EVENTS
 Sportsman of the Year
 Heisman Trophy
 Swimsuit 2001

3. Philadelphia Phillies

They're young and they're restless, and maybe, just maybe, they're ready

By Ian Thomsen

Offense Defense Starting Pitching Bullpen Manager 1999 Record 77-85 (third in NL East) Batting Order CF Doug Glanville LF Ron Gant RF Bobby Abreu 3B Scott Rolen 1B Rico Brogna C Mike Lieberthal 2B Marlon Anderson SS Desi Relaford Bench OF Rob Ducey IF Alex Arias IF Kevin Jordan C Kevin Sefcik C Tom Prince Starters RH Curt Schilling RH Andy Ashby RH Paul Byrd RH Robert Person LH Randy Wolf Bullpen RH Mike Jackson LH Wayne Gomes RH Amaury Telemaco RH Scott Aldred RH Jeff Brantley RH Chris Brock Next Up... He was the 25th pitcher taken in the 1997 draft, but only two of the pitchers chosen ahead of him -- Jim Parque (White Sox) and Ryan Bradley (Yankees) -- made it to the majors faster than Randy Wolf. The 23-year-old lefty won his first five decisions after being called up in June '99, then lost eight in a row to finish 6-9, with a 5.55 ERA. "When things went well, I was keeping things simple," says Wolf. "Then I started making things more complicated than they had to be. I was trying to be perfect." The Phillies fans tried to boo him off the mound in the midst of his slump, but Wolf has been through worse: He was a boy when his father died, and then he nearly drowned as a teen. "You're not going to learn without having bad things happen," Wolf says. "Luckily, I don't hear things when I pitch." The Book An opposing team's scout sizes up the Phillies: "Andy Ashby was a good pickup for them. He'll give them innings, and when Curt Schilling comes back, they'll have a solid one-two combination at the top of the rotation.... Closer Mike Jackson always seems to have questions about his elbow, but if he's healthy, he's got one of the best sliders around and can run his fastball in on righthanders.... Carlos Reyes can help their bullpen. If he hit you between the eyes with his fastball, he couldn't blacken an eye -- he throws in the mid-80s -- but he's got outstanding off-speed stuff and knows how to pitch.... Every time the ball is hit to shortstop Desi Relaford or second baseman Marlon Anderson, manager Terry Francona has to cringe. Relaford has good tools but is very inconsistent. Anderson makes too many mistakes, doesn't turn the double play well. He can hit and he can run, but his running doesn't translate into extra bases.... Third baseman Scott Rolen looks like he's still hurt.... Rightfielder Bobby Abreu, who can run, hit, hit for power and has a great throwing arm, will be the star of this team."

The Phillies should know by May if they've finally grown up. Their lineup includes some of the most potent young bats in the game, but younger isn't always better, as they found out last year.

Of their first 38 games this season, 21 are against teams that made the playoffs last year and must be played without ace Curt Schilling, who is expected to miss the opening six weeks while recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Schilling is eager to see how his teammates perform without him. "If we don't do well, then my return is not going to matter," he says. "If my absence causes us to fall out of contention, then we're not contenders anyway."

The Phillies took some heat for making Lieberthal the third selection in the 1990 draft, but he's now one of their mainstays.Chuck Solomon

Last August the Phillies were 13 games over .500 and contending for the wild-card slot; then third baseman Scott Rolen (lower back strain) and Schilling were lost for the season. The Phillies went on to lose 29 of 36, finishing with their 12th losing record in 13 years and more losses (823) in the decade than any other NL team. The Phillies believe the collapse was due to a lack of maturity, not a lack of talent. "When you're a young player, you're more concerned with your personal goals and trying to establish yourself at the major league level," says 28-year-old All-Star catcher Mike Lieberthal, a Gold Glover who hit 31 home runs last year. "Once you've put up the stats, then you're more concerned with looking out for your teammates and winning."

During the off-season the front office added some instant seasoning, signing 35-year-old free-agent closer Mike Jackson and trading for 32-year-old Andy Ashby, who becomes the staff's ace in Schilling's absence. The Phillies were able to sign Jackson after the Indians and the Cardinals were scared off by his painful history of knee, shoulder and elbow problems. Jackson had 39 saves last year, but his ERA was 4.06. If healthy, he'll allow 27-year-old Wayne Gomes, who struggled as a part-time closer last year (56 walks in 74 innings), to continue developing as a set-up man. "I know how to handle adversity, and I know how to handle the good times," says Jackson, who like Ashby is on his second tour of duty with the Phillies. "I think I still have what it takes to get the job done."

The Phillies traded reliever Steve Montgomery and two former No. 1 picks -- pitchers Carlton Loewer (1994) and Adam Eaton (1996) -- for Ashby, who was an All-Star in San Diego the last two seasons. Schilling is at last joined by a proven winner and 200-inning man, but the partnership may not last long: Ashby can become a free agent at the end of the season and has indicated he wants to see how good this team is before he re-signs. If he does choose to stay, the Phillies will have to give him the richest deal in team history, at least $8 million per year. The good news here is that the club can afford to pay him; ownership raised the payroll from $30 million to $45 million this year. "Bringing in Jackson and Ashby shows our ball club that the front office is serious. I've heard a lot of our players mention that," says Terry Francona, who in his fourth season is still the youngest manager in baseball at age 40.

If the Phillies are going to be a factor in September, they must get more from starter Paul Byrd, who was invited to the All-Star Game last year with 11 wins but went 4-6, with a 5.61 ERA the rest of the way. They also need Robert Person to have a full season as good as the second half he had last year, when he won 10 games.

Francona also wants to see defensive improvement from second baseman Marlon Anderson and shortstop Desi Relaford, who was out more than two months last season after wrist surgery. "They are the biggest key to our season," Francona says. "When the ball is hit to them late in the game, everyone in the ballpark has to know it's an out. That wasn't always the case last year."

This is a hustling team that knows how to run the bases and hit the cutoff man, and if minor league slugger Pat Burrell gets called up midseason -- as anticipated -- he could make a strong lineup even stronger. Lieberthal, Rolen, rightfielder Bobby Abreu and centerfielder Doug Glanville have proved themselves to be among the game's best young hitters. Rolen, who hit 26 homers in just 112 games last year, is a reader of Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy, and when the Phillies are in San Francisco, you can find him exploring the bookstores and New Age shops in the Haight-Ashbury district. His mission: to find himself. "It's a constant search," he says, "but I figure I have as good a chance as anyone."

The Phillies have that same mission and that same sense of optimism, but not as much time. "Sometime around May we're going to be getting a great pitcher," Francona says of Schilling. "I think we have a pretty good ball club, and now it's time for us to go out and show it."

Issue date: March 27, 2000

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