The 2009 Phillies team continues its assault on pitching staffs around the league. They lead the National League in Runs (647), HR (176), Total Bases (1906), RBI (622) and Slugging Percentage (.450.)
With the regular season roughly 3/4 completed, it seemed a good time to put the team's current pace into perspective. The 2009 team is on pace to eclipse the numbers posted by the 2008 World Series Champion team in all these categories as follows:
Category 2008 2009*
Runs 799 859
HR 214 234
TB 2412 2531
RBI 762 826
SLG . 438 .450
* Projected
Opposing pitchers have taken notice. Recently, all-star pitcher Dan Haren of the Diamondbacks has had two rough outings against the Phillies and suggested that he rather pitch against the American League All-Star team line-up than this Phillies line-up. That is pretty high praise from one of the best pitchers in baseball. Television announcers from opposing clubs are usually a good reflection on that team's view of the Phillies. Universally, they express awe over the team line-up and high praise for the Phillies team overall.
On the right side bar below the Things We're Tracking section is a breakdown of the 2009 Phillies first 7 regulars in the line-up. It shows their hitting performance year-to-date and how this projects out over the full season. This does not take into account current trends, so certainly some hitters who are in a good groove could surpass these numbers or vice versa.
Among the things you might notice is that four players project to hit 35 or more home runs with more than 100 RBI. Additionally, all 7 players project to hit double digit home runs and collect more than 70 RBI. It is easy to see why others around the league are impressed....I know that I am.
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