CLEARWATER, Fla. - It's different around here and in so many ways that is terrific.
After years of putting off the changes that needed to be made following the second great era in Phillies history, it is obvious that the franchise is headed in a different direction. Time, of course, will determine if it is the right one.
Managing partner John Middleton, once part of an invisible and publicly silent group of ownership partners, not only was in clear view during the early days of this spring training, he was also quite accessible. Ask him about the team's 2017 starting rotation and he'll tell you that some of the organization's best arms are still percolating down in the lower minors.