Week in Review: 2/14 – 2/20

Could you feel love this week Nation?

The Phab Phive (yes I include Joe Blanton) sat down in Clearwater to spread the love about this upcoming season. At times it seemed the press forgot about lonely Joe when asking questions. Col Hamels was asked how it felt being the only pitcher on the staff with a World Series ring. He replied, “I’m not the only one, Joe has one too.”

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Hamels and Blanton are set to embark on what could be the greatest pitching season in baseball history. Between the five, they are Cy Youngs, multiple All Star appearances, a World Series MVP and even a World Series homerun. What else could they possibly need or want?

“I wish I threw left-handed,” Halladay joked when asked if he envied the other pitchers. “Yeah, it’s fun to watch all of them. Everybody does something different, different ways of pitching.”

This week it wasn’t only the starting rotation catching headlines.

Jimmy Rollins showed up to Clearwater earlier than usual this season. Maybe the thought process was the sooner he gets 2011 started, the sooner we can all forget about 2010. I always say the up-side to a season like that is it can’t get any worse, right? Let’s hope showing up early means Rollins is ready to get back to his MVP caliber play.

A lot has been said dating back to the trade deadline in 2009 when the Phillies shipped out Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Lou Marson and Jason Donald to bring in Cliff Lee, only to send him to Seattle in a deal that landed Halladay. Also included in that deal, the Phillies sent Kyle Drabek and Travis d’Arnaud to Seattle and Michael Taylor to Oakland. The farm is empty. That’s what a lot of people were saying. This was go time for the Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro Jr.

He was selling all the prospects to win now, right now. The Phillies have done exactly that. However, let’s not sweep the farm system under the rug just yet. In case you didn’t already know, we have one of the best minor league guys on our staff. Jay Floyd has been breaking down the top prospects all winter at Prospect Nation. And while this current Phillies team has us excited for this year, these kids are making the future look pretty bright as well.

This week we will be looking at the top four guys in the Phillies system. But before we get there, make sure you guys read up on Jiwan James, Trevor May and Justin De Fratus in this week’s Prospect Nation. There is a good chance we will see some of these Top 10 guys for September call-ups.

We finally made it through the Top Moments of 2010. Halladay captured four of the top 10 moments from this past season so it’s only fitting he finishes it off with moments one and two. This season, Halladay could do no wrong it seemed. He sprung into action Opening Day for the Phillies and never looked back. Halladay rounded out the Top 25 with baseball’s perfect game and a playoff no-hitter.

The exciting thing about being a baseball writer is the chance to cover games like these. And with the staff and team that Amaro has put together for the 2011 campaign, I am sure we will have many more opportunities to witness greatness. The season is almost here, and it’s only going to get funner.