John Middleton steps up for Phillies ownership

Andy MacPhail. (Photo by David Sherman/Getty Images)So now they have names, those mystery Phillies owners.

And, it seems, a more public and assertive way of doing things.

``Jim, Pete and I,’’ John Middleton said repeatedly during Monday’s press conference announcing the imminent hire of Andy MacPhail as the next president of the Phillies, referencing a partnership group that – at least until yesterday – could roam freely through Citizens Bank Park without fear of recognition.

That’s likely to change.

John Middleton and James and Peter Buck – the remaining owners from the cluster of names that silently and obscurely oversaw the operation of this franchise for more than two decades – will be more…