Negadelphian. Philadelphians are known for being overly negative, having a doomsday complex when it comes to our sports teams. And no team in this city has given us more of a reason to be negative than the Phillies.
Still, I see reasons to be optimistic about this team in 2014. When I say optimistic, I don’t mean that I think the team will make a run at the NL East. And I don’t believe that on-field results are the only thing that matters when it comes to Phillies baseball, either.
So, without further ado, let’s look at some of the positives.
A.J. Burnett
I’m going to preface this by saying that I am still bitter about his performance against the Phillies in the 2009 World Series. h8 u. But the addition of Burnett to this year’s rotation could be quite important. The Phillies lost Roy Halladay (:sad face:) last season, leaving a huge hole at the top of the rotation. Cliff Lee is a great candidate to fill that hole, with Cole Hamels behind him. But after those two, the rotation was a huge question mark. Surely the Phillies didn’t want Kyle Kendrick to be the third starter, so adding Burnett gives the Phillies a solid 1-2-3 again. And if things go south, Burnett could potentially be a trade chip at the deadline–along with Lee–if Ruben Amaro Jr. is to explore that option. I see no negatives in the addition of Burnett.
Domonic Brown
Last season appeared to be Domonic Brown’s breakout season. It started that way, but did not finish that way. So why do I believe there’s reason to be optimistic with him this year? For the first time in his career, he will go into 2014 with a full, continuous, MLB season under his belt. This is important for two reasons: (1) The experience and (2) the comfort level of being a solidified piece of the team. It’s got to be hard to get into a groove when he’s being sent up and down and up and down. Now that he’s had that full season, I think this
year could be a breakout season for Brown.The Broadcast Team
At one point during the offseason, I said that the Phillies’ best additions this season have been in the broadcast booth. And to some people, that is true. There were many fans out there that did not like the team of Tom McCarthy, Chris Wheeler, and Gary Matthews. Comcast surely did some research, and replaced Wheels and Sarge with two fan favorites: Matt Stairs and Jamie Moyer (with all-time great Mike Schmidt joining them on occasion as well). This alone is a reason to look forward to the season. I think a lot of fans are going to enjoy the broadcast now more than before.
Now, I don’t think the Phillies will be all that good this year. And the future looks bleak. But there some positives to look forward to, and we shouldn’t lose sight of that. After all, it isn’t fun to be miserable.
