If you can get beyond the awful ball the Phillies played in 2014, you can start to smile a bit. No, the minors aren't stacked with talent, but you can put together a top four hitters in your line-up from things either in the system or out there to be had, and you can feel good about it. Is that enough to replicate the 2008 success this team just had? No. But if you think that they can put even a few good players around that, it could be a very good line-up, some day.
Which leads me back to the 2015 team, and the pathway forward for the Phillies. The best thing that the 2015 Phillies can do, regardless of whether they trade Ryan Howard or anyone else, is to sign Tomas and put Franco on the field. No, that might not be the immediate best play to win a few more games, though I'd argue it probably is, but it's better than playing out the string with others, including the incumbent starters. The Phillies are saying they don't plan to move Cody Asche to another position. What? That should be done this Spring. The Phillies should also concentrate on trying out Ruf, Utley, or whoever else they want a look at over at first base. The only area the Phillies should not rush prospects (think Nola here) is pitching. Let them develop at their own pace. The goal of 2015 should be to improve and win games, but they should also see the rebuild from last place as running through the few really good prospects they have, rather than being a quick fix.
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