Sandberg will have his hands full trying to win with this bunch
PHILADELPHIA — Old is still in, judging by the opening-day roster the Phillies unveiled Saturday.
But all comparisons to Charlie Manuel’s teams end there.
The position guys who aren’t making a ton of money are athletic and versatile. The bullpen is composed of arms capable of hurling multiple innings.
In a month Ruben Amaro Jr. expects to have a better handle on the team he reconstructed in the image of manager Ryne Sandberg, who cannot wait to stick the landing on his first double-switch.
The goal for the post-Manuel Phillies is the same.
“Win the National League East,” Amaro said.
The Phillies leadership believes it’s realistic.
To get that done Sandberg plans to use, but not over-use almost everyone on the roster, starting with 35-year-old veterans Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard, 34. Those core guys are going to have to get used to seeing their playing time diminish whether it’s to take a day off or be part of a switch.
“We haven’t really talked about that. Not too, too much,” Howard said. “That’s stuff you’ve got to talk to Rhyno about because he’s got his game plan as far as all that stuff is concerned. You show up every day and see if your name is in the lineup. But I’m sure he’ll communicate that to us when he feels he needs to give us time off and such.”
John Mayberry, Tony Gwynn Jr., Cesar Hernandez and newly acquired Jayson Nix are among Sandberg’s movable parts. Freddy Galvis and Darin Ruf will step into the mix once they’re healthy. Sandberg sees the group as a collective opportunity to double-switch the opposition into oblivion.
To compete with the defending division champion Atlanta Braves, runnerup Washington Nationals and third-place New York Mets, the Phillies need to get production out of the high-priced vets and veteran addition Marlon Byrd, the right-handed bat missing since Jayson Werth exited.
Cliff Lee, A.J. Burnett and Kyle Kendrick are the focal point of the starting pitching until Cole Hamels returns from tendinitis in the biceps on his throwing arm.
Sandberg, who shared the dais Saturday with Amaro, echoed his boss’ projection of a division pennant or bust.
“That’s the goal,” Sandberg said. “And that’s the expectations.”
For now, the Phillies have 12 pitchers, two catchers, six infielders and five outfielders on the 25man roster.
Gwynn, left-handed pitcher Mario Hollands and right-hander Jeff Manship are the immediate winners. They weren’t sure the talk with the big bosses would be good news when they walked into the office after the exhibition finale against the Pittsburgh Pirates was canceled Saturday due to rain. There’s no guarantee all of the guys will remain, either.
“The roster is a work in progress,” Amaro said. “It always is. There’s injuries, there’s issues, there’s things that pop up all the time. But I think what we have been able to create with this roster is enough flexibility. We’ve got guys who have options. We’ve got guys we can send out if they’re not performing. We’ve got guys that are coming off the DL that are going to help us. We’ll continue to evaluate the club. I don’t think that you really know a lot about what you’re looking at until the first month is over as far as time line is concerned. I think after the first month you have a little bit better idea what your club looks like. Usually it’s the end of May that you have a real good idea of where your club is headed.”
What’s clear is the Phillies are going in a completely different direction under Sandberg, who cannot wait to begin using what he feels are interchangeable bench players.
“Good options for mixing and matching in lineups as far as spot starts,” Sandberg said. “But also guys that can move around on defense in double switches.”
One of the examples of versatility Sandberg provided was Nix. He’s a right-handed batter who can play every infield position including shortstop, Mr. Rollins.
Gwynn can play all three outfield positions and Hernandez can do a lot of things.
“A lot of flexibility there that gets created by this group,” Amaro said. “In the past we had guys who were playing 160 games all the time. We don’t have that club anymore.”