We are only a few weeks away from the boys of summer making their return to the diamond. Spring Training is in the air and finally, Phillies baseball is once again a daily part of our lives.
However, as I was reading a tremendous article a week or two back written by ESPN's Jayson Stark, a thought popped into my head. Stark was talking about the best and worst offseason moves in baseball, and the Phillies were not mentioned even once in the article. I talked to Jon Marks, of 97.5 the Fanatic, last week about it and he too agreed that he was a bit startled at the fact that Stark, a guy who usually gives great praise to the Phillies organization, did not give the Fightins a single remark on their offseason moves.
This now begs the question that I think a lot of Phillies fans have in the back of their head..Has the Phillies window of opportunity closed? Is this the final chance for this group of guys to bring home one last title to the City of Brotherly Love?
My answer: Yes, the window is closing on this Phillies team that we've known and loved the past few years. We can bring any factor into play, whether it be age, injury, or even the ability left in the arsenal of guys like Utley and Halladay. However, this Phillies team still deserves to get more attention from the national media.
They have been flying under the radar all offseason, picking up players like veteran Michael Young, Ben Revere, and even a guy who I believe could be a dark horse on this team in Delmon Young, who don't forget was the ALCS MVP just a year ago with Detroit. Although guys like Rollins and Utley have gotten older, it is clear that when healthy, these guys can still perform.
J-Roll was able to put up almost 70 RBI's last year, and Utley keeps on saying how his knees have felt good all Spring Training. We also can't overlook the fact that the Big Piece is batting over .400 right now, and Dom Brown has also looked extremely sharp over the first few weeks of spring ball.
I understand it's only Spring Training, but if guys like Brown and Ruf can step up and earn their spot on this team, the rotation full of workhorses like Halladay, Lee, and the new #1 ace Cole Hamels can play like the big three we saw two years ago, the new guys in Revere, Adams, and the two Youngs can be the surprising pickups that Amaro believes they can be, and if the older guys like Howard and Utley can continue to stay healthy; this team could be a real threat this year. Mark my words.
And as Philly fans, we can only hope so, because as Jon Marks and myself both believe, this might be the last chance this group of guys have to get the job done, and bring us one last parade down Broad Street. The media can overlook this team all they want. The fact of the matter is the team still has talent, and these players I believe still have gas in the tank to get it done. It all comes down to injuries. We've seen it the past few years with this team. If these older guys can stay healthy, then maybe, just maybe, they can give us Philly faithfuls one last hoorah, and one last chance at reliving the excitement we felt on that unforgettable October 29th day in 2008.
Great article, this guy Ryan Rivel really knows his stuff
Posted by: Morgan Tyson | 03/06/2013 at 04:14 PM
Dude im not the biggest follower of sports but i agree with this 100%, everything i heard last season about the phillies was negative or something about them losing,ad to me it just seemed like from the games i saw since the world series, Hamels just didnt seem to care one way or another, win or lose...dont get me wrong he was amazing that year, but afterwards he just seemed to die off a little based on the games i saw. Great article keep it up! :D
Posted by: Wes | 03/06/2013 at 04:20 PM
great article! go phillies!!!
Posted by: Ariana. T | 03/06/2013 at 04:25 PM
Hey Ryan,
Sorry but the Braves have the division wrapped up already.
Posted by: Orazio M. | 03/06/2013 at 06:47 PM
Great column and I agree 100%. Here is hoping they can stay healthy!
Posted by: Bill R | 03/06/2013 at 08:50 PM
Not a bad article but not enough information.
We understand this team has a lot of if's when it comes to health, the bigger point here is, how well have other teams improved. You failed to mention anything about the Braves and Nationals.
Posted by: Chris G. | 03/06/2013 at 09:07 PM
Chris G. in response to you, the braves did add the uptons, however i think they definitely overpayed for BJ, and not having chipper anymore is gonna be a big missing piece for them. i really dont think the braves improved all that much. the main problem for the phils last year was the injuries. and i really think the revere, micheal young, and delmon young signings are being very underplayed. revere can be a .300 hitter, delmon young was a nice cheap pickup, and micheal young, although older, i think is gonna have a bounceback year. in my opinion if they can avoid the injury bug, its a race between the phils and nats in the nl east. nats are still the team to beat definitely, but i feel like the braves are definitely gonna be beatable this year. too overrated in my opinion.
Posted by: Ryan RIvel | 03/06/2013 at 10:45 PM