The ground in Philadelphia may be covered in snow, but down south in Clearwater things are just heating up.
Your 2007 Philadelphia Phillies have begun their preseason schedule down in the Grapefruit League, not without a little controversy to warm things up. Jimmy Rollins' now famous comments that the Phightins' are the team to beat in the NL East sparked a small media circus, primarily in New York, where the defending division champion Mets laughed off his comments.
NL MVP Ryan Howard and $85 million dollar man Chase Utley along with Rollins give the Phillies their strongest lineup in years. Wes Helms takes over at third base for Abraham Nunez, a definite upgrade. Also brought into the mix was catcher Rod Bajaras, which figures to make for an interesting battle behind the plate between last year's surprise 33 year old rookie Chris Coste and the equally pleasing David Ruiz. Jason Werth was brought into fill the 4th outfielder role, but he hasn't seen any action since 2005. Gone are late season acquistion and former Phillie-killer Jeff Conine along with David Delluci who formed a nice platoon late last season with the much-maligned and deservedly so joke of a star, Pat "The Bat" Burrell.
As for pitching, the Phils could possibly have the best rotation top to bottom in the Senior Circuit. Freddy Garcia, traded for from the White Sox, is the ace. Hard-throwing and hard-living Brett Myers, fresh off a contract extension, is back and hopes to improve upon his 12-7 record from last season. Phenom Cole Hamels looks to only to develop further and w
ill continue to learn from journeyman St. Joe's graduate Jamie Moyer.
The battle for the fifth and final starting spot has been of much discussion this spring. GM Pat Gillick brought back Adam Eaton, who has struggled with injuries since ex-GM genius Ed Wade (doesn't this team have such a different feel now that he is gone?) traded him away for Andy Ashby (that really worked out well). Also in the mix is veteran Jon Lieber. The Phillies have brought all six starters into camp this year and Lieber figures to be the odd man out. He was the subject of much trade discussion this off season. Something's gotta give, and the bullpen looks to be in dire need of a fresh arm.
Gone from the bullpen are clubhouse favorite Rick White and nobody's favorite Arthur Rhoades. In their place are the six-fingered man Antonio Alfonseca and.......well, they really didn't get anyone else. The team figures to keep Ryan Madson, Geoff Geary, Alfonseca, closer Tom Gordon (let's see if he lasts the entire season), Matt Smith and possibly one or two others.
Worthy of note is the upgrade of baseball minds to give manager Charlie Manule some help. Former manager and player Davey Lopes is the new first base coach and former Red Sox manager Jimy Williams takes over as the bench coach.
The last playoff appearance for this team was the Macho Row crew of 1993. The rest of that decade wa
s filled with lowered expectations under the veil of "rebuilding". Things began to look up once Larry Bowa took over, but the team fell just short every year. The past two summers' under Manuel have been as equally up and down. The key to this year's success is to start off fast. Last year's team dug themselves a hole, went on a nice win streak in taking 15 of 16 and then proceeded to be left for dead by the end of July. But something happened after the trade deadline and the departure of long term fixture in right field, Bobby Abreu. The team, feeling the effects of no expectations began to play together as a team for the first time since April. That will not be the case this spring. Jimmy Rollins has made sure of that and the always vocal Philly fans will be sure to let them hear it if this team sputters out of the gates.
Old Glory flying on folks front porches is a familiar site year round.
Taken from the abandonded lot across the street from my house in the Borough. The house was knocked down after it was discovered the house was built upon a sink hole.
An old spring on Grubb Road in Willistown on the edge of the farm owned by the Campbell's Soup heirs.
Two praying angels represent the importance of religion in a small borough of only 1.2 miles. Within the boundaries are 4 churches.
15% percent of the roughly 3,000 residents are over the age of 65. With everything within walking distance the town is easy for it's older citizens to navigate.
An old swing sits rusting from years of neglect.
White Manor Country Club, located in Willistown is one of 3 golf courses located within only a couple miles of Malvern.
Frozen water in a Christmas cup.
View of the farmland that is located within a five minutes drive of downtown Malvern. This is Willistown, which is filled with rolling hills and animals such as geese, cows, donkeys, llamas and peacocks.
The Paoli Massacre occured in Malvern during the Revolutionary War. This is a view looking east towards First Avenue.
Rocking chair with no one to rock. Abandonded lot in the middle of town is a sore spot among Borough residents.
Someone left this glove on a table and never returned. They let the property, which could have been a beautiful garden, become overgrown.
"Remember Paoli!!" was an early American Revolutionary call used to motivate troops against the British, who ambushed the soldiers sleeping under the command of Gen. Anthony Wayne.
I don't think too many of the items in this bin can be recycled together.
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