Platoon, Not Just a Good Charlie Sheen Flick

Has the light bulb finally flipped on? It seems like the Phillies have found their left fielder of the future. He has been here the whole time. Well, at least he has been in the system the whole time. After yo-yoing between AAA and the Bigs, John Mayberry Jr. seems to have figured it out. What does that mean? We know Raul will be gone next year. Raul will turn 40 next June, so there is very little chance the Phillies will offer him a contract. Father time may have caught up to RAAAUUUULLLL. He has been nothing but a class guy. Let's hope the Fightin's can win the World Series this year so he can replace his NL Champions ring with a bigger one. I'm not ready to throw Raul on the scrap heap just yet. There is a lot of baseball left. I would like to see Raul against righties and Mayberry against lefties. The time off may help Raul, he's like a 105 in baseball years, how could it hurt? It's not like the Phillies haven't had success with platooning outfielders before. In 1993, they platooned both left and right field. They had Milt Thompson and Pete Incaviglia in left. They had Jim Eisenreich and Wes Chamberlain in right. It worked out for that team. Let's use the Jim Fregosi philosophy, get the most out of the talent you have. This way, Mayberry will get the at bats he needs and Raul will get some rest. Win-win, hopefully it will lead to a few more wins.

What about next year? As much as I'm trying to enjoy this ride, it's tough for me because I know Jimmy Rollins may not be here next year. I may be hoping for Mayberry to pan out for selfish reasons. It looks like Domonic Brown will not be the answer in left next year. If they had Brown in left they could have used some of the money they saved by letting Raul go for Jimmy. If the Phillies don't pick up Roy Oswalt's option for next year and Raul comes off the books, they should have enough money to keep Jimmy and Ryan Madson. That all goes out the window if they need to address left field with a free agent. It's always cheaper to fill your holes from within the organization. I hope Mayberry can find a way to keep the light bulb in the 'On' position.
 

Keep It Classy Philly!

DB29