It was only five years ago that the Phillies were stuck in the middle of the road…or the street. Broad Street, to be exact. Not yet a playoff team but certainly not a bunch of pushovers. The folks in South Philly had a beautiful new ballpark, 80-plus wins a year and a few stars on the rise. Yet it was a franchise few opposing players and fans believed in.

 

That was two general managers ago. Ed Wade was running the show back then. While Wade handed out some ill-advised contracts, he was steadfast in holding onto young talent like Chase Utley and Ryan Howard when he had a chance to “go for it” and possibly reach the playoffs. By staying the course, drafting fairly well, developing Minor Leaguers the right way and hiring baseball lifer Charlie Manuel to replace Philly icon Larry Bowa as manager, the Phillies were building a team that could win over and over and over.

 

When possible Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick took over for Wade, the Phils reached the promised land. When Ruben Amaro Jr. took over for Gillick, he continued to tweak a talented roster even “after” a World Series Championship. How novel an approach.

 

Raul Ibanez, Cliff Lee, Placido Polanco, Roy Halladay – the Phils get better with every move. The folks in the front office outdo themselves with every transaction.

 

With a top notch Spring Training facility, ‘ditto’ for the big league park, a few of the most talented and confident stars in the game, plus a sports crazy fan base, Philadelphia is now a city big leaguers want to play in.

 

Unless they’re on the visiting team.-Matt Yallof