After spending five days in Clearwater, Fla., for Spring Training, I was able to see and hear, firsthand, that this year's Phillies are ready for bigger and better things than the 2007 team accomplished.
If you don't believe me, just ask the reigning National League MVP, Jimmy Rollins, what his goals are for 2008.
"Personally? Do Better. As a team? Do much better," said Rollins. "If you haven't won a ring, you're empty, and right now, I'm working on that ring."
Last year, the Phillies won the division with a little bit of talent and a lot of heart, which helped make up for the gaping holes on the roster.
This time last year, we were all excited about Rollins' prediction that the Phillies were "the team to beat" but as fans, our feelings would have been best described as cautiously optimistic. After all, looking at that team in Spring Training a year ago, there were an awful lot of questions needing to be answered. Who was going to play third base? Who was going to come out of the bullpen to put out a fire? Who will get the ball to the closer? Will the closer's arm fall off? Is Cole Hamels ready to take the next step? Will Freddy Garcia ever throw harder than Jamie Moyer? Are they really paying Adam Eaton that much money?
Well I guess that last question is still relevant. (Seriously, how is Adam Eaton still a Major League pitcher? Statistically he was the worst pitcher in baseball last year, and he's back and already appears to be in mid-season form, which would be great for any other player in early March, but his mid-season form is terrible.) But I digress. Other than the Eaton issue, none of those nagging questions linger with this year's team. There are no holes in the lineup. The pitching is legitimately strong. Most importantly, everyone is buying to the idea that they are better than last year, and it starts at the top with the Phillies manager Charlie Manuel.
"I definitely think we'll be very competitive and we have a big chance to repeat [as National League East champions]," said Manuel. "We have better depth with our pitching. Our offense and defense are just as good. We picked up some real good players in [Geoff] Jenkins, [So]
Taguchi, Pedro [Feliz], and [Brad] Lidge. I think we can win our division."
Charlie's sure hit the nail on the head. This team did what it needed to do during the offseason. The Phillies couldn't go into 2008 with the same roster that walked off Coors Field in Colorado last October.
Looking at this roster, where is the weak spot? What move didn't Pat Gillick make that will cause us to be shouting obscenities every night while watching the Phillies on Comcast?
I honestly can't find it. I spent a week in Florida trying to be objective (while not completely freaking out over shaking hands with Michael Jack Schmidt), and I discovered that once you get beyond Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Rollins, everyone else is falling neatly into place. They all look more ready and more determined for the season than you would expect of players four weeks before the opener against the Washington Nationals.
I know that Spring Training numbers don't really matter because pitchers are "just getting some work in" or "experimenting with new pitches," but I watched guys like Pedro Feliz, Geoff Jenkins and Greg Dobbs making their early at bats count, and they were really driving the ball. Despite not having a deep farm system, I saw the Phillies top young pitchers, Carlos Carrasco and Travis Blackley, throwing zeros up on the scoreboard, and in turn, trying to force Pat Gillick and Charlie Manuel to make a hard decision on that fifth spot in the rotation.
I really believe that Adam Eaton and his hefty (stupid) contract will not win out over cheaper and younger players who are showing promise. It doesn't really matter though, because I think anyone in that fifth spot is just a placeholder for Kris Benson (and his wife Anna) when he gets healthy in May or June.
As the new season inches closer, the veterans are determined, the offseason pickups are stepping in strong, and the youngsters are showing promise. What more can you ask for in the first week of March?
Will it lead to a repeat? I don't know. But either way, it should be a good fight.