In January of 2007, a group of reporters gathered around Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins at a media luncheon in the Diamond Club of Citizens Bank Park. “J-Roll” and the Phillies were coming off two-consecutive seasons in which they were eliminated from the playoffs during the final weekend of the season. They acquired some much-needed pitching help in Adam Eaton and Freddy Garcia. Ryan Howard (28), Chase Utley (29) and Rollins (29) were all in the prime of their careers.
The group was expected to take a step forward in ’07 and the media knew that.