By Todd Zolecki
The Phillies said the right things in Spring Training.
They would not become complacent. They would continue to work hard and try to defend their World Series championship.
"The good thing about our team is that our guys are very hungry," Brad Lidge said in Clearwater, Fla. "We haven't lost the desire to be great. It's incredible to be remembered as a World Series winner, but if you can do that a couple times? Then you're forming a legacy, and that's what we want to try to do."
But Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has his concerns just two weeks into the season. The Phillies, who had Monday night's game against the Padres postponed because of rain, haven't gotten on a roll, partially because of numerous off-the-field activities and tragedies. They have endured Opening Day ceremonies in Philadelphia, Colorado and Washington. They also have had one World Series championship ring ceremony, three days off and two rainouts.
And then they suffered the loss of legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas.
"We haven't gotten in sync yet," Manuel. "But also, we've got some real good players. We've got some very professional players. We've got some players that love the game just like they always did. But we've also got some guys who need to look back and think about how we got there and what we did to be a winning team. I think that sometimes you can do things to get away from the fact that the game is the first priority and winning the game is the first priority. The game counts more than anything.
They would not become complacent. They would continue to work hard and try to defend their World Series championship.
"The good thing about our team is that our guys are very hungry," Brad Lidge said in Clearwater, Fla. "We haven't lost the desire to be great. It's incredible to be remembered as a World Series winner, but if you can do that a couple times? Then you're forming a legacy, and that's what we want to try to do."
But Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has his concerns just two weeks into the season. The Phillies, who had Monday night's game against the Padres postponed because of rain, haven't gotten on a roll, partially because of numerous off-the-field activities and tragedies. They have endured Opening Day ceremonies in Philadelphia, Colorado and Washington. They also have had one World Series championship ring ceremony, three days off and two rainouts.
And then they suffered the loss of legendary Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas.
"We haven't gotten in sync yet," Manuel. "But also, we've got some real good players. We've got some very professional players. We've got some players that love the game just like they always did. But we've also got some guys who need to look back and think about how we got there and what we did to be a winning team. I think that sometimes you can do things to get away from the fact that the game is the first priority and winning the game is the first priority. The game counts more than anything.
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