i really hope Ruf makes it in the bigs and proves every single prospect writer wrong. as evident by my username, im not only a phillies nut through and through, but i love Ruf. i think i was one of the first people to own his jersey, and its just something about him that i love. it sounds really cliche and lame, but he's what sports is all about. the guy that nobody thought could make it as a big-league regular, only to have him turn out to be a great everyday player. is it likely?...probably not. i would say at best, he profiles as a platoon guy who can face lefties, and also spell Ryan Howard at 1B when tougher lefties are on the mound. however, one thing ive continually said about him being "too old" for his level is this....there's only a certain level of production you can expect out of a guy...how many HR would Ryan Howard hit if he played the same number of games in AA next year?...is it possible that Ruf was ready for the bigs for the last 1-2 years and the Phillies simply had no place to put him?...i know its his defense that has held him back for sure, and he wasnt that great prior to this year admittedly, but i just want him to do well for the Phillies so bad. He's the ultimate Philly guy....one thing to mention though. the Phils do have somewhat of a recent history of not promoting guys until they are a bit older than most rookies....Ryan Howard didnt become a regular until 2006 when he was 26-27...Carlos Ruiz wasnt their everyday catcher until 2007 when he was 28....and Chase Utley wasnt a full-time regular until 2005 when he was 26.

I think Ruf's going to get a very good chance to win a bench job in Philly this year. We won't know if he's more AAAA or capable role player in the big leagues until he's in that type of role for at least a couple months. When a player starts 1-2 per week, with a few pinch-hit appearances in between, it's very hard to get a rhythm and many young players struggle. Ty Moore of the Nats was an exception last season. I love stories like this so I'll be cheering for Ruf to have a similar year to Moore's in 2012.

Is it actually spelled 'Ruf' or are we just spelling Bryan LaHair wrong?