The pessimism around the Philadelphia Phillies, particularly among the team’s fans, has probably gone too far.
Sports talk radio in town cannot get anyone interested in talking about the Phillies because there just does not seem to be that much to talk about. The Phillies are an old team that got older in free agency.
The Phillies are also stuck in the National League East with two teams (Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals) that look to be demonstrably better than they are.
Still, the negativity feels incorrectly unchecked. The Phillies won only 73 games in 2013. They should be better in 2014, though that may not be saying all that much.
But isn’t getting better the whole point?
Here are five Phillies doing their part early in spring training to get people in Philadelphia talking about the baseball team again.