Good morning, Philadelphia. It may be hard to keep in mind given our current weather, but there are only 28 days until Phillies' pitchers and catchers report to spring training. We can make it.
For now, let's take a look at some of the most interesting Phillies articles across the internet.
No veterans to be found as Phillies reintroduce themselves — Phillies Nation
The 2007-2011 Phillies were the team of my adolescence and I knew then and know now that there will probably never be a better run of Phillies' baseball during my lifetime. But it's nice to be approaching spring training and not worrying about when the organization is going to understand that it's time to move forward.
This article by Tim Malcolm points out that the Phillies are pushing younger players or prospects, such as Aaron Nola and J.P. Crawford, to do media appearances, rather than some of the team's few veterans.
Mackanin says Howard could be on bench more in 2016 — Philly Voice
Pete Mackanin, in his short time as manager of the Phillies, has come off as someone who strikes a good balance between getting his players to respect him but not being afraid to sit any player down when they put themselves before the team or just aren't giving the team the best chance to succeed.
Mackanin spoke to reporters yesterday, with Ryan Lawrence among them, and suggested that if playing Ryan Howard isn't giving the Phillies a better chance to win than Darin Ruf, he won't force him into the lineup.
What Lawrence points out is that all the excuses for forcing the former MVP into the lineup are gone. He's in the last year of his deal, this regime doesn't have to pretend that his monster contract was even an okay deal and the little success he may have will do nothing for the team long-term.
It's almost as if cutting their losses and avoiding further tarnishing Howard's legacy would make the most sense for both sides.
Aaron Nola tells some in Twitter chat — The Good Phight
While it is exciting that the Phillies finally are finishing up turning the page on the core that led them to the 2008 World Series title, it means that the most of the current Phillies are unknown beyond what they have shown on the field.
The Phillies have recently attempted to get fans to know some of the team's younger players by having them do Twitter chats. Aaron Nola, who is probably the face of the current major league team, got his turn yesterday, and didn't seem to have much of a personality.
While it would be nice for the next generation of Phillies to have some characters like Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, it's not exactly like the 2007-2011 teams were full of great characters. Ryan Howard is a nice guy, but there's nothing special about his personality. Cliff Lee and Chase Utley are about as dry as it gets. The point is, any teams during the club's most recent run of success were exciting for what they did on the field, not because they had a clubhouse full of players like the 2004 Boston Red Sox.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
