The Phillies have had two straight years in which they inhabited first place for much of the season, then collapsed late and missed the postseason.
That resulted in the dismissal of new-school manager Gabe Kapler and the hiring of old-school guy Joe Girardi. Whatever happens in Philadelphia this year, it will certainly be different, because Girardi will absolutely, positively have a different approach than Kapler, who has moved on to become manager of the San Francisco Giants.
Mostly, the Phillies return a team that can hit. What they needed was some established pitching and they got it with the free-agent signing of Zack Wheeler, the oft-injured longtime Met who finally put things together at the perfect time for him.