Battle of the Benches
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: It’s damn near impossible to go through an entire baseball season without somebody getting hurt.
Phillies fans don’t need to hear that. We watched this team go without Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Brett Myers, Tom Gordon, Cole Hamels, and Shane Victorino for long stretches last year. Injuries are a part of the game. It’s what makes the 162-game season so exciting, so romantic. Miss one of those 162 games, and you could miss something that changes the outlook of the season.
As I continue to take a look at the National League East as part of the Philscast Spring Training preview, I would be foolish if I didn’t take a look at the benches of each team to see who has the greatest depth. Frankly, only two teams even have a claim to it. So naturally, we’ll start with the worst team and work our way up.
But other than that, I’d venture to guess you’ve never heard of any of the players on their bench. Alfredo Amezaga? Jai Miller? To quote Major League, “I’ve never heard of half of these guys, and the ones I have heard of are way past their prime. Some of these guys never had a prime. This guy here is dead.” It’s absolutely the worst bench in the division. I’d say they can’t afford to lose a starter at any position, but you’ve probably never heard of any of their starters either. Let’s call it even.
But frankly, when it comes to their bench, they’re not exactly what you’d call dangerous.
They’ve picked up Omar Infante (unfortunately for my bank account, no relation), and he’ll come off the bench as a utility infielder. He’s a solid player, too. He hit .271 in his limited time last year, and he fields every position reasonably well. He even played some outfield last year.
They also have Scott Thorman, but he can’t really play anything other than first base, and with Mark Teixeira over there, Thorman figures to struggle for plate appearances.
Take away Infante and Thorman, and do you know how many at-bats the rest of the Braves bench has? 158. That’s it, and that’s between four players. How many times have you heard a player or a manager talk about what it takes to come off the bench and be ready to play instantly? They always say it’s about experience, and that it’s about having a veteran guy who understands his role and can use his maturity in the game to keep his focus so that when his number is called, he’s ready.
If any of that is true – and conventional baseball wisdom is that it’s ALL true – the Braves are in some serious trouble.
First of all, Endy Chavez is hurt. And other than Easley, Chavez is their only reserve outfielder. When Moises Alou goes down (and he will, even if it’s only for a month in the middle of the summer), they’re going to be hurting for outfielders.
Second, do any of those names scare you? They shouldn’t. Hernandez is a nobody with a mere 87 at-bats and a career .138 batting average to his name. Gotay and Easley are decent, but if something happens to a starter, I guarantee you the Mets wouldn’t feel comfortable having either of them start every day.
If that’s the case, the Mets are in trouble. Since the Santana deal, they don’t have any chips to use in a potential bargain. They’d be negotiating out of need, and so every other team in the league would have the upper hand on them. And they cleaned out their minor league system, which means not only can they not make a trade, but they can’t even call anyone up in a tight situation. This team is a David Wright or a Carlos Beltran injury away from being mediocre at best.
They come into camp with five catchers. Obviously, we’re only looking at the bench. Paul LoDuca will be the starter, which leaves Jesus Flores,
From there, they have some real veteran players. You have to think Nick Johnson isn’t healthy, but what a backup to Dimitri Young if he is. Aaron Boone is a solid veteran presence, and if his brother Bret makes the team, that’s two products of my hometown of
From there they have other solid veterans like Willie Harris, Ryan Langerhans, and Rob Mackowiak. They also have either Felipe Lopez or Christian Guzman, depending on who wins the starting job at short (bet on Lopez being the starter). They also have some young players like Elijah Dukes and Justin Maxwell.
Position battles breed competition, and competition brings out the best in professional athletes. This is a team that should have plenty of depth, even if they lack impact players in the starting lineup. If you’re strictly looking at the guys that can come off the bench, this team is loaded.
So why didn’t I put them number one?
Greg Dobbs played in 142 games last year and hit .270. He’s on the bench.
Jayson Werth was the starting right fielder for this team in the second half of the season. He plays reasonably good defense and hit .300 last year. He’s on the bench.
So Taguchi played in 143 games for the St. Louis Cardinals and was a starter the year they won the World Series. He’s on the bench.
Is there a more consummate bench player in all of baseball than Chris Coste? He’ll do a great job as the backup catcher. If he doesn’t, Jason Jaramillo is ready and waiting at Triple-A Lehigh Valley (boy, is that weird to write).
Eric Bruntlett is a career utility infielder, and while that doesn’t sound all that impressive, consider two things.
First, the Braves only have one guy who is of the caliber of Bruntlett in terms of being a utility man, and Bruntlett is easily the Phils weakest link on the bench.
Second, the Phils went into last season without a backup second baseman and shortstop. They ended up swinging a deal for Tadahito Iguchi, maybe the single most underrated deal of the entire season last year. There’s no reason to think they won’t swing a deal like that again this year if they have to. As I mentioned already, the Mets wouldn’t be able to pull off something like that with the players they have.
Phillies fans know what an advantage that kind of depth can be, because they saw it first hand last year. The Mets didn’t have it, they wore down. The Phillies had it, they won.
Plus, the Phillies bench is probably better than it was last year. The same can’t be said for the Braves and Mets; neither team added a single player.
Add it all up, and the answer is clear: Advantage, Phillies.
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