Philly Phillies - Betting Favorite Will Fail In 2011

As Major Organization Baseball's spring training camps open for business in mid-February, 2011, the highest ultimate-outcome expectations, from the media, to Las Vegas and the offshore books, to baseball fandom just about almost everywhere are for the Philly Phillies to restore the world championship pinnacle they obtained in 2008. There exists a convincing case against the Phillies even reaching this period's champion showcase round, and let's take a look at it ...

It is axiomatic that the more questions even more a team going group a season, period more doubtful that team's positive seasonal favorable, and the Phillies have a multitude of great deal undermining prospective weakening those questions.

It a nutshell, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is the worst manager in MLB right now, and has been one of the worst managers in MLB history throughout his tenure in Philadelphia, dating to 2005. How can that be, you ask, given that Manuel guided the Phillies to World Series victory as recently as three years ago? Well, let's take an appearance at the extremely suspicious circumstances surrounding the 2008 World Series match and result between the Phillies and the Tampa Bay Rays. Just prior to that series it was well-publicized that Las Vegas and the Nevada sports books had an enormous stake in a Phillies winning World Series outcome. It was revealed that "tons of paper" meaning pre-season and early season future book bets at 40-1 odds on the Tampa Bay Rays to win it all, were out there, at potential major financial liability, if not devastation, to the Nevada Gaming Industry.

What followed was one of the most one-sided "Fall Classic" umpiring ordeals ever seen, on a par with the well-documented 1919 "Black Sox Scandal," which directly led to eight gamers being gotten rid of from baseball for life; on a par with the college basketball point-shaving scandals of 1951 and 1961; on a par with two NBA officials sanctioned for point-shaving duplicity in recent years. And on a par with the highly suspect one-sided officiating in the Pittsburgh-Seattle Super Bowl of 2006, which evoked a storm of protest which descended upon National Football League headquarters, for several days thereafter. Insider fixes are the sports equivalent of Wall Street insider trading scandals, and a lot of conspiracies along these lines come to light, given time and the first-hand testament which eventually surfaces.

How to describe virtually every close call in that series going Philly's means? Nevada got its way with Washington on that one, and a strong case can be made that Nevada, as well as the Philly Phillies and their main recipient, manager Charlie Manuel, also "won" the result of the 2008 World Series.

Now let's take a look at the Phillies onfield susceptability going into the 2011 season, which once more reverts to the ugly incompetence of their charlatan major organization manager. Manuel, reverting to his tiresome "He's my man," mantra, declined to jettison Lidge as his closer in the face of engaging evidence that Lidge was not up to the task, witness his major organization high of 11 blown conserves, to go with his strikingly stratospheric AGE of 7.11 for the period.

This to go with Manuel maintaining Jimmy Rollins in the leadoff position, in spite of Rollins' sub -.300 On Base Portion assembled that year. Why should Charlie Manuel have to be told that when a leadoff batter reaches first base the scoring potential for an MLB team increases to an average of 7.5 runs per 9 innings, and falls to an average of 2.5 runs per 9 innings when the leadoff concoction in any offered inning is retired?

The case against the 2011 Philadelphia Phillies achieving magnificence has to do with an offense which figures to have to scape for run scoring and production up and down the lineup. Look, Jason Werth, the group's most productive hitter in 2010, is gone via the Free Agency route, and has not been changed for quality in right field. Ben Francisco? Dream on. Prospect Domonic Brown of the high strikeout, low walk ratio albatross embarrassment? "Five tools" may not be enough. (And how can a first-rank baseball organization send a prospect to the major organizations entirely lacking in strike zone discipline?).

Aging Placido Polanco, devoid of power, down to a five percent walk rate in 2010, and showing signs of sharply decreased range in the field, this is your 3B corner guy for 2011? And Shane Victorino who fell short abysmally while substituting for Jimmy Rollins in the leadoff role, for several weeks during the 2010 season, this is your leadoff position alternative? Fact: during his tenure as substitute leadoff man last year, Victorino was the seventh-best inning leadoff man on the team, besting only Raul Ibanez on the basis of total bases divided by outs.

And remember, the Phillies sported the finest record in MLB in 2010, and came up empty in October. Best guess from this vantage point is a club 2011 routine period win total in the 90-92 array, and second in the department to a fast-ascending and younger Atlanta Braves group.

While the Phillies figure to be incompetently managed again in 2011, it is skeptical that even a young Earl Weaver might aviator this aggregation home in front. You can toss them from the betting pool where there look to be more attractive options along the lines of Atlanta, Cincinnati, and San Francisco's potential repeat situation.

At least this is the last contract year of the manager's tenure at the helm. And when he goes he will be missed out on in countless positive means.

As Major Organization Baseball's spring training camps open for company in mid-February, 2011, the greatest ultimate-outcome expectations, from the media, to Las Vegas and the overseas books, to baseball fandom simply about everywhere are for the Philadelphia Phillies to restore the world champion pinnacle they obtained in 2008. There exists a compelling case against the Phillies even reaching this season's champion display round, and let's take a look at it ...

It is axiomatic that the more questions even more concerns team going into a season, period more doubtful that team's positive seasonal outcome, and the Phillies have a multitude of great deal undermining answers to responses questions. It a nutshell, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is the worst manager in MLB right now, and has actually been one of the worst managers in MLB history throughout his tenure in Philadelphia, dating to 2005. Nevada got its way with Washington on that one, and a strong case can be made that Nevada, as well as the Philadelphia Phillies and their main recipient, manager Charlie Manuel, likewise "won" the outcome of the 2008 World Series. Now let's take a look at the Phillies onfield vulnerability going into the 2011 period, which again reverts to the ugly incompetence of their charlatan major league manager. To find out extra information check out summer camps for basketball.