Actually, the Phillies will only have a couple of new pieces for the bullpen. 31-year old righty Brad Lidge will be the closer for the Phillies when he comes off the D.L. He pitched in 66 games for the Astros last season and he was 5-3 with 19 saves, a 3.36 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He also whiffed 88 batters in only 67 innings which shows that he still has great stuff.

40-year old righty Tom Gordon will likely be the closer until Lidge returns and a set-up man later in the season. He pitched in 44 games (0 starts) for the Phillies last season and he was 3-2 with 6 saves, a 4.73 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He appears to have lost something off the fastball so he could be in trouble this season.

27-year old Ryan Madson appears healthy now. He pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Phillies last season and he was 2-2 with 1 save, a 3.05 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. If Gordon appears to be toast, Madson will likely take over as the top set-up man on the Phillies.

32-year old lefty J.C. Romero will be the only lefty in the bullpen but he is a solid one. He pitched in 74 games (0 starts) for the Phillies & Red Sox last season and he was 2-2 with 1 save, a 1.92 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. Romero only allowed 39 hits in 56.1 innings last season but he walked 40 batters and that’s flat out unacceptable.

32-year old Clay Condrey will likely be the long man in the pen for the Phillies this season. He pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Phillies last year and he was 5-0 with 2 saves, a 5.04 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C

The sky is the limit for 24-year old lefty Cole Hamels. He started 28 games for the Phillies last season and he was 15-5 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He also whiffed 177 batters in 183.1 innings last season which shows what kind of stuff he has. If Hamels stays healthy he will be a finalist for the Cy Young Award.

27-year old righty Brett Myers will be the #2 starter this season. He was very solid as the closer for the Phillies last season but when they acquired closer Brad Lidge the Phillies decided to return Myers to the starting rotation. He pitched in 51 games (3 starts) for the Phillies last season and he was 5-7 with 21 saves, a 4.33 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Myers has a career record of 59-47 with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He has much better stuff than his career stats indicate so he could have a big year soon.

Crafty 45-year old lefty Jamie Moyer will be the #3 starter for the Phillies this season. He started 33 games for the Phillies last season and he was 14-12 with a 5.01 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Moyer usually is at his best when people write him off so look for a solid effort out of him in 2008. Moyer has now pitched in 604 games (551 starts) in his major league career and he is 230-178 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

23-year old righty Kyle Kendrick will be the #4 starter for the Phillies this season. He started 20 games for the Phillies last season and he was 10-4 with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Kendrick throws strikes so he should win a lot of games for the Phillies with the offense they have.

30-year old righty Adam Eaton will be the #5 starter for the Phillies this season. He started 30 games for them last season and he was 10-10 with a 6.29 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. Eaton has a career record of 64-55 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP so look for him to improve a bit this season for the Phillies.

30-year old righty Chad Durbin will open the season as the long man in the bullpen for the Phillies but he will move into the rotation if needed. He pitched in 36 games (19 starts) for the Tigers last season and he was 8-7 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP.

26-year old righty J.D. Durbin will start the season in AAA but he could get a call from the Phillies at some point in 2008. He pitched in 19 games (10 starts) for the D-Backs & Phillies last season and he was 6-5 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP.

33-year old righty Kris Benson will start the season in the minors as he is rehabbing from shoulder surgery. But, he will get a quick call-up to the Phillies if he shows he’s ready. He has started 195 games in his major league career and he is 68-73 with a 4.34 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

21-year old righty Carlos Carrasco is the top pitching prospect in the entire Phillies’ organization so he will be on the fast track to the majors. He started 21 games in A+AA last season and he was 12-6 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He only allowed 114 hits in 140 innings last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C+

The Phillies have enough pitching to make the offense stand up on most nights. With that in mind I would have to lean towards the over. Not many teams in the National League can score with them and they get to beat up on the Nationals & Marlins quite a few times. Take the over.

33-year old lefty swinging Geoff Jenkins and 29-year old righty swinging Jayson Werth will likely form a lethal platoon in RF for the Phillies in 2008. Jenkins played in 132 games for the Brewers last season and he was 107 for 420 (.255 avg, .790 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 21 homers and 64 RBIs. He played in 121 games in LF last season and he made 3 errors while showing off impressive range. Jenkins hit much better against righties than lefties so a platoon is a good idea here.

29-year old righty swinging Jayson Werth had a very solid season for the Phillies in 2007. He played in 94 games for the Phillies last year and he was 76 for 255 (.298 avg, .863 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 8 homers, 49 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Werth only made 2 errors in 58 games in RF last season and he showed off good range. Werth dominated lefty pitching last season as he was 33 for 88 (.375 avg) with 5 homers and 22 RBIs against them. He should benefit from getting a lot more at bats against lefty pitchers this season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

27-year old switch hitting Shane Victorino has shifted to CF from RF for the 2008 season. He will replace Aaron Rowand who was outstanding last season. Victorino played in 131 games for the Phillies last season and he was 128 for 456 (.281 avg, .770 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 12 homers, 46 RBIs and 37 stolen bases. He played in 114 games in RF for the Phillies last season and he made 3 errors while showing above average range. He also has a strong throwing arm as he had 10 assists last season. Victorino will do a good job in CF for the Phillies this season.

38-year old righty swinging So Taguchi will be the Phillies top backup in CF this season. He played in 130 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 89 for 307 (.290 avg, .718 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 3 homers, 30 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Taguchi is also a solid defender as he only made 1 error in 63 games in CF while showing above average range.

26-year old lefty swinging Brandon Watson will likely start the season in the minors but he could get a call from the Phillies at some point. Watson played in 5 games for the Nationals last season and he was 5 for 18 (.278 avg, .649 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He also played in 103 games in AAA ball last season and he was 125 for 399 (.313 avg, .733 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 2 homers, 29 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C+