John Stolnis

He got a Steven Lerud high-five, what else is there to prove? Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

Listen, we’re all down about how this off-season played out. We all wanted to see one or two bona fide star players come aboard the good ship Amaro, but that’s not what happened. And we all have a right to feel depressed, a little angry, and kinda hungry at the same time. I mean, we gotta eat, right? Which is why I’ve been on the lookout for some positive, optimistic stories about the Phils’ chances in 2013 and, lo and behold, I found one! Basically, if the Phils rotation does what it has done on average from 2010-2012, the Phillies will still have maybe the best rotation in all of baseball. That’s a good thing.

OK, now that the happy news is out of the way, back to the drudgery. Normally, I like The Delco Daily Times’ Jack McCaffery. His stuff is usually pretty good. But he absolutely lost his mind this week with this rant against the Phils’ off-season. I mean, I’m as pessimistic as the next guy, but don’t tell me the Phillies are cheap and betrayed their fanbase. A $200 million payroll is simply not a realistic option.

While Phillippe Aumont looks like a promising bullpen arm for the future, the trade that send Lee to the Mariners still looks pretty crappy. Especially considering the Phils released one of the pieces that came to the club along with Aumont, J.C. Ramirez. Good news though, guys! Tyson Gillies is still here! *muted golf clap*

And finally, to help lighten the mood after a tough last few weeks, here is a video compilation of Japanese bat-flipping. No, seriously. It is.

Justin Klugh

It would be all too easy to chalk up the Phillies’ failure last year to injuries.  So let’s do that.

The Phillies had some incredible luck with injuries for a few years.  Then, the loss of Utley and others for noticeable chunks gave background guys a chance to step up and be the feel-good story of the year.  It made for a hell of a DVD yearbook.  Last year, those guys stepped up again, and helped right the feel-angry-and-sad story of the year.  Now, when we look back, instead of seeing utility guys coming through, we see a trail of bodies.

Remember when Jeff Francoeur was a thing? Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

As Jeff Francoeur once said, “The Phillies have done great, I understand.  But, God, they have not had the injury bug.  Bless them, I’m not praying for them to be hurt, that’s great. But you feel it’s got to kick up sometime.”

Thanks to Francoeur’s with doctoring, the injuries certainly did “kick up.”  And now we can do nothing but reflect on a lost year; until now, as we can now analyze a list of numbers and money lost due to Phillies’ injuries of the past five years.

You know who didn’t get hurt in 2012?  Carlos Ruiz.  And he gets to play again in 2013, according to baseball rules.  If only we could visit the future and determine exactly how he will be.

What’s that?  He certainly did get hurt in 2012?  It cost him his MVP candidacy?  Also he is suspended 25 games to start the 2013 season?

Maybe I’m the one whose injured, and I’m lying on North Broad Street right now having a prolonged fevered dream after walking into a lamp post whole celebrating the 2011 Opening Day comeback victory.

Ethan Seidel

With no moves left to be made now the fun of putting the lineup together begins. It should be a fluid process for Charlie throughout the spring (especially minus chooch) but that didn’t stop Bill Baer from having some fun with it. Bill’s lineup makes the most sense if you believe in statistics, but I have a hard time believing Charlie and the gang will follow it to the letter.

Jovan Alford

KG is already in midseason form with the foul language. #Celtics

— Jovan Alford (@Jovan10) October 22, 2012

I thought it was interesting that the Yankees would even entice the chance of trading all star CF Curtis Granderson for Phillies LF prospect Darin Ruf. I see why the Yankees would do it but for the Phillies it would be a bad move because of the large contract. The Phillies do not need to take on a huge contract and lose talent in my opinion.

Eric Hartline–US PRESSWIRE

Justin Klugh

@yearinbaseball Did you really have to use the picture from that time Wigginton pooped on the field? Gross. — Justin Klugh (@TBOHblog) October 23, 2012

First of all, don’t forget to get all worked up over the Sixers’ salvation of Philadelphia sports over the The Sixer Sense, where our newest writer Jovan–who you may remember further up on the page a second ago–is in charge.

Now, there’s something I want to talk about.  People have been watching ex-Phillies succeed all postseason, and then turning to us and expecting some brand of horrid reaction.  Then, when they don’t get one, they just assume that it must be really really hard to watch all these castoffs perform so well.  

And in a way, it was.  I mean, during Raul Ibanez’s streak of heroism, all I could think was that like 35-game offensive drought that got so bad players on the opposing team were congratulating him when finally got on base again.  But mostly, it’s been nice to see guys like Thome and Ibanez take so well to the playoffs and, at least temporarily, get their shot.  Shane might have been a little tough to watch, but thankfully, he was quarantined in the broadcast booth for TBS.

Then there’s Hunter.  And with Hunter, I’ve got to wonder a few things.  Like for instance, where was this impromptu, inspired leadership role when the Phillies were in last place, in desperate need of some key role-player to step up and inspire his team as a leader?  The Giants didn’t really need one, per se–they’ve got Posey and a few others.  We had nobody that wasn’t full of holes.  And Hunter, just, what… sat there?  Watched it happen?  Maybe thought about plotting his next twitvid?

But I digress.   In these teams of shifting alliances, it’s always curious to see how one fanbase views a player in the context of their situation, and CSN Philly gave us that chance with Hunter. So, you know.  Yaaayyy.

Ethan Seidel

@tbohblog I think it accurately represented what he was for the #phillies this year haha — Ethan Seidel (@yearinbaseball) October 23, 2012

One of the hotly debated topics surrounding the Phils off season is who the team should target as their new center fielder. The one thing that is unanimous is that John Mayberry Jr. should not start, but who should? Jason Amareld has endorsed Michael Bourn as his candidate to take over the job. He has a solid record, but can this country afford four years of a Michael Bourn as their leadoff man? Politics aside, money will be the big issue. He’s due for a big raise, but Ruben has never been afraid at shelling out the dough.

The most important factor for Ruben Amaro to have a successful offseason is to judge this roster honestly. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley just aren’t the players they used to be. But don’t dismay, says Bill Baer, at least Utley is still a productive offensive player. Don’t believe me? Just read this.

John Stolnis

If anyone wants to grab Charlie Manuel from the Phils, we’re pretty much going to HAVE to have your worst AAA pitcher. #Farrell — John Stolnis (@FelskeFiles) October 21, 2012

Hey, have you guys heard that the Phillies have a bit of a hole at third base next year? Apparently, the Mets aren’t going to trade David Wright to us, and Chase Headley would require the Phils to give up 23 minor league players and a 50% stake in concession sales at Citizens Bank Park for the next 10 years. So, with those options off the table, the Phils are left turning over rocks and scouring the bargain bin for potential free agents to man the hot corner. Or, they can turn to in-house solutions like Kevin Frandsen or Arizona Fall League power hitter Freddy Galvis to take over. Either way, it’s not looking too promising.

Unless… there’s a guy in New York who makes a poop ton of money and had a bit of a rough postseason. It’s been in the papers. Alex Rodriguez is apparently on the trading block, and while every blog writer in America who writes for a Major League website has already speculated about whether their team should pursue the once-great third baseman (guilty!), an actual newspaper reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News is also asking the question. It’s at least a question worth asking.

Steve Mitchell–US Presswire

Justin Klugh

Hey not an Eagles fan but I assume Juan Castillo was the quarterback; solid move, he was killing you guys

— Justin Klugh (@TBOHblog) October 16, 2012

You know what you haven’t done enough of?  Dwelling on the ensemble failures of the Phillies 2013 team.  I recently did some dwelling of my own, which is to say, I never stopped, and just let my feelings bleed onto some other web site.  That site is Call to the Pen, and fortunately, they had asked me to write something about the Phillies anyway.  So it wasn’t like that piece I was supposed to have in Cat Fancy on how young is too young to start dressing your kittens in sports merchandise and wound up being an ode to Chase Utley’s knees.

And get this!  Call to the Pen is Fansided’s general baseball site, so you barely have to do anything!  It’s accessible right up there in the FS navigation bar!  What a wondrous creation this internet is.

Ethan Seidel

@felskefiles they came back in 61′ until they remembered how bad a baseball town it was

— Ethan Seidel (@yearinbaseball) October 8, 2012

With the bullpen, third base, and the outfield being huge question marks it’s easy to forget there are some questions in the rotation too. Our friend Bill Baer breaks down the free agent market (most of which will be $$$), but also offers a couple names that could intrigue the Phils. Do we really want Kendrick and Worley post surgery on the back end?

Even though the Phillies have begun their off-season, many players are still playing baseball. Many young Phils are playing fall/winter ball including Freddy Galvis and Tyson Gillies. Apparently the pair have been tearing the cover off the ball, which is an especially uplifting sign for Galvis, who broke his back not long ago. Head over to The 700 level to check out a clip of Fast Freddy showing some pop.

John Stolnis

Yeah Infante slowed big time getting to third, should have scored in that inning, make it 3-0. Of course, it’s Verlander, so it won’t matter

— John Stolnis (@FelskeFiles) October 17, 2012

Well, we’ve officially reached the dead patch. The Phillies are done ravaging their coaching staff and reassembling the deck chairs, now with special hitting assistant Wally Joyner joining the fold. I can immediately sense the Phils’ collective on base percentage skyrocketing in 2013. However, one of the things we can keep an eye on are how the Phillies prospects are doing in the Arizona Fall League. One of the guys to watch most intently is third base prospect Cody Asche, who many think will be ready to take the reigns in 2014. So, in advance of Asche’s impending Major League superstardom, get to know the extra-base-hitting prospect ahead of time.

The Phillies have a plethora of first basemen on the roster, the most important of which is obviously Ryan Howard. CSN’s Jim Salisbury asks the question, which of the five first baseman currently on the roster will still be with the team next year.(Here’s a hint: Howard is staying).