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Page 3
Rolen is the best young third baseman in the league. When he becomes a free agent in 2002, every team will be fighting for his services. If the Phillies want to keep him, they need to win. I thought this last year too, but the Phillies have a real chance to compete in 2001. The rotation was good last year, with the exception of Daal. If Daal rebounds, he and Bruce Chen could be the best pair of left-handers in the league, plus righties Robert Person and Randy Wolf. A bonus is if Paul Byrd returns to All-Star form. The Phillies have a chance to do something special if it all comes together.
The Phillies need a closer, no doubt. But Mesa and Bottalico? These guys are well past their primes and probably can’t effective set-up, much less close. This was easily the most confounding signing of the winter. On paper, the Phillies look really close to competing in the division, but signing washed-up closers will not seal the deal. Rankings Best Infield 1. Mets (Piazza, Zeile, Alfonso, Ordonez, Ventura) 2. Braves (Lopez, Brogna, Veras, Furcal, Jones) 3. Expos (Barrett, Stevens, Vidro, Cabrera, Tatis) 4. Phillies (Lieberthal, Lee, Anderson, Rollins, Rolen) 5. Marlins (Johnson, Lee, Castillo, Gonzalez, Lowell) Best Outfield 1. Braves (Surhoff, Jones, Jordan) 2. Phillies (Burrell, Glanville, Abreu) 3. Marlins (Floyd, Wilson, Kotsay) 4. Mets (Agbayani, Payton, Perez) 5. Expos (Bradley, Bergeron, Guerrero) Best Three-Man Rotation 1. Braves (Maddux, Glavine, Millwood) 2. Mets (Leiter, Reed, Rusch) 3. Phillies (Wolf, Person, Chen) 4. Expos (Vasquez, Armas, Pavano) 5. Marlins (Dempster, Smith, Penny) Best Closer 1. Mets (Benitez, Franco) 2. Braves (Rocker, Ligtenberg) 3. Expos (Urbina) 4. Marlins (Alfonseca) 5. Phillies (Mesa) Best Odds of Winning the Division 1. Braves 2. Mets Darkhorse 1. Phillies
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