Youve thought about it all season... what would this Phillies lineup look like with both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard?
On Friday, you may get your first glimpse.
Howard is expected to be activated Friday and could start at home vs. Atlanta (see story). Hes missed the entire season recovering from two surgeries on his Achilles, but Howard looked comfortable at the plate and in the field during a sped-up rehab assignment. Between Single A Lakewood and Triple A Lehigh Valley, Howard went 10 for 20 with five walks, two doubles, a homer and 10 RBI.
Assuming Howard returns Friday and Utley and Juan Pierre start, Tim Hudson could face a lineup that looks like this:
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Juan Pierre, LF
Chase Utley, 2B
Ryan Howard, 1B
Carlos Ruiz, C
Hunter Pence, RF
Shane Victorino, CF
Placido Polanco, 3B
Kyle Kendrick, P
Or, it could look like this...
Jimmy Rollins, SS
Chase Utley, 2B
Carlos Ruiz, C
Ryan Howard, 1B
Hunter Pence, RF
Shane Victorino, CF
Placido Polanco, 3B
Juan Pierre, LF
Kyle Kendrick, P
MLB
The first lineup is probably more efficient, though it does drop Ruiz and Pence a bit lower than usual. Pierre has super-glued himself into the two-hole, where he is exactly 50 for 150 this season for a .333 batting average.
The benefit of the second lineup is that it prevents the Phillies from going lefty-lefty-lefty after Rollins. The Phils would be going S-L-R-L-R-S-R-L-R. A back-and-forth like that makes things very tough on the opposing pitcher, who doesnt get to sit on one side of the plate or develop a groove with one platoon-specific pitch (i.e. a lefty-on-lefty slider, a righty-on-lefty changeup).
You see the impact Howard has on the Phillies batting order. His and Utleys presence combined with the season-long dominance Ruiz has displayed gives the Phillies one of the top NL offenses from this point forward. The Phils go from batting a struggling Victorino third or fifth to batting him seventh, where he deserves to be based on his season slash-line of .247.313.373.
The Phillies led the National League in runs scored during the final three months of the 2011 season, and that was without Ruiz having one of the best offensive seasons a catcher has ever had.
It may be too latethe Phillies are 13 games back in the NL East and 8 back of the second wild card spot. But even if they fail to make an improbable run, this should be a fun offense to watch as the summer wears on.
E-mail Corey Seidman at cseidman@comcastsportsnet.com
