Here, in the third week of March, sunny days and dispositions are beginning to catch on. It is the time of year when baseball fans become optimistic and feel good about their teams' chances. "If we get some production out of the young guys, we could make some noise" and "I'll tell you what, this team could suprise some people" are typical refrains heard from those that follow their favorite team. Heck, the good will is so contagious that it even caused Bill Conlin to write a half-optimistic column (the first half) about the Phillies, which is really saying something about the benefits of blue skies and rising mercuries.
And so, maybe it is due to the bright sunlight coming through the window and reflecting off my computer monitor that prevents me from reading Gavin Floyd's most recent boxscore line as realistically as I should, in other words maybe I'm blinded by the light. But seriously, I am encouraged by 5 walks in 5 innings pitched. Why? Because Floyd also allowed only one hit, one run, and struck out four batters to go along with the five walks. To me, it shows that despite not being "on", Floyd was able to keep his composure and pitch through the troubles he was having in finding the plate consistently. It's something a lot of pitchers never do learn.
As I sit here with my Nike Golf shades on, I can't help but wonder if "Vicente Padilla" will someday be the answer to the trivia question, "An injury to what little-known pitcher opened the door for baseball-great Gavin Floyd to break into the Phillies rotation?"
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Other recent signs of Phillies optimism:
- Phillies Foul Balls warms up to Charlie Manuel.
- The Baseball Crank gives the Phillies a great chance in his NL East predictions.
- Dayn Perry of FoxSports.com predicts the Phillies will finish first in the NL East as did Rob Neyer of ESPN.com in a recent online chat.
