Is this really the Phillies?

I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe we're actually starting a Phillies season with some optimism. I'm 30 years old and I can't remember the last time this happened? The team of '93 was a complete surprise. I guess we had some buzz for the '94 season, which was a total bust, but I honestly can't think of a time when the Phillies were the talk of the town, this early in the season.

The Thome signing got a lot of buzz, but I don't think the team was touted as a favorite quite like this.

Where are the players who's name brings a wince to even the most loyal of fans? Do we have any guys like that? Pat Burrell comes to mind, but we've given him 4 seasons of amnesty, so what's one more?

Where's the dead weight? Where are the Doug Glanvilles? The Travis Lee's? The Alex Arias'? The Joe Boever's? We're missing guys like Rob Butler, Ricky Otero and Dickie Thon. Remember Kevin Sefcik, Rob Ducey, Marlon Anderson and Ricky Ledee? What about Brian Hunter (Brian R. or Brian L. take your pick)?

We don't have the dead weight!

I think we've got some gamers. We have a team of players who can perform.

Rollins says we're "the team to beat", and we have the NL MVP on our team, and a talented mix of youngsters and veterans. Is this really the Phillies? What happened the the ho-hum signings like, Danny Tartabull, Ron Gant, Todd Zeile and Gregg Jefferries? I guess we picked up some mediocre meat, but we've also added some GradeA prime choice. When was the last time we picked up this much talent in one offseason? When was the last time we had a QUALITY starter who was expendable? Are the Phillies really this good? Should history tell us not to get our hopes up?

Living in Atlanta, I'm a little far away from WIP and Comcast SportsNet, but perusing the Phillies blogosphere I can get a sense of what's going on in the town. I think we like this team.

I think Pat Gillick knows what he's doing. Unfortunately I'm still not convinced our manager does, but at least we've got some cylinders working.

So sit back, relax and wait for spring training. This might be a fun season.