Week in Review: 2/7 – 2/13

Welcome to baseball season, Nation.

It brings goosebumps to your skin. Baseball is here.

By Todd Zolecki’s count there are 33 pitchers and catchers in camp, all ready to go yesterday. The only pitcher not quite there is Antonio Bastardo who is still feeling discomfort in his elbow coming out of the winter league.

While the Phillies will be welcoming players to Clearwater all this week, we here at Phillies Nation have also welcomed in a fresh face. Dash Treyhorn joins the PN team and is sure to bring charm and his statistic superiority  to the site. I mean, they do go hand in hand. Treyhorn, according to his twitter page, is a sports junkie and fedora enthusiast. For those of you who might be thinking his name sounds familiar, you are right! Dash was a regular contributer for The Fightins before it unexpectedly vanished; similar to the Met’s postseason hopes. Welcome Dash!

We finally made into the Top 10 Moments of 2010.  Can you guess what number one will be?  There have been so many moments from this past season that really stand out and it was tough enough trying to find just 25 to feature.  These next top ten are moments that helped shape this Phillies team for 2010.  It’s been a long offseason so if you missed any of the Top Moments don’t worry we keep everything.  Read through all of them at Phillies Nation.

As many of you are life long Phillies fans and much older than me, I am sure you remember the teams of the 70’s and 80’s and how good they were. But are we in a time now where we are seeing the best Phillies team ever? Michael Baumann goes back and breaks down the numbers to see how this Phillies team of the 2000’s matches up against some of the older Phillies teams.

We have also broken into the Top 10 for Prospect Nation. This week we took a look at Tyson Gillies, Jesse Biddle, and Austin Hyatt. All three of these guys are super talented and trying to put their mark on Phillies baseball. With the way the big league club is shaping up right now, these are names you need to remember. There aren’t many holes on the Phillies team so it doesn’t look like they will be shipping out prospects like past years. Keep an eye on all our top guys at Prospect Nation.

This week, the Phillies kicked the tires on Michael Young for what Ruben Amaro Jr loves to call ‘due diligence.’ The Phillies really don’t need Young or his $48 million over the next three years. Defensively, Young is not an upgrade over Placido Polanco and unless Philly could move Joe Blanton and a prospect or two (not going to happen) then this talk was just that, a talk.

Yes, we still have Joe Blanton and according to Amaro he is the Phillies number five starter. There is no competition for that spot. Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley will continue to be stretched out as a starting pitcher but both guys will be competing for a bull pen spot with opportunities to fill in as a spot starter.

Coverage of Spring Training is going to be coming fast and heavy this week from all angles. Look for our new post around 12:45, as we’ll direct you to the starters press conference here on Phillies Nation, which begins at 1:30.

Do not stray too far from Phillies Nation, we will have it all for you! A very special Valentine’s Day from everyone here at Phillies Nation.