Phillies Fly West

Juan Pierre is batting .350 on the young season

So we are 1/16th into the 2012 season. The Phillies just finished their first home stand of the young season by going 3-3. Two wins against the Miami Marlins and only one win against the New York Mets. While this team has struggled this young season starting off with a 4-5 record. At times I see some serious life from a team with alot of "role players" that need to carry the load. Sometimes when I see this team "run" on the base paths I see alot of promise, but when it appears they are relying on their hitting to win them games, It does not work. I like the speed at the time of the line-up with Juan Pierre, Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins. That seems to really set the table for the middle of the line up (Pence and whoever is batting 5 and 6 on that day). The Phillies in my opinion and thats what this forum is for, I feel they need to continue with this. they can't rely on their bats to get them wins. Speed, speed and more speed really needs to be the main focus for this team to be successful at this time.

Jose Contraras is back from injury

So before the Phillies hit the road for the west coast the team made a roster move sending Joe Savery to Triple A, Lehigh Valley and activated pitcher Jose Contreras, and i gotta say I am excited. I for one am not a Joe Savery fan and think he is not even close to what the Phillies need in their bullpen. Granted there are a few guys in that pen that I am not a fan of. Also this week the Phillies signed Infielder Mike Fontenot to a minor league deal. At 31 years old Fontenot brings a little more depth for a team that lacks just that. A .263 career hitter with 26 Home Runs and 158 RBI in his 6 major league seasons with both the Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact he may or may not have for the Phillies at some point this season. I guess time will tell. 

So the Phillies are embarking on a 10 game 10 day road trip that will begin in San Francisco against the Giants, and what a way to start off a big road trip with Roy Halladay pitching for the Phillies and Tim Lincecum for the Giants. This one should be a good one. After three days by the bay the Phillies will head south to San Diego for a four game weekend series with the Padres. After that they will move on to the desert for three games against the Diamondbacks. (Side note, 16 of the next 20 games are on the road) This road trip will be a big test for the Phillies who really need to come away from this with a winning record. If they can come home to Philadelphia at .500 or better in the standings that will be a successful trip. If not, alot of questions will have to be answered. 

Willie Mays Statue outside AT&T Park in San Francisco, the
Phillies first stop on their 10 game road trip

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