[Hurkman]

At least the first three starters will make my job easy, but after that...let's just say some work needs to be done.

Starting Pitchers

#1: John Lackey, R: 19-6, 2.74 ERA, 204 K, 2008 Cy Young Award Winner
Well, this is a good start to the rotation. Lackey is a career Phillie, having been drafted before I got here. He struggled before 2007, and then really flipped a switch, winning 16 games that season and the Cy Young this past year. If he's going anywhere, it's over my cold, dead body.

2009 Salary: $12,175,000
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: Is there a percent higher than 100%?

#2: Tim Lincecum, R: 15-8, 3.65 ERA, 215 K
He may not be a Cy Young winner yet, but Tim is one hell of a number two pitcher in my rotation. He's only 24 years old, and he's already won 15 games for us in one season. I can't wait to see what the future holds for him. He's already getting on me about a contract extension, but we've got him through arbitration until 2012, so I'm going to make sure everything pans out before paying out the nose for this kid. Odds are I'll be giving him a healthy salary soon, though.

2009 Salary: $6,844,500
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: See Lackey, John

#3: Shawn Hill, R: 12-9, 4.25 ERA
Your classic junkball pitcher. Shawn gave up more hits than innings pitched last season, but he was still able to win 12 games for us. As long as he can keep hitters guessing, I'll keep him around, but once a junkballer loses his stuff, then I might as well get out there and pitch.

2009 Salary: $3,244,800
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: 90%, as long as he keeps it up.

#4: Mark Redman, L: 6-8, 5.03 ERA
This is where things start to get interesting, and by that I mean bad. Redman's the only lefty we've got in the starting rotation, and while I need a left hander, having one that gave up 24 homers and allowed batters to hit almost .300 for the season is not what I have in mind. Consider the #4 starting spot an open competition.

2009 Salary: 1,285,000
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: Less than 50%, especially if I can find a cheap free agent pickup or get a throw in on a trade.

#5: Clay Hensley, R: 6-14, 5.88 ERA
Ugh. If Redman was bad, Hensley was bad on steroids in 2008. Fourteen losses, an ERA nearing shoe size levels and more walks than strikeouts are not good enough, even for a fifth pitcher. Somehow, this guy is making almost $5 million. I blame Theo, and now have to do everything I can to dump this guy on someone.

2009 Salary: $4,910,000
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: Probably 60%, since no team in their right mind would take him, especially with this salary. He's only got a one year deal, though, so after this year, buh-bye.

Relief Pitchers

(How do you spell relief? Not with these guys!)

Middle Relief #1: Logan Kensing, R: 4-3, 5.47 ERA
I'm hoping last year was a mirage for Logan. The year before, in Washington, he had an ERA of 2.57, only for it to balloon when he got here. If that's a product of the ballpark, he's not long for this team, but I'm at least going to give him a chance, since he's cheap, and the potential is there.

2009 Salary: $405,808
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: 85%

MR #2: Frank Castillo, R: 0-3, 6.63 ERA
What scares me is that he was the second best middle relief pitcher on my team in 2008. He's 39 now, and hasn't been good since Bill Clinton was in office, and even that's pushing it. Retirement should have happened already, but when it does, he won't be in a Phillies uniform.

2009 Salary: $440,000
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: 10% (Searching for "Release Player" button...)

MR #3: Jay Witasick, R: 3-5, 1 SV, 6.56 ERA
What amazes me about Jay here was the fact he was even able to get a save last season. Another pitcher whose old as dirt already, Jay is on the fast track out of town. He walked 57 batters last season in 59 innings, and I don't think I've ever seen a WHIP as high as 2.10, but that's what his was. I'd like to state again that this bullpen sucks.

2009 Salary: $480,000
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: 5%, or as long as it takes me to cut Castillo, then him.

MR #4: Brian Falkenberg, R: 0-1, 14.73 ERA
No, that's not a misprint. Good ole Brian actually posted an ERA larger than his shoe size last year. Of course, he did spend most of the year in the minors, and only pitched in three games with the Phillies last year, but still. He walked 5 batters and gave up 7 runs. I'm more than likely going to give him one more chance, if only because of such a small sample size and the fact that he's probably better than the two guys in front of him.

2009 Salary: $400,000
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: 55%, but if he sucks like this again, I won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

Setup Man #1: Scott Randall, R: 6-9, 7 SV, 4.66 ERA
Well, at least this is a little better. Of course, this also shows the problem I have at the closer position, since Randall was my de facto closer for part of the year. He wasn't horrible last year, but that .282 opponent batting average scares me too much to make him the closer going into this season. He'll stick around, at least as a setup guy.

2009 Salary: $2,065,000
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: 85%

Setup Man #2: Edwar Ramirez, R: 4-6, 4.68 ERA
The most used man out of the bullpen last year, Ramirez pitched 77 innings in relief and looked halfway decent for most of them. While a 4.68 ERA isn't great, for me, it'll do right now. I'm hoping that number comes down more towards the 3.77 ERA he put up in 2007, and I would love it if he were a lefty. Where the hell are the lefties in my bullpen??

Closer: Chris Bootcheck, R: 4-5, 24 SV, 4.37 ERA
As you can see, we had a hell of a problem deciding who our closer should be. Bootcheck won out by midseason, and didn't do a bad job, all things considered. He only gave up five home runs on the season, and his .261 opponent batting average wasn't too bad. I'm going to keep him in the closer role this season, but if he slips up, I'll be looking at the free agent crop during the offseason next year.

2009 Salary: $565,000
Odds of being a Phillie in 2009: 90%

Top Pitching Prospects: Rodrigo Olvera (Rookie), Muneyaki Takahashi (Single A)
Yep, that's about it in terms of pitching prospects. Old Theo didn't exactly leave me much to work with, did he? It's going to be interesting once my top three starters get off the mound.