It's finally here, after what felt like the longest winter known to modern man. MLB is back, and not a moment too soon.
The Phillies begin play today as mostly an afterthought to the experts. Most power rankings have the Phils in the middle of the pack. Those same power rankings love division rivals New York and Atlanta, with many of them putting both teams in the top five teams in baseball.
So where does that leave the Phillies? I think this team is much better than last year, especially in the bullpen. Are they good enough to overtake the Mets and Braves in the division? Probably not. Are they good enough to win a wild card berth and play baseball in October? I think it could happen.
The biggest question marks for this team are pitching depth, center field, defense, and the bullpen. The offense should be fine and score five to six runs a night. If they can get league average production in center and from the bullpen, the Phillies could surprise some people.
The NL East is probably the toughest division in baseball. If the Phils can play .500 against the division and beat up on teams they should be beating up on, they should get a chance to play in October.
My division winners are the Braves, Cardinals, and Dodgers, with the Padres taking one wild card spot. That leaves the second spot up for grabs between the Phils, Mets, Brewers, and Giants. It says here the Phils win 88 games and a chance to play in October.
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