When lefty starting pitcher Steve Carlton was on the mound good things generally happened for the Philadelphia Phillies. Carlton pitched in 499 games (all starts) in his time with the Phillies and he was 241-161 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Carlton won four Cy Young Awards with the Phillies (1972, 1977, 1980 and 1982). His most amazing season with the Phillies without a doubt was 1972. He pitched in 41 games (all starts) for the Phillies that season and he was 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He threw an amazing 30 complete games in 1972, 8 of which were shutouts. He worked 346 1/3 innings for the Phillies in 1972 and he only allowed 257 hits while whiffing 310 batters. The most amazing thing about Carlton’s stats in 1972 was that his team was 59-97 that year! Carlton is all over the record books for the Phillies. He is #1 all-time in Phillies’ history in wins (241), games started (499) and #1 in strikeouts (3,031). Carlton is also #2 in games pitched (499), #2 in innings pitched (3,697 1/3), #3 in complete games (185) and #2 in shutouts (39) in Phillies’ history. Carlton was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.

30-year old lefty swinging 1B Ryan Howard is the main man in the line-up for the Phillies without a doubt. He played in 160 games for the Phillies last season and he was 172 for 616 (.279 avg, .931 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 45 homers, 141 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. There is no reason to think that Howard won’t put up his usual eye-popping numbers again in 2010 for the Phillies. He has averaged 102 runs scored, 49.5 homers and 143 RBIs per season in his first four full years in the majors. His bat more than makes up for his mitt. He made 14 errors (most in the majors) in 156 games at 1B for the Phillies last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: A

The Phillies have claimed 24-year old righty swinging Brian Bocock off waivers from the Blue Jays. He played in 122 games in A+AA ball last season and he was 105 for 456 (.230 avg, .618 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 3 homers, 51 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Bocock has played in the majors during the 2008 season with the Giants when he appeared in 32 games in which he was 11 for 77 (.143 avg, .414 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. I don’t know why the Phillies even bothered to bring Bocock in as he simply can’t hit the ball.

The Phillies have signed 38-year old righty starter/reliever Jose Contreras to a 1-year deal. He pitched in 28 games (23 starts) for the Rockies and White Sox last season and he was 6-13 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. Contreras has now pitched in 191 games (175 starts) in his major league career and he is 71-63 with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Contreras will likely pitch out of the bullpen but he could start if the Phillies need him to. I like this signing for the Phillies as Contreras is pretty new to the league and his stuff is hard to pick up on the first time you see him.

The Phillies have a good set-up at catcher as they have a pair of excellent defenders behind the plate. 31-year old righty swinging Carlos Ruiz will likely get the most playing time. He played in 107 games last season for the Phillies and he was 82 for 322 (.255 avg, .780 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 9 homers and 43 RBIs. It’s hard to expect much more out of Ruiz as a hitter but the Phillies would be ecstatic with a repeat of his 2009 season. Ruiz only made 3 errors and he only had 1 passed ball in 107 games for the Phillies last season. He only threw out 20% of the runners trying to steal on him last season but Phillies’ pitchers had a 4.00 ERA with him behind the plate so they like throwing to him.

33-year old lefty swinging Brian Schneider will back-up Ruiz this season but it won’t likely be a platoon with Ruiz expected to play more. Schneider played in 59 games for the Mets last season and he was 37 for 170 (.218 avg, .627 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers and 24 RBIs. The Phillies hope that Schneider will hit more like his career norms of .251 with a .697 OPS. Schneider only made 1 error and he had only 1 passed ball in 57 games behind the plate last season. Schneider also threw out 32% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Mets’ pitchers had a 4.63 with him behind the plate.

33-year old righty swinging Paul Hoover will likely start the season in AAA and get a call to the show if the Phillies need help. He played in 3 games for the Phillies last season and he was 3 for 4 (.750 avg, 1.500 OPS) with 1 RBI. He also played in 73 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 62 for 245 (.253 avg, .668 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 1 homers and 28 RBIs. Hoover didn’t make any errors or have any passed balls in 11 innings behind the plate for the Phillies last season. He was 0 for 2 throwing out base stealers last season and Phillies’ pitchers had a 6.55 ERA with him behind the plate.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: C+