http://crashburnalley.com/2009/10/21/almost-there/ Philadelphia Phillies baseball analysis that everyone can enjoy. Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:26:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://crashburnalley.com/2009/10/21/almost-there/comment-page-1/#comment-12678 John Harris Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:45:15 +0000 http://crashburnalley.com/?p=560#comment-12678 I am most impressed by how much they have achieved through homegrown talent. The core of Howard, Utley, Rollins, Hamels, and Happ were all Phillies draft picks. They signed Ruiz as an amateur free agent and picked up Victorino through the Rule 5 draft. Combining that with a judicious use of prospects as trade bait for the rest of the pitching staff, and consecutive World Series start to make sense for such a well run organization. I am most impressed by how much they have achieved through homegrown talent. The core of Howard, Utley, Rollins, Hamels, and Happ were all Phillies draft picks. They signed Ruiz as an amateur free agent and picked up Victorino through the Rule 5 draft. Combining that with a judicious use of prospects as trade bait for the rest of the pitching staff, and consecutive World Series start to make sense for such a well run organization.

]]>