Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Positive Things to Take Away from Opening Day
April 5, 2012 by Marilee Gallagher
Filed under Fan News
Spring training is over and the 2012 baseball season in Philadelphia has officially begun.
There has been much talk over the offseason about how the Phillies will fare in 2012. Without Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, will they have enough offense to win games? Where will the power come from? How will Hunter Pence and John Mayberry handle the load? What will happen if Jimmy Rollins or Placido Polanco get put on the DL?
Obviously none of these questions have easy answers, and it will take a lot of creativity on the part of Charlie Manuel and his staff to take the team he has to championship glory once again. But nothing is out of the realm of possibility for this team.
Despite some offensive struggles and leftover batting rust, the Phillies still managed a 1-0 win behind Roy Halladay’s stellar pitching and Carlos Ruiz’s inspired offense. It may not be much but a win is a win and for the Phils, pitching will likely be key in 2012 so 1-0 wins could be a bit of a norm.
Even if the offense was a bit lackluster, defense was strong on all ends and pitching was at a premium. Besides the “one” in the win column which is the only number that matters, the Opening Day game yielded some positive signs for the Phils going forward.