A year ago baseball pundits looked at the NL East as the most entertaining division. Bryce Harper had just switched teams. Josh Donaldson joined the Braves. The Nationals spent big — on a pitcher, not Bryce. The Mets had potential. The Marlins had Derek Jeter.
The result? It was OK. Didn’t live up to the hype. The Braves ran away with the division. The Phillies were a disappointment. The Nats were a mess until they got hot and won the World Series.
This could be a case where the sequel is more interesting than the original. The Phillies loaded up again, nixing manager Gabe Kapler in favor of veteran Joe Girardi, then luring Zack Wheeler and Didi Gregorius down the road from New York.