Inside the Phillies: Role players are crucial for Phillies

Sometimes the little moves that do not make the front-page headlines or get the most hits on the home page are the ones that can make a big difference over the course of a season.

And the Phillies need that to be true more than ever as they get set to start a new season Friday afternoon against the Houston Astros.

Proof of the positive impact that unheralded pickups have had can be found by tracing the Phillies' recent success.

Yes, the acquisitions of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cliff Lee over the last 16 months have generated unmatched excitement and boosted area T-shirt sales, but the difference between another winning season and winning it all could come down to how well Ben Francisco plays in right field and what kind of contributions Wilson Valdez, Michael Martinez, and Pete Orr make as extra infielders.

Yes, homegrown talents such as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Carlos Ruiz have been staples during this era of champagne celebrations, but would their talent have been enough without the Rule 5 draft addition of Shane Victorino in 2004 and the minor-league free-agent signing of Jayson Werth in 2006?

Catcher Chris Coste, another minor-league free-agent signing, became a cult hero in Philadelphia because of his contributions after making the team as a 33-year-old rookie.

The Phillies probably would not have started this run of division titles without the 2007 deadline deal that brought them Tadahito Iguchi from the Chicago White Sox for Michael Dubee. And who knows if Philadelphia's title drought would still be going if Matt Stairs had not been obtained from Toronto in 2008?

A year ago, with every infielder spending time on the disabled list, Valdez proved to be a defensive wizard who contributed timely hits.

With Utley on the disabled list again and Placido Polanco feeling soreness in the same elbow that required surgery in the offseason, lesser-known players like Valdez and Martinez are going to be asked to make valuable contributions.

Francisco has always been the "other guy" in the 2009 deadline trade that brought Lee to the Phillies the first time. Now, he has to produce.

The Phillies decided that Valdez's sure hands and rifle arm were a better fit for second base than Luis Castillo's experience. Orr, who played last year at triple-A Syracuse, has another shot at being a big-league bench player because of Utley's knee injury.