Give Ben a Chance

You may remember July 29, 2009 as the day the Phillies got Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians. At the time, there were plenty of fans clamoring for then-Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, and Lee seemed like a shoddy consolation prize to the uninformed.

He turned out to be a crown jewel, and Phillies fans hope that the second time with Lee is no different. But the Phillies also got a "throw-in" to the trade on that July 29th day. It was Ben Francisco, your new starting right fielder.

This is going to be hard. Our previous right fielder, part-time werewolf and full-time fan favorite, is now a Washington National. We will never forget Jayson Werth for his contributions to the 2008 World Series team. At times, he was the most consistent offensive performer on the Phillies' roster.

Now, Francisco must try to fill the shoes of Werth. Many suggested Domonic Brown be the starter in right field. Others supported a platoon between Francisco and Ross Gload.

This much is true: Francisco has earned the starting job in right field, and he should be given the chance to be the everyday man.

After hitting .377 with a .456 on-base percentage in spring training, Francisco played himself into the job. We won't kid ourselves; spring training numbers often mean nothing. However, he did nothing to hurt his chances.

But that being said, in this writer's eyes, Francisco was the man from the start. After Brown's injury, the war had already been won.

Yes, Ross Gload will get a chance to play some games in the outfield, because Francisco will likely shift over to left field at times to give Raul Ibanez the occasional day off. Francisco has now become one of the most valuable Phillies, almost overnight.

The Phillies will need to rely heavily on Francisco. Taking health into consideration, he should start at least 135-140 games, if not more.

When the Phillies acquired Francisco from Cleveland, he had posted a .758 OPS, with 10 HR and 21 doubles in 355 plate appearances.

It's long been mistaken by some fans that Francisco was not a worthy enough candidate to replace Werth. That's not the case. Yes, Francisco was getting at-bats for a very bad Cleveland team in 2009. The Phillies obivously had better options, with Ibanez, Werth, and Shane Victorino all playing well at the time. 

Yet, Francisco deserves this chance. He only had 197 plate appearances last season for the Phillies, and hit .268 with a .327 OBP. For much of the year, Francisco was counted on as the Phillies' ace pinch-hitter off the bench. More at-bats should help polish Francisco's game.

He enters this season as a 29-year-old. Much like Ibanez, though, he doesn't have much mileage on his gas tank. Remember that Ibanez did not become a full-time player until 2002, his age-30 season.

Not all is sunshine and roses regarding Francisco, though. There are plenty of questions. The obvious one: can he handle right-handed pitching?

He has a career .262/.323/.440 line against right-handers, with a .267/.347/.460 line against lefties. If Francisco cannot handle right-handed pitching, Gload could be an option. But Francisco deserves the chance to fail against righties.

Francisco will also have to adjust to being a full-time player. His numbers have trended sharply downwards when facing a starting pitcher later in the game.

In first plate appearances in a game vs. a starter, Francisco has a career .290/.393/.546 line. In the third plate appearance against a starter, .235/.312/.388 is nothing to write home about. It looks like he has had a tough time picking up starters' adjustments. If he cannot do that, pinch-hitting for him late in the game could be an option. 

Nobody will replace Werth's strong defense either, but Francisco's arm has been somewhat disappointing this spring. Defensively, he has a long way to go. Not that Phillies fans should be a expecting a Gold-Glove performance from Francisco anyway.

It's his job to lose. He deserves the chance to replace Werth, and played well this spring.

None of that matters come Friday, but the Phillies can only hope that *insert Ben Francisco treat joke here*.