Baseball 2007, Line of the Day

I have been reading with interest what the pundits have been saying about my beloved Phillies, and I've seen them predicted to finish anywhere from first to third in the NL East, and, more likely than not, second or third. The consensus presents a fair assessment of the Phillies -- a strong core group of hitters, a strong core group of starters, an iffy bullpen and an average outfield. The most eloquent comment came from an anonymous scout, who said, "Remember, it's the Phillies, so I'd pick against them until they actually do something." The point is well taken, as my hometown 9 has made the post-season only once in the past 23 years.

The NL is a very flawed league, and it's hard to predict who will represent the Senior Circuit in the World Series. I ran into an ESPN reporter during my travels in March, and he told me that the NL is just brutal and that it probably will take only 85-88 games to win any division.

Me: "How about my Phillies? They don't have much of a bullpen."

Him: "The Mets don't have any starting pitching. Your concern might not matter."

And the Cardinals have replaced 60% of their starting rotation, the Marlins are up-and-coming, the Astros might not hit, the Brewers could be the dark horse, the Reds and Pirates are, well, the Reds and Pirates, the Diamondbacks are young and a chic pick, but lots could go wrong and the Big Unit already is on the DL, the Dodgers are another chic pick with a deep rotation and talent to burn, but no really huge hitters to scare you, the Giants aren't that good, and the Padres' lineup doesn't scare people.

All of this means, of course, that the NL season should bear watching well into September.

Right now, my heart tells me the Phillies will do well, but my head tells me that until someone really takes it to the Mets, the NL is theirs to lose, even though their rotation isn't that strong and their bullpen isn't as tough as last year's. They have one formidable lineup, and they are a (very) good baseball team.