April Powers

You can’t win the pennant in April, but you can lose it. So says the old baseball adage. Given their notoriously slow starts over the last couple of seasons, the Phillies are a personification of that statement. Witness:

April 2004: 10-11 (.476); Finished 86-76 (.531), missed the playoffs
April 2005: 10-14 (.417); Finished 88-74 (.543), missed the playoffs
April 2006: 10-14 (.417); Finished 85-77 (.525), missed the playoffs
April 2007: 11-14 (.440); Finished 89-73 (.549), won the NL East courtesy of the Mets and their colossal gag job down the stretch

So at 15-13 as the calendar turns to May, the Phillies have to be encouraged that they aren’t already behind the eight ball, especially considering reigning NL MVP Jimmy Rollins has missed a majority of the season with an ankle injury and former MVP Ryan Howard’s batting average looks more like my blood alcohol level in college.

In fact, the Phillies open May only a half game out of first behind the surging Florida Marlins (no, seriously). Here are five key contributors to the Phillies early-season success.

Chase Utley – On pace to be the third Phillie in the last three years to win the MVP, Utley had one of the best offensive months for a second baseman in the history of the game (.360, 11 HR, 23 RBI, 85 total bases, 1.196 OPS). He’s also been rock solid defensively, making some spectacular plays in the field.

Pat Burrell – Burrell is doing exactly what you’d expect in a contract year, hitting .326 with 8 HR and 25 RBI. If I was Charlie Manuel, I’d think about flipping Burrell and Howard in the line-up. Right now, Burrell offers more protection for Utley, plus they’d alternate right and left handed batters through the middle of the line up.

Jayson Werth – Werth has filled in admirably for Shane Victorino in center field to the point where Victorino may end up coming in off the bench or shifting to right field. Werth has also had some success as a lead-off hitter in Rollins’ stead.

Brad Lidge – The biggest off-season acquisition for the team, Lidge has returned from a knee injury suffered late last season and re-aggravated in spring training to be the hammer at the back end of the bullpen. Lidge is 6 for 6 in save opportunities, has not allowed an earned run in 11 appearances, and has a 1.09 strikeouts per inning average. I guess you could say a change of scenery has served him well.

J.C. Romero – Signed as a cast-off from the Red Sox last season, Romero has been spectacular as a set-up man this year. He’s got a 0.00 ERA and three holds.

This is not to say there’s no room for improvement. Cole Hamels excluded, each of the Phillies starters has an ERA over 5.00. Brett Myers has already surrendered 10 home runs this year. Rollins needs to get healthy and back setting the table. Howard needs to start hitting again. And there are only two NL teams (Pittsburgh and Florida) with more errors than the Fightin’ Phils, so they’ll need to rectify that.

A couple of minor fixes and the East should be ours for the taking, even without an assist from the Mets.