The Phillies are projected to be a last place team, whereas the Washington Nationals are projected to be the National League East division winner once again. With Max Scherzer in the fold now, without subtracting any others Nationals starters, the Nationals are favored by many to win the National League pennant. The difference in play has caused a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania radio station to abandon the Phillies for the Nationals.
Dave Sottlie of PennLive.com reported that 96.5 FM, a station that carries CBS Sports Network programming, will make the switch. In Sottlie's piece, Cumulus Media's regional vice president Ron Giovanniello explained the switch:
"Our agreement was up and we made the decision last week to part ways with the Phillies and flip to the Nationals," Giovanniello said. "Nothing against the Phillies, but clearly the Nationals are a team on the rise. They won the NL East last year and are picked to win it again this year.
"Obviously [a winning team] helps in all ways, and they certainly will be a postseason contender that makes a deeper run in the playoffs this year. Unfortunately, I don't see that in the Phillies' immediate future."
So, if the Phillies were good, they would be still be heard.
Harrisburg is the state's capital and has drawn fans from the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia markets, who have relocated for the government. Lancaster and York Pennsylvania have drawn some Baltimore Orioles fans over the years, but in the 10 years of the Nationals' young existence, they have not made too many strides.
What the Harrisburg market does have going for them is that they are home to the Harrisburg Senators, the AA farm team of the Nationals. The Senators were already home to the franchise's AA team, having represented the Montreal Expos from 1991 through 2004.
Harrisburg is 121 miles from the Washington, D.C., and about 100 miles from Philadelphia.
