Philadelphia Baseball History

Yesterday, pitchers and catchers reported for the Phillies, opening Spring Training and the 2017 campaign. The Phillies are coming into 2017 with somewhat higher expectations than last year. While few expect the Phillies to contend for a play-off spot, many see .500 as a reachable goal. Why so many feel that an appropriate measure of success for this year's team is the number of wins is beyond me. The fact remains that the Phillies are a young team, with a number of promising prospects still developing in the minor leagues. To be sure, the Phillies appear to have improved by addressing offensive weakness in the outfield. They did so by signing veterans Howie Kendrick and Michael Saunders to one year deals, with the team having the option to extend Saunders for another year. But the Phillies have young outfield talent in the organization. Aaron Altherr is expected to be available off the bench in the majors. Roman Quinn, Nick Williams and Dylan Cozens are expected to hone their craf...

Original thinking is not necessarily the hallmark of sports reporting these days.   It’s more like a pack mentality.   Here we are at the beginning of Spring Training.   No games have been played, and the roster has not been set.   Indeed, for the Phillies, this is a year of major transitions.   Yet, before anyone truly knows who is going to be on the major league club, all of the major outlets are simply assuming that the Phils will be as bad, if not worse, than last year. Quite frankly, I find this nothing more than lazy reporting.   Certainly, the theme for the Phillies this year is that of change; long awaited change.   Thankfully, the new guard has chosen to build through youth.   What this means is that the major league roster will be full of players with a limited track record from which to judge.   For those who make a living off of prognostication, the Phillies present a particularly difficult problem, that of uncertainty. ...