The Philadelphia Phillies have had a lot of drama in the offseason. However, one player hasn’t been involved in any of it. Outfielder Shane Victorino has been active in his community causes and recently hosted his annual toy drive for Christmas. With Victorino appearing in the news for the right reasons, it made me think of something. This is another guy the Phillies would be wise to re-sign before the 2012 season begins. As a Phillies fan, I hope it is settled as soon as possible.

Victorino is in the final year of his three year contract. In my opinion, he was the offensive MVP for the team in 2011. Victorino brings a lot to the table. He is an excellent defensive outfielder. He has speed on the base paths. He can hit at the plate. Victorino has been one of the biggest bargains for the Phillies over the past few years. His production in relation to his salary is among the best in baseball. Not only that, but he is a vocal leader of the team. Along with Jimmy Rollins, Victorino brings a solid personality to this team. That is pretty valuable.

Victorino is a hard worker that paid his dues before his big chance with the Phillies. It is safe to say he has made the most of those chances. I hope the team can find a way to give Victorino a deal that works for both sides. It is clear that he wants to play in Philadelphia and it is clear that Philadelphia wants him. There is no reason something can’t be worked out.

Anyone in Philadelphia can tell you how great Victorino is. He has great character on and off the field. He’s the kind of player that embodies what Philadelphia fans look for in athletes that play here. With any luck, he will have another great year at the plate and on the field. He will no doubt have a great year continuing his work off the field. Hopefully, his great year will be rewarded with a new deal.

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have hired former general manager Ed Wade as a special consultant.

Wade was a GM for parts of 13 seasons for the Phillies (1998-2005) and the Houston Astros (2007-11). He was fired last month after the Astros posted a franchise-worst mark of 56-106 this year.

During his time as GM in Philadelphia, Wade’s staff drafted Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Ryan Madson and Brett Myers, all of whom were contributors on the 2008 World Series championship team. He also acquired Jim Thome, Shane Victorino and Billy Wagner.

In Houston, Wade made several key trades with the Phillies. He sent Brad Lidge, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence to Philadelphia in various deals.

Wade will assist in salary arbitration consultation, while also scouting at both the major and minor league levels.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—The Philadelphia Phillies have hired former general
manager Ed Wade as a special consultant.

Wade was a GM for parts of 13 seasons for the Phillies (1998-2005) and the
Houston Astros (2001-11). He was fired last month after the Astros posted a
franchise-worst mark of 56-106 this year.

During his time as GM in Philadelphia, Wade’s staff drafted Chase Utley,
Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Ryan Madson and Brett Myers, all of whom
were contributors on the 2008 World Series championship team. He also acquired
Jim Thome, Shane Victorino and Billy Wagner.

In Houston, Wade made several key trades with the Phillies. He sent Brad
Lidge, Roy Oswalt and Hunter Pence to Philadelphia in various deals.

Wade will assist in salary arbitration consultation, while also scouting at
both the major and minor league levels.

The Chicago Cubs have selected former Philadelphia Phillies farmhand Lendy Castillo in Major League Baseball’s Rule 5 Draft today.

Castillo, a right-handed pitcher, was 4-2 with a 2.54 ERA at Single-A Lakewood last season. Per the rules of the draft, he must remain on the Cubs’ 25-man roster the entirety of next season or be offered back to the Phillies.

Philadelphia did not make a Rule 5 selection for the first time since 2005.

Shane Victorino, David Herndon and Michael Martinez are all players the Phillies acquired through the Rule 5 Draft.

The Philadelphia Phillies were prohibitive favorites to win the 2012 World Series. That belief was widely held by analysts, fans, detractors and the like because their pitching and to a lesser extent, their fielding, were billed as exceptional.

The team met expectations in both of those areas of the game and also one other, hitting.

Philadelphia’s offense was widely considered to be a major concern long before Jayson Werth(notes) came to believe that playing for the Washington Nationals would be a good career move. Despite the energetic mid-season addition of Houston Astros outfielder Hunter Pence(notes), the Phillies’ offense sputtered once again in October.

APBA and Strat-O-Matic rules

The Phillies featured a collection of four aces last season, three of whom helped to produce a staff ERA of 3.02 and a WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched) of 1.167.

The Phillies team fielding percentage was .988.

Both of those percentages not only led all National League opponents, those numbers ranked number 1 in the entire major leagues.

A combined OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) is a useful statistic to review when considering an entire team’s offense. While nothing is perfectly accurate, it offers a more panoramic view than a batting average or a runs scored total.

The kids who played APBA and Strat-O-Matic grew up to rule various parts of the world. They also came to fully understand why numbers like these matter in baseball.

The Phillies 2011 regular season .717 OPS ranked fifthteenth in all of baseball. The St. Louis Cardinals were fifth at .766.

In 2008, the Phillies ranked seventh at .770, in 2009, they ranked sixth at .782 and in 2010, they ranked eleventh at .745.

Heading into 2012

A deeper combined analysis of pitching, defense and hitting can be done at a future time. The current point of this piece is offense. So, get your old school board game out now.

Carlos Ruiz(notes), Ryan Howard(notes), Chase Utley(notes), Placido Polanco(notes), Shane Victorino(notes) and Hunter Pence are all returning next season. They represent 75% of the lineup. That’s not considering that free agent Jimmy Rollins(notes) might also be back if the team re-signs him.

How likely is it that a majority of those of veteran players, in other words four out of the six, will all break their career trends simultaneously next year?

Howard’s surgery makes it hard to predict when he will be able to return to his job at first base.

Here are his OPS totals during the past four seasons: .881 (2008), .931 (2009), .859 (2010) and .835 (2011). Those numbers are each over 100 points higher than the Phillies team’s OPS average in each season.

How can any temporary replacement players possibly be expected to match his output?

Consistency

Keep in mind that all of the numbers that have been shown are regular season results. During each of the past three seasonal playoff rounds, the Phillies offense hasn’t been nearly as productive as it was during the corresponding regular season.

Unless two or more members of the 2011 lineup are permanently changed, this team seems bound to face the same type of offensive challenges that it has in recent seasons. Shortstop and left field are two of the positions where it’s possible to make that change.

John Mayberry(notes), Jr. has earned a shot to at least platoon in left field with a left-handed hitting colleague.

If Rollins leaves, the Phillies will need to compensate for his exceptional glove work and the .736 OPS he generated in 2011.

After earning a Communications degree from Penn State in 1990, Sean started his career in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons front office. At that time they were the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A farm team. He has written professionally for over two decades. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB

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The Philadelphia Phillies signed a big money closer. Now, they must focus on one area of their team if they hope to put themselves into position to become World Series’ contenders again.

The team must improve its offense if there is any hope of adjusting their fall outcome in 2012.

J-Roll

Here’s a plain and simple answer to their shortstop issue.

It is completely okay if Jimmy Rollins(notes) returns next season. But, he needs to bat no higher than sixth in the order if he does.

J-Roll’s glove work at shortstop is historically significant. He currently ranks third on baseball’s all-time fielding percentage leader board for all players who have ever played 500 or more games.

As a result, his superb defense saves runs. There is no getting around a big point that also leads into an offensive discussion.

Rollins is still effective, even though he no longer produces near the levels that he did during his 2007 National League Most Valuable Player season.

This team needs someone who has a much higher OPS at the top of their lineup.

It would also be good if that person isn’t Shane Victorino(notes), as his OPS isn’t that much higher than Rollins.

It would be helpful if the Phillies could acquire a replacement player to fill the leadoff role.

If Rollins isn’t re-signed, then his spot is one of a few that could be targeted for that transition.

Left field

Raul Ibanez(notes) was a good guy and a decent player. But, something different will be needed from his lineup slot next season.

As Domonic Brown(notes) is far from a certainty, he can’t be counted on. Plus, he has played right field and will also apparently need to make a change to the other side of the outfield before big league duty becomes an option.

While John Mayberry(notes) has shown excellent promise, fans should not assume that he can simply become the everyday starter. A platoon role would seem reasonable and possibly, as time moves forward, he will assume a starting slot.

A contact hitter, who plays small ball, would fit nicely into this left field position with Mayberry.

Polly and Chase

When Ryan Howard(notes) returns, the team will be counting on four of it’s eight regulars to repeat last season’s performances.

In addition to Howard, Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence(notes) and Carlos Ruiz(notes) performed as was expected in 2011.

As for Chase Utley(notes) and Placido Polanco(notes), both men need to produce far more than they did last season. Without that happening, it would seem hard to imagine how the team can improve that much offensively.

If Rollins leaves, the Phillies will add a new shortstop and a new left fielder to the mix.

That combination of new players and old veterans will simply have to do more.

Pitching and defense don’t win in the playoffs. Clutch hitting is also needed, as the Phillies learned when they faced the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants during the past two seasons.

After earning a Communications degree from Penn State in 1990, Sean started his career in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons front office. At that time they were the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A farm team. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB

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