2010 Look Back: The Bench

My Fellow Phans, 

Now that we’ve completed the individual look backs, it is time to look back at the other significant groups on the Phillies. We’ll start with a group of individuals that any good team needs to survive and that is of course, the bench players.  We’ll look more in-depth at the critical bench players that the Phillies had this past season below. I will start at 1^st base and work my way around the infield using the players’ primary positions as my guide.  

1B / OF: Ross Gload: .281 AVG 6 HR 22 RBI (92 games) – Grade: B+

Gload met or surpassed most of his stats from the 2009 season with Florida in 30 less games. He is a quality and an above average pinch hitter. I was a huge fan of the Phillies signing him and after seeing him this year, I still am a big fan of his. He looks to be the focal point of our bench next season.

1B: Mike Sweeney: .231 2 HR 8 RBI (26 games with Phillies) – Grade: B-

I always liked Sweeney. He was a quality player and an all around good guy. He came to Philly to get a taste of the postseason and that is what he got even though he didn’t get a single change to play in the postseason (I blame Manuel for that disappointment). He won’t back, but I wish him well. Hopefully he finds a team and gets that postseason appearance that he wrongly didn’t get here.

1B / 3B / OF: Greg Dobbs: .196 5 HR 15 RBI (88 games) – Grade: D -

I cannot pinpoint what happened to Dobbs. His talent seemed to be sapped as quickly as it came to him. There is no doubt that he is a natural hitter, it just never came to him last year. He’s moving on to another team next season; maybe they can help him rediscover his talent.

2B / 3B / SS: Wilson Valdez: .258 4 HR 35 RBI (111 games) – Grade: A-

Valdez’s offensive numbers weren’t spectacular, but those numbers do not tell the whole story. Valdez was the most valuable bench player to the Phillies this season. With all the injuries that the Phillies had, Valdez filled in whenever and wherever he was needed. Without him, I don’t know where we would have been. He played some second base when Utley was out, filled in for Rollins at shortstop and even played some third base when Polanco was injured.

He turned out to be better than Juan Castro. Although Valdez is a double play machine, he still provided adequate replacement for the Phillies this season.

SS: Juan Castro: .194 AVG 0 HR 13 RBI (54 games with Phillies) – Grade: C

Castro was a solid player filling in admirably for Rollins after he went down. However, he was run out of town when Wilson Valdez proved to be a better utility option.

C: Brian Schneider: .240 AVG 4 HR 15 RBI (47 games) – Grade: B

Schneider provided exactly what a backup catcher should do. He caught a quality game behind the plate and provided key hits here and there. That’s all that was asked of him and he did that greatly.

OF: Ben Francisco: .268 AVG 6 HR 28 RBI (88 games) – Grade B

Francisco started out slowly at the plate this season, but as he got more plate appearances, his average and production slowly began to increase.  Ben could be a starter for a number of teams and may just get the chance next season in right field for us. Either way, the Phillies are lucky to have him. He was the small piece in the Cliff Lee deal that nobody talked about, but has been paying dividends ever since.

OF: Domonic Brown: .210 AVG 2 HR 13 RBI (35 games) – Grade: C

Here’s the thing about our future superstar. He needs to play! Last season, the Phillies called him up, played him for a little bit and then banished him to the bench when Victorino was healthy. That did nothing to help him. In fact, as his abysmal winter ball stats showed, it hurt him. He may not be ready for the Majors just year, but sticking him on the bench is not going to help him. He is not a bench player; he needs to start every day to stay fresh.

So there is your Bench Look Back. Look next for the “Other Pitchers” Look Back coming sometime later this week.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!