The 2008 Champion Philadelphia Phillies: Part One - Trades and Free Agency

15. So Taguchi, Age: 39, Experience: 7 years
Regular Season: .220 AVG, 18 R, 3 SB
Postseason: 4 AB
The 39-year old veteran So Taguchi signed with the Phillies in the offseason before 2008 and served as a bench player throughout the year. With only four postseason at-bats, he was the only Phillies hitter who did not reach base during the playoffs. Prior to this year, Taguchi was the only Phillies player who played on a team that won the World Series. Taguchi previously hit .400 with 2 HR and 4 RBIs in the playoffs to help the Saint Louis Cardinals win the 2006 championship.

14. Matt Stairs, Age: 40, Experience: 16 years
Regular Season: .294 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI.
Postseason: .250 AVG, 1 HR, 2 RBI
The Phillies acquired the veteran slugger Matt Stairs in an August 30 waiver deal with the Toronto Blue Jays. Stairs brought 15 years of hitting expertise with him into the clubhouse. He performed the functions of an additional hitting coach as well as a bench player. When the opportunity arose, he delivered big-time with his bat. Stairs crushed a pinch-hit 2-run homerun off of Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton in the eighth inning of Game Four of the NLCS, which proved to be the game-winner. Afterwards, Stairs was uncharacteristically candid in explaining his approach. "I swing for the fences," he said. "That's how I've been my whole career. I think of home runs. It carries over from batting practice. I try to hit every ball out of the ballpark. I'm not going to lie, it's fun when you're there and you're hitting balls out of the ballpark. The biggest thing is to see how far you're going to hit the ball."

13. Clay Condrey, Age: 32, Experience: 5 years
Regular Season: 69.0 IP, 3-4, 3.26 ERA
Postseason: 1.2 IP, 0-0, 5.40 ERA
Right-handed reliever Clay Condrey began his career with the San Diego Padres from 2002-2003. Over the next two years, he did not throw a single pitch in an MLB game. The Phillies added him to their roster in 2006, and Condrey has provided solid innings of relief over his past three seasons in Philadelphia. This season, Condrey achieved career highs in strikeouts and innings pitched. He ranked fourth on the team in relief innings, and proved himself as a key member of the Philadelphia bullpen that ranked 2nd in the MLB with a 3.19 ERA in 2008.

12. Scott Eyre, Age: 36, Experience: 12 years
Regular Season: 14.1 IP, 3-0, 1.88 ERA
Postseason: 3.0 IP, 0-0, 3.00 ERA
Every successful playoff team needs at least one good left-handed relief pitcher, to record key late-inning outs against left-handed hitters. Thanks to J.C. Romero and Scott Eyre, the 2008 Phillies enjoyed the luxury of bringing two excellent left-handers out of their bullpen. Eyre joined the Phillies in an early August deal with the Chicago Cubs. Since that acquisition, his performance was outstanding. Eyre allowed only 4 runs in a 17.1 innings pitched for the Phillies, for a combined ERA of 2.08.

11. Geoff Jenkins, Age: 34, Experience: 11 years
Regular Season: .246 AVG, 9 HR, 29 RBI
Postseason: .250 AVG, 1 R
After a decade with the Milwaukee Brewers, Geoff Jenkins signed with the Phillies as a free agent in the most recent offseason. He began the year as Philadelphia’s starting right fielder, but settled into a bench role when Jayson Werth won the job in midseason. Charlie Manuel relied on Jenkins in a crucial spot to lead off the 6th inning in the second half of the suspended Game Five of the World Series. In just the fourth postseason at-bat of his career, Jenkins hit a leadoff double off Grant Balfour of the Rays, and proceeded to score the go-ahead run.

10. Eric Bruntlett, Age: 30, Experience: 6 years
Regular Season: .217 AVG, 37 R, 9 SB
Postseason: .333 AVG, 3 R, 1 HR
Bruntlett spent five years as a utility man for the Houston Astros before arriving with the Phillies in the Michael Bourn – Brad Lidge swap. When reigning MVP shortstop Jimmy Rollins went down with an early injury, Bruntlett provided some solid defense and timely hitting to keep the Phillies afloat in April and May. Over the rest of the season, Bruntlett served primarily as a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive specialist in the outfield. Running in place of Pat Burrell, he scored the game-winning run in Game Five of the World Series.

9. Chad Durbin, Age: 30, Experience: 9 years
Regular Season: 87.2 IP, 5-4, 2.87 ERA
Postseason: 3.1 IP, 0-0, 2.70 ERA
Chad Durbin played with four different major league teams before coming to Philadelphia by trade in 2008. Much like his brother J.D. Durbin, Chad struggled to establish himself as a starting pitcher in failed experiments with the Kansas City Royals and the Detroit Tigers. The Phillies added him in a trade with Detroit, and then used him exclusively as a relief pitcher. His performance in that role was excellent: 91 total innings with a combined 2.87 ERA. Durbin became the best long reliever on the Phillies, and recorded more outs than any other Philadelphia reliever in 2008.

8. Greg Dobbs, Age: 30, Experience: 5 years
Regular Season: .301 AVG, 9 HR, 40 RBI
Postseason: .500 AVG, 2 R, 2 BB
Dobbs led all Phillies hitters with a .301 batting average in 2008, while serving as a pinch-hitter and a backup corner infielder. Since Dobbs joined the Phillies in 2007, no other player in baseball has had more success as a pinch hitter. In 2008, Dobbs batted .355 and led the league with 22 pinch hits, along with 16 pinch-hit RBIs (2nd in the MLB). He also ranked eighth in pinch hits and first in the majors with 17 pinch-hit RBIs, to help the Phillies to their 2007 division title.

7. J.C. Romero, Age: 32, Experience: 10 years
Regular Season: 59.0 IP, 4-4, 2.75 ERA
Postseason: 7.1 IP, 2-0, 0.00 ERA
Juan Carlos Romero joined the Phillies midway through the 2007 season in a trade with the Boston Red Sox. The fiery lefthander since evolved into one of the league’s premier bullpen stoppers. Romero has allowed only 17 runs in 100 innings of relief (for a miniscule 1.53 ERA) as a member of the Phillies. Philadelphia does not hesitate to bring in J.C. to pitch in the most difficult situations, whenever they need a critical strikeout or double play. He was credited with two high-pressure World Series wins, in the Phillies comeback victory of Game Three, and the championship-clincher of Game Five.

6. Joe Blanton, Age: 27, Experience: 5 years
Regular Season: 70.2 IP, 4-0, 4.20 ERA
Postseason: 17.0 IP, 2-0, 3.18 ERA
Blanton enjoyed a string of three successful seasons as a starter for the Oakland A’s from 2005 to 2007, but he struggled mightily in the first half of 2008 with a 5-12 record. The Phillies acquired starting pitcher Joe Blanton from Oakland on July 17th. From that point on, Blanton never lost a single game for Philadelphia. The Phillies as a team won 12 out of the 16 games in which Blanton pitched. Blanton pitched the series-clinching Game Four of the NLDS, as well as Games Four of both the NLCS and World Series, and his team won each time. Blanton helped his own cause with the most unlikely hit of the playoffs, a solo home run against Tampa Bay’s Dan Wheeler. All four of the teams in the 2008 National League playoffs added a starting pitcher to bolster their playoff rotation. Blanton was by far the least heralded of the four pitchers, but he achieved a great deal of success. Cy Young winner C.C. Sabathia of the Milwaukee Brewers carried his team into the postseason, but the Philadelphia hitters tagged him for a loss in the first round. Blanton’s former teammate Rich Harden made the All-Star team with Oakland, and then continued to put up first-rate numbers when he joined the Chicago Cubs. The Los Angeles Dodgers traded for perhaps the greatest pitcher of this era, four-time Cy Young winner Greg Maddux. Joe Blanton could not ask for more elite company than those three pitchers, but he held his own against all three of them when it mattered most.

5. Pedro Feliz, Age: 33, Experience: 9 years
Regular Season: .249 AVG, 14 HR, 58 RBI
Postseason: .255 AVG, 4 RBI
Third-baseman Scott Rolen won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1997 with the Phillies. From 1997 until 2002, Rolen served as the cornerstone of the franchise. Rolen disliked the team and the city, however, and he essentially held the organization hostage for years until he forced a trade to the St. Louis Cardinals. Afterwards, the Phillies struggled to find an adequate replacement at third base, and they suffered through years with David Bell and Wes Helms in the lineup. Pedro Feliz signed with Philadelphia for the 2008 season after 8 seasons in San Francisco. Feliz struggled at many points in the season with injuries and hitting slumps, but he brought excellent defense and leadership in every game. He offered just enough of an upgrade to push the Phillies over the top in the NL East. Feliz, who had played in the 2002 World Series with the Giants, was the only Phillies starter (or Rays starter) to have played in a previous World Series.

Pedro came to bat in the seventh inning of the deciding Game Five of the World Series, with the game tied 3-3 and a runner on third. Conventional wisdom would say that pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs stood a better chance of driving in the run. Charlie Manuel decided to keep Feliz in the game, and his decision proved to be the wise one. Feliz delivered an RBI single up the middle, to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead for good. Feliz later called it the biggest hit of his career, and arguably it could be called the most important hit in the past 28 seasons of the franchise.

4. Jayson Werth, Age: 29, Experience: 6 years
Regular Season: .273 AVG, 24 HR, 67 RBI, 20 SB
Postseason: .321 AVG, 10 R, 3 SB
Right-fielder Jayson Werth offers a rare combination of size, speed, and power, as well as smart play on offense and defense. At 6 foot 5, the lanky Werth is an imposing physical specimen, whose skills translate well into every facet of the game. He did not begin the season in the starting lineup, but he became more and more integral to team success as the season progressed. For the entire regular season, he ranked 3rd on the team in on-base percentage, 4th in slugging percentage, 4th in home runs, and 4th in RBIs. Werth also collected 20 stolen bases in just 21 attempts, to rank 3rd among Phillies in that category. A right-handed hitter, Werth was a particularly devastating offensive weapon against left-handed pitchers. He led the league with 16 home runs against left-handers in 2008.

In the middle of the season, Werth approached manager Charlie Manuel, and told him that he believed he should be starting every day. The move paid immediate dividends for the Phillies. From July through September, Jayson hit .278 with 51 runs, 15 HRs, 41 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. Werth’s versatility became extremely important for the Phillies down the stretch. Manuel played Werth in all nine positions of the batting order, but he primarily rotated with Shane Victorino between the 2nd and 6th spots. Werth provided great speed from the top of the order (7 SBs), and great power from the bottom of the order (26 RBIs), essentially whatever the team needed him to do. In the playoffs, Werth built upon his second half success. He led all Phillies starters with a .309 batting average and a .969 OPS in 14 postseason games, as well as a .444 average in the World Series.

3. Shane Victorino, Age: 27, Experience: 5 years
Regular Season: .293 AVG, 102 R, 36 SB
Postseason: .273 AVG, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 3 SB
Speedy Hawaiian outfielder Shane Victorino began his career with the Padres before he joined the Phillies in 2005. Victorino might be, pound-for-pound, the toughest player on the team. At 5 foot 9 and 180 pounds, he still packs plenty of power, boasts one of the league’s strongest outfield arms, and has survived countless collisions with players and with stadium walls. In two consecutive seasons, Victorino earned the unenviable task of trying to replace an All-Star. The Phillies traded away Bobby Abreu in late 2006 and asked Victorino to step into right field. Then, center fielder Aaron Rowand left via free agency at the end of 2007, forcing Shane to move to center. Amazingly, the team suffered no drop-off in either offense or defense. In 2008, Victorino led all Philadelphia starters in 2008 with a .293 batting average, and set a career high with 58 RBIs, along with 36 stolen bases. He followed up Rowand's 2007 Gold Glove Award and Abreu's 2005 award, by winning the same award for his defense in 2008.

In the 2008 postseason spotlight, Victorino stepped up in an even bigger way. He set a Phillies playoff record as he led the team with 13 RBIs, but even that feat does not tell the whole story. In Game Two of the NLDS, with the game tied at 1-1 in the second inning, he hit a grand slam off C.C. Sabathia of the Brewers, Sabathia entered the game as the league’s most dominant pitcher, with a 1.83 ERA over his previous 235 innings pitched. Victorino’s second postseason home run came at perhaps an even more opportune moment. Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda instigated a near-brawl in Game Three by throwing a pitch at Victorino’s head, which shifted the dynamic of the series. The Dodgers won Game Three of the NLCS, and took a 5-3 lead into the eighth inning of Game Four. Victorino responded by sending a game-tying 2-run home run, which landed in the Dodgers’ bullpen. The Phillies regained the momentum and swept the remaining games in Los Angeles.

2. Brad Lidge, Age: 31, Experience: 7 years
2008 NL Comeback Player of the Year
Regular Season: 2-0, 1.95 ERA, 41/41 Saves
Postseason: 0-0, 0.96 ERA, 7/7 Saves
None of the first-time Phillies in 2008 made a bigger impact than closer Brad Lidge. Over six seasons with the Houston Astros, Lidge saved 129 games, made the 2005 All-Star team, and helped his team advance twice to the NLCS and once to the World Series. Despite his success, two posteason pitches began to define his whole career. In the 2005 NLCS, Lidge allowed a 3-run home run to league MVP Albert Pujols, which prevented his team from clinching the series. The Astros rebounded to win the next game, but Lidge allowed another devastating home run, a walkoff shot from Scott Podsednik in Game Two of the 2005 World Series. The Astros organization lost confidence in Lidge after those two games, and began searching for a replacement. Houston traded Lidge to Philadelphia for Michael Bourn before the 2008 season, and he stepped in as the Phillies number one relief pitcher.

The closer position has been a troublesome one for the Phillies in recent years. The Phillies last advanced to the World Series in 1993, and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays. Closer Mitch Williams lost Game Four while trying to protect a 14-9 lead, and then he blew a save to lose Game Six on a walkoff home run to Joe Carter with a 6-5 lead in the ninth inning. Issues at closer plagued the Phillies throughout the current decade. The Phillies finished two games short of the division title in 2001, five behind the wild card in 2003, six back in 2004, one back in 2005, and three back in 2006. In each of those Octobers, fans and players were left wondering what the team might have accomplished with more reliable late-inning relief. The 2005 regular season was particularly devastating for the Phillies, as high-priced closer Billy Wagner not only publicly declared his belief that the Phillies were not a playoff-caliber team, but he also lost two games against the Astros in September, a turn of events that allowed Houston to finish one game ahead of Philadelphia for the wild card.

The Philadelphia bullpen, which served as the team’s Achilles heel for the majority of the decade, quietly became one of the team’s biggest strengths as they raced to the division title in the second half of 2007, behind the efforts of J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon, and Brett Myers. When the Phillies added Brad Lidge in the 2008 offseason, the trickle-down effect instantly transformed the bullpen into one of the elite (3.19 ERA, 2nd best in the MLB). Lidge himself put together one of the best regular seasons and the best postseasons ever from a closer: a perfect mark of 48 saves in 48 opportunities, with a 1.83 ERA, and 12 strikeouts per 9 innings. He pitched for the team’s final outs to clinch the division title (a bases-loaded double play), the NLDS, the NLCS, and the World Series (a devastating strikeout with a runner on second). Lidge’s ‘Lights Out’ performance as closer essentially shortened the game by one inning; the Phillies finished 85-0 when leading after eight innings. As a dominant closer, he provided a major championship ingredient that the team had lacked in past seasons.

1. Jamie Moyer, Age: 45, Experience: 22 years
Regular Season: 196.1 IP, 16-7, 3.71 ERA
Postseason: 11.2 IP, 0-2, 8.49 ERA
The story of Jamie Moyer’s baseball career sounds worthy of a Hollywood screenplay. He was born in Sellersville, PA, and grew up rooting for the Phillies. At the age of 17, he watched his favorite team win their first World Series championship in 1980, led by his idol Steve Carlton. He attended the championship parade through Philadelphia as a fan, and he carried the memory of that the experience his whole career. He pitched at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and then worked his way into the major leagues. Moyer made his professional debut with the Chicago Cubs, and earned the win, against Carlton and the Phillies in his first career start. Over the next 22 years, Moyer pitched for seven different MLB teams, and won 246 games, ranking him as one of the most successful starters of his era. For years, Philadelphia tried to trade for him, and then finally landed a deal with the Seattle Mariners in the second half of the 2006 season.

Since he joined the Phillies, Moyer has been an invaluable asset in the Phillies clubhouse. He shares the wisdom of over two decades of major league experience and he provides the ultimate model of professionalism. On the other hand, he also maintains the same youthful enthusiasm and appreciation of Philadelphia tradition that he developed as a kid. Thanks to an incomparable level of work ethic and pitching knowledge, he made sure that he never became an old-timer novelty act, but an exceptional MLB starter. His style of pitching is a rarity in today’s game. His best fastball barely tops 80 mph, and as he relies on deception and precision rather than power. At 45 years old, Moyer was the oldest player in the MLB, but he remained the model of consistency as Philadelphia’s number three starter. He pitched just under 200 innings, and he went 16-7 (1st on the team in wins, 7th in the NL), with a 3.71 ERA in the 2008 regular season.

Moyer did not pitch nearly as well in his first two playoff starts as he did during the regular season. He threw 90 pitches and allowed 2 runs in just 4 innings against the Brewers. Then, the Dodgers lineup tagged him for 6 runs in only 1.1 innings, the shortest outing of his career. After those two performances, people speculated that Moyer’s professional career might be finished. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel kept confidence in the veteran player, and refused to change his rotation for the World Series. Moyer started Game Three against the Rays, and allowed only 1 run in a masterful six innings. In the seventh inning, he laid out to make a fantastic dive and to scoop the ball to first base. Replays showed that Moyer made the out, but the umpire could not see the barehanded catch by Ryan Howard. The blown call eventually added 2 runs to Moyer’s box score, and he did not receive credit for the team’s 5-4 win. Moyer’s career was always more about team success than individual accolades. The team won, and the 45-year old Moyer enjoyed the thrill of his second Philadelphia championship, this time as a player rather than a fan.