Could Over Confidence be Plaguing the Phillies this Spring?

The saying often spoken every spring by players when things are going bad is "It's early and really I'm just beginning my preparation for the regular season". While most would agree that this is common for ball players to utter to the media in early March; at some point struggling spring numbers must start to reflect actual performance shouldn't it? So is the team casually avoiding the talk of their lousy play on purpose or simply ignoring the elephant in the room? The fact of the matter is that most of the Philadelphia Phillies on this year's roster have never defended a division title before, and haven't ever had to deal with being the team to beat. So after watching another Phils starting pitcher get pounded this spring it provided me with some reason for concern, because as we all know, the Phillies have definitely not been able to get off to great starts in April. Even without the added pressure. Opening Day starter turned closer turned starter again Brett Myers is the only rotation guy that has looked sharp this spring. There is much discussion on whether he is the teams number one or number two on the local airwaves, but so far he really is the real clear-cut ace at this point. Cole Hamels is the team's future ace that has shown the organization in a year and half that he has the potential to become one of the best Phillies left-handers since Steve Carlton. However lately he's become more involved in media scrutiny over his contract renewal and has shown more of his Steve Carltonish personality than his stuff. Hamels ERA this spring is 12.60. Even Atlanta Braves ace John Smoltz has come out and said that Hamels should worry more about opposing batters than opposing Phillies management. Smoltz mentioned how worrying about off the field contract issues had ruined the first half of his season one year. A warning Cole should take seriously. 2008's number three starter is 2007's surprise rookie Bruce Ruffin, er...I mean Kyle Kendrick. The 23-year-old right hander had a wonderfully timed coming of age last summer and showed guts enough to start for the team in the post season. So far in his first ever spring training he's been knocked around with the likes of a 16.43 ERA. It's often said that once the book gets out on a pitcher that that's when you see what the pitcher really is made of. Grapefruit League teams certainly aren't having trouble reading his book or seeing his pitches to this point. 21-year veteran Jamie Moyer will man the number four spot in the rotation. His spring has gone well so far, but when your velocity is in the 70's during the regular season I guess it doesn't take long to get to your peak. He's the older wiser leader of the staff and is also the pitcher who gives me the largest ulcer when worrying about what could go wrong when all of a sudden age creeps up on a pitcher. Will there be a point this year when Moyer goes on the 60 Day DL or starts to get hit like Rocky Balboa in the early rounds of a title fight? The fifth or should I say highest salaried pitcher not mentioned yet is former Phillies number one draft selection Adam Eaton. When it comes to players not finding they're groove in March it doesn't apply to Eaton. He's getting hitters out with the same regularity he failed to retire them last summer. The 8 million dollar pitcher is now claiming his back might be to blame for his 15.75 spring ERA rather than last year when it was his shoulder that was to blame for his 6.29 regular season ERA. I wouldn't be as worried about things such as over-confidence, or the results of the spring outings I've witnessed if the young prospects in the organization without books on them happened to be fooling hitters. I've written before that management should start one of their four young starters Carlos Carrasco, Josh Outman, J.A. Happ, or Joe Savery to the wolves instead running Eaton or market bargain injured free agent Kris Benson out to the Citizen's Ball Park mound in April. Unfortunately, neither of them has shown an ability to put together consistency to this point except Happ (2.25 ERA). Carrasco's ERA is 9.53, Outman's 9.45, and Savery's is a lofty 10.80. Thankfully the New York Mets have been getting injured at the pace of front row soldiers in a storming of the castle and that the majority of the Florida Marlins are younger now than Jamie Moyer's grandchildren. The Washington Nationals will be playing in front of sold-out crowds this year in a brand new stadium, and if they can get some quality starts from their pitching have a powerful young lineup that will and has always given the Phillies fits. However the team we as Philadelphia fans should worry about most this year are the Atlanta Braves, they are only one measly year removed from 14 straight seasons of being in the same font running spot as the Phillies are this year.