Can You Feel It?

Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I was this excited to see the baseball season start. It has been too long. These past few season have started they way they ended: a slow fade. And that kind of tainted every time the season started again because I didn’t know whether or not the team actually had it together or not. More often, they didn’t.

Call me a cock-eyed optimist, but I’ll stand with J-Roll who thinks our team is the one to beat in the NL East. I don’t want to tout my team too much too earlier because that makes losing all that harder to take. This year could be the year, but I’m taking it game by game, no faster, no slower. What’s the rush? Baseball season takes a long fuckin’ time to complete, and there may be a skid here and there, but there is a swagger to our team that has not been felt in some time. No one is complaining about leaving, how there is too little talent, or that the locker room is used to chastise rather than support teammates.

These players want to play. They can play. They will play. And they will win a lot of games when everything is clicking on all cylinders. The only thing that worries me is that the thin depth at bullpen and the need for other contributors to step up their game. We all know the names of Howard, Utley, Rollins, Myers and Hamels. But we need Pat to find his Bat again when runners are in scoring position; Wes Helms needs to show that he can provide a little pop at the bottom of the line-up. Freddy Garcia needs to show he can still eat up innings like the best of them, which he has done for the past few seasons, but it is no guarantee. Jamie Moyer needs to survive a whole season. And Adam Eaton and John Lieber will be vying for the final 5th starting spot up until the trade deadline in July.

All these things aside, I think I am going to more baseball games than I have gone to in years. There is no reason not to because I believe in this team. They have fire. They have confidence. Most of all, they have the hunger to win after falling short these past few seasons. They know how it feels to lose when you’re within arms reach of the finish line. And that, more than anything else in my mind, will inspire them throughout this season.

Will this season be different? I say yes, but I’m also going to enjoy the ride.

Extra Links
--The Fab Five: These five players will be taking us far (Bonus: They also got class)
--A Change is Gonna Come: Marcus Hayes breaks down the changes in the Phils' organization over these past 5 years
--Pitching more than Hitting: Phil Sheridan notes that the success of the starting pitchers will go a long way to the team's success