Ryan Howard and Ben Revere Set for Florida Adventure

Jul 2, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Ben Revere (2) greets first baseman Ryan Howard (6) after Howard scored a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Florida represents new beginning for the Phillies.

They have little to do with the state, unless they’re playing the only team in the division worse than them, or winning the World Series, or getting ready to start a new season. It is also where a three-week instructional  takes place each year, from the end of September to the middle of October.

And in that three-week fantasy, Ben Revere and Ryan Howard will be taking part, in order to heal their broken, broken bodies.

Howard has been down at the Carpenter Complex, Roy Halladay-style, training several months earlier than anyone else.  He has reportedly dropped some Ryan Howard off his body, shedding some pounds, and basically trying to keep his leg or whatever the hell is malfunctioning at this time from imploding.

Ben Revere’s ankle will be tested, as the team will be focusing on forcing him to run and steal and just be fast, damn it, as his fragile bone strength is put under the microscope. But Ryne Sandberg says mostly what the team plans for Revere is to get him brain-ready for the offseason, during which I guess he’ll playing more baseball.

So, the Phillies’ fastest and slowest players will join forced to turn the Florida Instructional League into the beginning training montages for the 2014 comeback campaign.

Nothing gets me pumped up for next season like instructional league baseball, y’all!  So, can I get a little grainy footage from some baseball writer’s phone camera?!