This year, the Phillies are experiencing a little of the media crush that comes with a championship afterglow.
It's only a few days into spring training, and there have already been more guests in Clearwater than usual, highlighted by Big Sexy Kevin Nash. Um, yeah, I can't decide which is worse, this or Carson Kressley.HBO is also in camp, doing its much-anticipated feature on Charlie Manuel.
The Phillies are talking a good game:
"Everyone's the same," Jimmy Rollins said. "Nobody's walking around with their chest out or a ballooned head. Everybody's still working. ... Like I said, we're still trying to win respect. We know we're winners and people know we have a good team, but we're fighting for respect as a champion."
"I'm actually proud of the guys, how they've come into camp," Chase Utley said. "It would be very easy to look back on last season and say, 'We're the world champions,' and sit on it. Brett looks like a new person. Ryan looks
extremely strong - and scary."
Fonzie quotes aside, I'm sure the 2005 Red Sox expressed similar sentiments, but we all know how that season went - followed by an even worse 2006.
I do think the way the Phillies have won the past two seasons that they will be able to block out these distractions. They may get off to their usual slow start, but I think they'll turn it on once they've given the Mets (aka the Coyote) false hope that this will be the year.
While things are tamer than the 2005 Red Sox, the 2009 Phillies camp is raucous compared with this year's Red Sox, who are playing with children, challenging each other to ping-pong games and playing golf to raise money for charity.
It's sort of nice that they are flying under the radar a bit this year. It's very nice that they're not wasting their time doing this:
[Photo credits: Slam Wrestling, Star-Ledger]
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