In one sense, the 2011 Phillies are pretty easy to sum up – they’ve pushed all in on starting pitching, and with the best rotation that anyone has seen in some time, they are perceived as the strong favorites to win the National League. If the pitching holds up, they’re going to be good. But, there’s far more to the story than that, and I actually find this Phillies team rather fascinating.

Let’s start with the offense.

Starting Line-Up

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Placido Polanco, 3B
3. Chase Utley, 2B*
4. Ryan Howard, 1B*
5. Raul Ibanez, LF*
6. Shane Victorino, CF
7. Carlos Ruiz, C
8. Domonic Brown*/Ben Francisco, RF

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Three weeks ago, we announced two FanGraphs Live events while our staff was going to be hanging out in Phoenix. You have just two days left to purchase tickets for the event in Goodyear, where we’ll be meeting up with the Cleveland Indians front office for a Q&A and then sticking around for the game between the Indians and Mariners. Baseball, nerds, and unlimited food – tough combination to beat.

However, you can no longer purchase tickets to the event on Saturday, March 12th… because we’ve decided to make this event free to attend. You’ll still get a chance to interact with White Sox Assistant General Manager Rick Hahn and Mariners AGM Tony Blengino, talk baseball with nearly 20 members of the FanGraphs staff, and bug Jonah Keri to sign your copy of his book, but now, you don’t have to pay to attend. Tough to beat this deal.

The team executives will be around from 6:30-7:30, and there’s only space for approximately 75 people, so I’d suggest getting there a few minutes early. After the formal Q&A, we’ll do some more informal talks. If you want to talk to Jonah about the book, he’ll be there (and might even have a copy or two to give away!) with bells on. If you want to talk about OttoNeu or fantasy baseball in general, Niv Shah, Eno Sarris, and several RotoGraphs writers will be hanging out. Hipster clothing? Carson Cistulli will be your man for that conversation. I’ll find something to talk about, I’m sure. Directions to the venue can be found in the preceding link.

So, whether you’re in the mood to watch baseball on Friday or just hang out with a bunch of folks who love the game on Saturday, we’ve got options for you. We look forward to seeing you guys in just over a week.

Given that the injury is now being reported as a hamstring strain, we can be pretty sure that his workload last year didn’t cause this injury. Still, the point of the post stands.

The hits just keep coming for the St. Louis Cardinals, as Chris Carpenter left the mound with the team trainer after throwing 32 pitches today. Following the loss of Adam Wainwright and the devastating blow of Nick Punto’s absence – as well as some contract talks that might not have gone very well – the Cardinals just can’t afford to keep hemorrhaging talent.

Carpenter, of course, is no stranger to the DL. He’s had both labrum and Tommy John surgery, and essentially missed entire seasons in 2003, 2007, and 2008. Carpenter has an extensive history of arm problems, so today’s news isn’t entirely shocking. That said, when Carpenter has been healthy enough to pitch, he’s been a workhorse. In 2005/2006, he was third in total innings pitched behind only Johan Santana and Brandon Webb. Last year, he threw 235 innings, tied with Dan Haren for the fourth most in baseball.

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While we mostly focus on Major League Baseball here on the site, it’s not the only game in town. In fact, while MLB is playing glorified exhibition games in Arizona and Florida, the NCAA is playing games that actually count right now. And, while college baseball doesn’t get the same attention that several other college sports get (especially in March), there is a pretty good reason for each of us to be paying attention to the scores each weekend now – a rule change affecting the type of bats that can be used that may be drastically altering the game at the college level.

The rule essentially governs the type of metal bats that can be used in NCAA games, and requires them to meet a standard of Batted Ball Coefficient Of Restitution. In English, the new bats create a collision between the bat and ball which is not as impactful. When teams began receiving these bats last summer, they immediately noticed the difference, and many coaches predicted steep declines in offensive levels across the sport. There have been about 900 NCAA games played so far this season, so we’re starting to get to the point where we have a decent sample to draw from. Have the bats made a significant impact?

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When you sort the Career WAR leaderboards here on FanGraphs, you won’t find Duke Snider on the first page. You won’t even find him on the second page. Instead, you have to click all the way to Page 3, where he’s sandwiched right between Graig Nettles and Ed Delahanty, two guys who were never immortalized in song. For a more contemporary example, Snider has essentially the same career WAR as Scott Rolen, who is not held in nearly the same regard by his peers The Duke is.

Snider is one of the guys whose greatness can’t be summed up by looking at his career numbers. To some degree, he is the classic example of why guys with a lot of value at their peak are often remembered more fondly than their career WAR would have you suggest. And rightfully so.

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The Phillies got some bad news over the weekend, as Chase Utley’s lingering knee soreness resulted in him getting an MRI. While no structural damage was found, you can now add his knees to the ever-growing list of body parts that the 32-year-old has had problems with. As noted in the linked article, he had surgery for a broken hand in 2007, hip surgery following the 2008 season, and then had to undergo surgery on his thumb last summer.

From the quantity of health problems he’s had in the last four years, it might appear that Utley’s body is just beginning to break down. Given that there are a number of examples of second baseman who fell off a cliff in their early 30s – see Roberto Alomar, Carlos Baerga, Chuck Knoblauch, and Brian Roberts, among others – it could be natural to assume that Utley’s headed for a steep decline. In fact, the rate of aging among second baseman has been so severe that it has become a truism in baseball that players who man the keystone position simply don’t age well. Theories on the causes of this phenomenon often hinge around the beating second baseman can take while turning the double play, as they often have to guard the bag with their back to an oncoming baserunner intent on breaking up the twin killing. Is Utley yet another example of the wear and tear of second base causing a premium second baseman to break down earlier than he would have otherwise?

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An interesting comment from the post below leads me to this simple question – how much more would you be willing to pay for a version of MLB.tv that did not include blackout restrictions? Essentially, would the market justify an additional product whose revenues could be used to buy the team owners out of their arcane use of “local market” demarcations? The totals listed below would essentially be premiums on top of the base fee, so you can just add $100 or $120 (depending on which version you would purchase) to get the total price you’d be willing to pay for a truly blackout free MLB.tv product.

As Carson noted over at NotGraphs yesterday, MLB.tv is set to begin broadcasting actual baseball games this weekend, with three match-ups on the docket for Saturday. And, as they mention on the subscription page, there will be 150 spring training games available with “NO BLACKOUTS” (emphasis theirs). That brings me to my annual rant about a product that I can’t live without, but is so deeply flawed as to frustrate me to no end. MLB.tv could be the greatest thing ever invented, but the insane MLB blackout policies are simply mind-bogglingly stupid.

Everyone has their own personal horror story about the blackout rules. Living in North Carolina, I know that I don’t have it as bad as others – the poor people in Iowa are blacked out from watching the Twins, Royals, White Sox, Brewers, Cubs, and Cardinals – but the story here shows just how ridiculous Major League Baseball’s rules are. I am in the “local” market for four teams – the Braves, Reds, Nationals, and Orioles. The Braves are at least somewhat understandable, as I’m “only” about five hours from Atlanta and their games are readily available on cable networks in my area.

The other three, however, are essentially out of my reach. I’m 430 miles from Cincinnati, and no television carrier in my area offers Fox Sports Ohio. Why would they? It’s not like there’s much demand for Ohio area sports down here. Interestingly, I’m not blacked out from the Pirates, who are only 409 miles away, or the Indians, who are 476 miles away. I can’t explain the Pirates/Reds thing, and as for Cleveland, I guess that extra 50 miles makes all the difference in the world, despite the fact that it is more accessible via major interstates and it would actually take me less time to drive there than to get to Cincinnati.

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To attempt and offset the loss of Cliff Lee, the Rangers are stretching out Neftali Feliz in spring training, and are keeping an open mind about converting him back into being a starting pitcher. Ron Washington has made it clear that he prefers Feliz in the ninth inning role, but the Rangers are willing to use March to see whether Feliz can impress them enough to crack the rotation.

There has been a lot of talk about whether Feliz can successfully make this transition. Evan Grant did a great piece today on his repertoire and how his secondary pitches may affect the team’s decision on his ultimate role. However, there has been less talk about the guys in line to replace Feliz, and the reality that the Rangers simply don’t have any natural replacements for the closer’s role if Feliz does end up in the rotation.

There are essentially four relievers in the organization who would likely get some consideration for the closing job if Feliz makes the conversion – Alexi Ogando, Darren Oliver, Mark Lowe, and Arthur Rhodes. All of them have value, but none of them are good fits for the closer’s job.

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