The Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves Friday night 5-4 as they returned home from a road trip. The team won their second straight game and is actually beating some very good ball clubs. The Phillies took two out of three from the Pirates this week, who are the best team in baseball, and Cole Hamels had an excellent start. There is an excellent opportunity ahead for the Phils to move up in the standings by winning some games against the division leading Braves.
The Braves are not setting the world on fire, and are certainly not guaranteed to win the NL East. If the Phillies can put together a serious run here and possibly sweep the Braves we can assume that there is a chance that that they would become buyers at the upcoming trade deadline. If the Phillies were to sweep the Braves they would only stand 5.5 games behind the Braves which is not a difficult number to catch up too. This would put the Phils in a great position to really show that they are for real, and that they still have a shot at making the playoffs. The club would look to add bullpen help if they become buyers, as the bullpen has lost 15 games for the team. Perhaps the team would also look to add another outfielder who is better in the field compared to Delmon Young who has butchered the ball on defense. Adding one more legitimate bat could solve some problems for the Phils but this all depending on how things shake out the next couple of weeks.
On the other side of things if the Phillies drop the next two games to the Braves we are completely having a different conversation since the team would be 9.5 games behind the Braves. This would crush the signs of life the team as shown recently and would put the Phillies in stories everywhere as sellers at the deadline. If the team is nine or more games back of first going into the break it is almost certain that the team will be forced to go into selling mode and start bringing in some decent prospects to help the farm system grow.
The team could look to move Chase Utley to a contender, or even Carlos Ruiz since they are both on expiring contracts. Moving these players could help the Phillies bring in young prospects that will help make a difference in the future, but letting go of Utley would be nearly impossible for Ruben Amaro Jr. and especially the fans. Moving Utley would hurt but it may be the best option for the team if they are truly out of the race. Ideas such as moving Cliff Lee or Jonathan Papelbon seem farfetched as they are both key players to team’s future. These contracts would be hard to move, and both players have both stated that their goals are to win, and to win in Philadelphia.
This series with the Braves is going to be very interesting to watch as it could help contribute to the decision for the Phillies of weather to buy or sell. The Phillies have been incredibly inconsistent and have struggled to put together long stretches of good baseball. If the Phillies really want to make a push they have to take advantage of this series and pick up some games. While this series will not determine the Phillies season it defiantly can either help the Phils greatly or just bring even more disappointment to the team. Unfortunately the Phillies have given us nice spurts, but have never been able to put it all together. Will the Phillies put a solid stretch together before the all star break or just continue to disappoint and continue their inconsistent play? We will find out over the next few weeks heading in the all star break, and hopefully be buyers.
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