In the two months of the 2009 season Raul Ibanez was everything the Phillies had hoped he would be and much more. He hit 22 home runs and batted .309 before the all-star break. However after a stint on the disabled list in June of last year Ibanez was not close to being the same player he was at the outset of the season. In the second half he hit just .232 with 12 home runs. What is more alarming than his second half dropoff last season, is the fact that Ibanez is hitting a mere .114 this spring.
Jayson Werth has struggled as well hitting just .184. To make matters worse, Werth shaved his epic beard that he showed up at spring training with. However, Werth has over come another rough spring during his tenure as a Phillie. In 2008 Werth hit .170 in spring training, but went on to hit .273 with 24 home runs in the regular season.
Certainly if the struggles of Ibanez and Werth carry into the regular season Ben Francisco could see more playing time than he did for the Phillies last year after being traded from Cleveland in the Cliff Lee deal. It seems likely that he would be filling in more for Ibanez than for Werth given the way the spring has gone for both outfielders.
Francisco started 20 regular season games in the final two months of the season after starting 82 for the Indians before the trade. Though Francisco hit .278 with 5 home runs, his 24 strikeouts in 97 plate appearances were not winning him any extra playing time over a trio of all-star outfielders. While Francisco's .273 batting average and 3 home runs are not blowing anyone away this spring, his six strikeouts in 44 plate appearances are certainly an improvement.
It is also relieving to know that there is a capable bat on the bench to give Ibanez some rest if he can shake of his terrible spring. Then again, Ibanez could get a lot of rest if he continues to pretend to be Pat Burrell circa 2003.
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