The Philadelphia Phillies are in good shape for a National League title. The team sits comfortably 2.5 games behind Atlanta, and with a 3.5 in the Wild Card, the odds of them performing all the way to October are very possible.

Having recently added Roy Oswalt of the Houston Astro’s to their roster, General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. may have set the team up for a straight run for the win, Oswalt is a long tenured experienced player after all with a respectable record. His win-loss records are 6-13, but his 8.3 strikeouts-per-nine innings is the best rate he’s had since his rookie season. When his game is tight, we should see some real fireworks from Oswalt, his fans certainly hope so.

Given the team’s history which began in 1883 it should be obvious that they can succeed. The Phillies have finished in first place during the regular season in 2007, 2008 and 2009. The team has won 2 World Series championships and 7 National League pennants going all the way back to 1915. Unlike new franchise teams with a mix-and-match group of players and managers, The Philadelphia Phillies are today a tight knit unit of veteran players and professional managers that have proven their skills throughout the years.

As their fearless leader Charles Fuqua Manuel, Jr. Is managing quite well, he brings 41 years of Major League Baseball experience to the team. He was voted by fans as “This Year In Baseball Awards” Manager of the Year for all of Major League Baseball, showing that many feel he has the leadership skills to take the Phillies all the way again.

They have however suffered a serious rash of injuries this season that make fans nervous, Infielder Chase Utley with a broken thumb, Outfielder Shane Victorino with a painful strained abdominal muscle, Jimmy Rollins with a bruised left foot, Outfielder Raul Ibanez has a sore left wrist and the recently named National League Player of the Week Ryan Howard has acquired a sprained right ankle. It’s hard to believe that these injuries aren’t seriously affecting the overall game of the team, but they have yet to take a statistical dive and are still performing as well as can be expected.

Utley and Victorino are still on the disabled list, but the rest should be in form soon.

Currently the Phillies starting staff holds a solid 3.89 earned run average, and with a little more tuning their bullpen could pull up their current 4.08 average. With players like Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley the team can turn up the heat both offensively and defensively, the team’s 2010 National League odds to win the pennant are currently around +600.

Yes October is far away. There are many games yet to play away from Citizens Bank Park, something that the Phillies haven’t been strong with this season, but if they can mirror their home game performance out of town, we should see them in fine form when the National League playoffs come around.

Author Bio: Freddie Brister is a retired football coach who writes for SportsFanTreasures.com. Check out his Philadelphia Phillies blanket or his Washington Redskins Blanket or his Atlanta Braves blanket

Category: Sports
Keywords: New York Yankees Team,New York Yankees,National League