Is Pedro Feliz the Answer at Third in Philly?

In '07, "Who's on Third, I Don't Know" was more than just an Abbott and Costello routine in Philadelphia, but a way of life as Greg Dobbs, Wes Helms, and Abraham Nunez manned third base for the Phillies. Today, they hope that former Giant Pedro Feliz will provide the answer to the age old question, as the Phillies have signed him to a two-year, $8.5 million dollar deal.

Feliz batted .253 with 20 homers and 72 RBIs for San Francisco last season. He's an upgrade over the trio of Greg Dobbs, Wes Helms and Abraham Nunez. Philadelphia's third basemen batted .255 with 11 homers and 76 RBIs last year. Dobbs and Helms remain on the roster.

Feliz had spent his entire eight-year career with the Giants. He's been a full-time starter since 2004, averaging 21 homers and 84 RBIs. Feliz, who turns 33 on April 27, is a career .252 hitter with a .288 on-base percentage.

How much of an upgrade is this? The Phillies can hope that the change in home parks from 3-Com in San Francisco to the shoebox known as Citizens Bank will help those power numbers along. And Feliz, with only 11 errors last season should provide an upgrade in the field from the trip of Helms, Dobbs, and Nunez (25 errors between them in '07). But a .288 career on-base percentage tells me that if he can't work a walk in San Francisco, he can't take a walk in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, or the North Pole.