Phillies’ core players
could save the season

In the Batter’s Box
By Matt Godfrey

I was listening to one of the sports-talk radio shows the other day and I heard something that really surprised me.
I assume that most of the people who call the shows are either pretty knowledgeable about sports or want to know what is going on.
Some of them even know things before the show’s host knows about them.
But one caller I heard recently obviously was neither knowledgeable nor "in the know" about what he wanted to discuss.
He was calling about the Phillies — more specifically, his suggestion that improving the team would require breaking up the nucleus.
I have grown accustomed to hearing these calls from the hopeless Philadelphia fan, and I’ve done a good job of just ignoring them.
This really baffled me, however, because I was under the impression that the team has been doing well lately, and that more fans are finally enjoying watching the team, because of the nucleus of players.
But this guy obviously had other ideas.
His main suggestion was to "trade Jimmy Rollins."
The caller was in the mindset that the Phillies won’t make the playoffs this year. He already wanted to start again from scratch.
I will give him the benefit of the doubt, that perhaps he was recommending a trade Rollins for some solid pitching help. If that’s not what he had in mind, well, the thought is just ridiculous.
Rollins is among the top shortstops in the league, offensively and defensively. He has the potential every year to be an all-star selection.
You just do not trade someone of that caliber without having someone who can step in and play.
It got me thinking about the nucleus the Phils have constructed so far.
I took the liberty of assuming the nucleus this caller was talking about includes Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels and Brett Myers.
I would even go so far as to say either Michael Bourn or Shane Victorino would be in that group, although I do not think that both of them can co-exist in the same outfield.
But each of the guys in that nucleus has proved to me that he can be an integral part of a winning franchise.
All of them, except Victorino, were drafted and brought up through the Phillies’ farm system. All of them provide something more than skill to the team.
Rollins’ double-play partner Utley was awarded a huge contract before this season, and he’s playing better than he did last year. Utley already is being talked about as a possible MVP candidate in the National League.
Ryan Howard just became the player to reach 100 home runs in the shortest time. On top of that, it would be an understatement to say that he is "starting to heat up."
In case you haven’t noticed, he has been hitting home runs in pairs recently. Add that to his Rookie of the Year award and his MVP award and his resume speaks for itself.
And then there is Cole Hamels, who already is vying for his first Cy Young Award . . . at the age of 23.
So I don’t understand how that radio caller could want to dismantle the nucleus. I do agree that the team must add some pieces to be a solid contender. But contending teams are not built overnight.
And contending teams are not built by selling off their best players.
It takes time to put all of the necessary pieces together. And this team is just a few pieces away.
They also have been drafting pitching pretty steadily over the past few years. The Phils just took lefthander Joe Savery in the first round. Last year they took righthander Kyle Drabek.
If Kyle Kendrick, who was drafted by the team in 2003, is what he seems to be so far, then those pieces may not be so challenging. ••
Columnist Matt Godfrey can be reached at 215-354-3113 or mgodfrey@phillynews.com