Phillies Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt is in camp and in uniform, serving in his roving hitting instructor role.

Schmidt was asked, among other things, about the current, defending World Champs chances to have staying power.

"Dynasty may be a little bit of a harsh word, I don’t want to say that, but I think the mentality of this team led by Charlie of course, the heart beat of the team with Chase, Jimmy, Ryan... the guys surrounding them with great timing in their careers, Jayson Werth comes to mind. Cole Hamels is potentially, down the road a Steve Carlton-type kid. The ingredients are there for this team to win and be a post-season ball club for a long time."

More Schmidt in tomorrow's Daily Times...

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In today's paper, you can find a story on perhaps the dark horse in the race for the fifth starter's spot - Carlos Carrasco.

I chatted with the 21-year old prospect after his workout yesterday, and I must say, I was taken aback by the change in his self-confidence from a year ago. It's not like he was a scared kid last spring or anything, but he appears a heck of a lot more comfortable in the big league uniform... and confident in his abilities.

You can read the story, obviously, but I think there's a better chance he can win a rotation spot than some people may think. He's dominated in the last two stops (Lehigh Valley, Venezuela) that he's made.


Along with the Carrasco story, you can check out what Raul Ibanez, a former long-time teammate of Alex Rodriguez, had to say as he watched yesterday's press conference.

Also, daily notes from camp.

Again, you should be able to find all of this stuff every day at delcotimes.com/sports