A Preview A Day Keeps the Winter Away, #19

For the month of March I will be doing a season preview, with a new team each day, going in alphabetical order by team so I can save the Yankees for last, because I am, in fact, that devious.

As this is a Yankees' blog, the previews for AL East teams will be more detailed than those of AL Central and AL West teams, and any AL team previews will be more detailed than NL team previews, save maybe for the Mets. Each preview will involve consideration of how much 'threat' a team is to the Yankees, for fairly obvious reasons.

Up today: The Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies went to the playoffs last year on smoke and mirrors. They were good, sure, but they weren't supposed to be nearly as good as the Mets, and a rash of injuries, most notably to Chase Utley should have lead to an early winter. However, the Phils never said die, and with a little help from Lady Luck, they made an October appearance.

In Cole Hamels and Brett Myers, the Phillies will hopefully have something this year that actually resembles a pitching staff, and if there was ever a guy that understood the concept of aging gracefully, it's Jaime Moyer.

Philadelphia has a more-than-solid infield with Utley, Rollins and Howard, but it won't do them much good if they can't stay healthy.

The Yankees have already played them twice in Spring Training; there's no secret that the Phillies could be considered favorites to repeat as NL East Champs.

Threat to the Yankees: Yellow, Exercise Caution

They are a legitimate NL Playoff team, like the Pares, and thus should not be taken too lightly.