room only tickets off eBay and I'll probably go.

[MDS]

is it sold out already?

[SD_Eagle5]

I think so, I tried getting 2 decent tickets but their official site is saying there are none available.

[MDS]

oh. maybe ill try some game of day standing room if the weather is good and i dont have a test or something. not sure if that will be there, though.

[ice grillin you]

ill be up in the piece opening day...got four tickets the day they went on sale...

also just got tickets to the mets series up in ny in july

[MDS]

word on the street is david bells back is awfully crappy, so bad that he wont be ready for opening day.

also, abraham nunez has impressed uncle cholly so much so that he is set to hit 2nd, thats right, over new golden boy aaron rowand.

the lineup appears to go: rollins/nunez/abreu/utley/burrell/howard/rowand/lieberthal

i love the fact that we could 40 homers from the 6th hitter, and love it more that hes not hitting higher in the lineup.

[Rome]

He's batting Rowand 7th to protect Howard, MDS.  Rowand is a good hitter.  It will take some time for him to get accustomed to NL pitching but he'll be fine batting seventh.

BTW: I prefer Utley batting 3rd, Burrell 4th and Abreu 5th.

[MDS]

I prefer Abreu 2nd, Utley, Burrell, Howard, Rowand. Get the same "protection" for Howard and let the big boys get some for at bats with the mediocre but better than bell abraham nunez in there.

[Geowhizzer]

He's batting Rowand 7th to protect Howard, MDS.  Rowand is a good hitter.  It will take some time for him to get accustomed to NL pitching but he'll be fine batting seventh.

BTW: I prefer Utley batting 3rd, Burrell 4th and Abreu 5th.

I agree with your 3-4-5.  I'd still like:

1.  Rowand
2.  Rollins
3.  Utley
4.  Burrell
5.  Abreu
6.  Howard
7.  Nunez
8.  Lieberthal
9.  Pitcher

[rjs246]

Doesn't Abreu consistantly have the highest OBP on the team? And you guys want him batting 5th? I think caring about baseball is making you all soft in the noggin.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Doesn't Abreu consistantly have the highest OBP on the team? And you guys want him batting 5th? I think caring about baseball is making you all soft in the noggin.

Don't forget that Abreu doesn't hustle at all, sucks in the clutch, and is a crappy fielder (despite the golden glove).

I'm just saying what I always hear.  Not what I believe.  I don't care enough to find out which is closer to the truth, but I have some hunches in that regard.

[Rome]

Abreu Batting 5th between Burrell & Howard would mean protection for Burrell and more RBI opportunities for Howard.

My lineup:

1. Rollins
2. Nunez
3. Utley
4. Burrell
5. Abreu
6. Howard
7. Rowand
8. Sal Fasano   
9. Belly Itcher

[rjs246]

So protection for Burrell and more RBIs for Howard outweigh the importance of having someone who gets to bat more often, on base more often? You KNOW that Rollins won't be getting on base as much as you'd like. But you know, Phillies fans are used to 3-up 3-down first innings so why change that now?

[PhillyPhreak54]

1. Rollins
2. Nunez
3. Abreu
4. Burrell
5. Utley
6. Howard
7. Rowand
8. Lieby / Fasano / random fan who hits better than Mike Lieberthal

I have Utley at 5 because of his ability to drive in runs and not K as much as Patty. If the ABreu is on base and so is Rollins/Nunez and Burrell K's then Utley picks 'em up. Plus Howard gives protection to Utley. You either try to get Utley out with 1-2 guys on or you deal with Howard and the bases loaded.

[Rome]

How many at-bats would Abreu lose out on batting fifth instead of third?  Not many over the course of a season.

The benefits of batting him fifth between Burrell & Howard far outweigh the handful of at-bats he'd miss out on, plus it would put him in a less pressurized position in terms of having to deliver in crucial situations.

I'm not an Abreu-hater as much as some others but in all honesty he certainly comes up short in pressure situations more often than not.