I do think the Phillies will add another outfielder, either before the season starts or shortly after. That will make things look a little better. I don’t think they have much chance if two of Brown, Ruf, Mayberry and Nix are going to start every day. Even if Brown is going to be great, there’s a good chance he’s not going to start in 2013. I don’t think anyone of the rest of the group has much of a chance to be great.

I just cannot fathom the reasoning that led them to invest such huge amounts of money in the present lineup, which is built to win NOW (or last year, actually) and then be too cheap to go over the cap last year when the corner outfielders they needed were available for far less than this year’s costs. I mean, seriously. What in the heck were they thinking? Now they are tossing huge amounts of money into the wind and at the same time destroying the rabid fan base they had made. the Bank will not be a destination spot for Philadelphia by the All Star break. The economics of that makes no sense to me at all. I am just stumped.

I think it would have been worse news if the Phillies had given Soriano $14 million a year for two years. That’s kind of a lot.

Yeah. I don’t know how they rebuild either, given Howard. But some AL team will want Utley as second/DH. Doc is not going to make his option numbers, so his cost is gone. And someone will want Lee at the deadline. One thing seems certain and that is they have pretty much conceded this year. Amaro will argue otherwise, but there are way too many “ifs” that must break right all at the same time for this year to result in anything close to the post season. The only way we make second in the East is if Chipper’s loss guts the Braves offense. And it just might. But this year looks sort of sad from the get go to me.

And yes, I paid for my season tickets today.