Philadelphia Phillies: 3 Ways the Phils Can Return to Prominence Next Season
September 27, 2012 by Joe Levitt
Filed under Fan News
The Philadelphia Phillies cannot wait for the conclusion of the 2012 season.
Merely saying this was a lost season would not do justice to this unfortunate campaign.
The Phils were not anywhere near prominence due to—well, most prominently to a rash of injuries. Franchise players Ryan Howard, Roy Halladay and Chase Utley missed over a combined seven months of MLB action.
Teams simply cannot overcome those types of injuries, not to mention the other factors that will be discussed later.
Also, the quality of the top teams in the NL East compounded the injury-plagued Phillies’ 2012 campaign.
The Nationals are the absolute class of the league—with or without Stephen Strasburg. And second-place Atlanta is an 89-win club that dominated the Phils in a 12-6 fashion.
If the Phillies had been operating on all cylinders, they would have been at least as good, if not better, than the Braves. Superior bats, superior pitching—simply put.
So, with a fully functioning squad next season that goes beyond injuries, let’s highlight the three reasons the Phils can return to prominence in 2013.