Does improved staff make Phillies the Team to Beat in NL?

Written by Mike Mariano | 04 September 2009

Last night Pedro went a near flawless 7 innings and outdueled Tim Lincecum who dominates much of the Majors, especially the Phillies when he comes to town.  Before that, Cole Hamels has had back-to-back starts of dominance.  Cliff Lee has been tremendous in his time as a Phillie.  J.A. Haap has had a very, very good year as a rookie and has blossomed as a starter.  Joe Blanton has been more than solid from the start of the season until now.  Brad Lidge is... getting there.  So with an actual pitching staff and bullpen in tact, are the Phillies the team to beat in the NL?

As defending World F. Champs, the Phillies automatically the team to beat but that doesn't necessarily make them the the best team in the entire league.  However, on this particluar team there is no shortage of offense.  There is no shortage of defense either.  The only question mark is the pitching and things are looking great lately.  Everybody is firing on all cylinders and as a whole it makes the Phillies extremely tough to beat.  The reason the Phillies won the World Series in '08 was directly resultant in an overachieving pitching staff from the starters to the relievers.  And by overachievers I mean better than popular opinion suggested.  If the staff can put it together again this year and really approve that they are that talented than the Phillies will make another serious run the World Series title.

Pedro's start last night cemented the fact that the Phillies aren't a one and done team.  That's not to say that they'll absolutely win this World Series, but they will make it a dangerous road for anytime team trying to get past them.