Phillies on the front page of ESPN.com MLB page

Well they've made it. The Phillies are on the front page of ESPN.com MLB page. I know, don't get too excited, it's not that big of a deal. It's basically just because Jimmy Rollins has a big mouth.
Here is their caption to the headline you see you at the top:

Let's get this straight. The Phillies, who finished 12 games out of first last season, are the team to beat in the NL East? Jimmy Rollins' words have inspired the Phillies -- and their foes.

Yup, the team to beat. The article is written by Jayson Stark, the ex-Inquirer writer so maybe it is a little biased.
First let me tell you what is inside the insider fantasy preview article by Tristan H. Cockcroft.

But is 2007 the year the Phillies finally snap their 13-season playoff drought? If the team's superstar infield has anything to say about it, they might. First baseman Ryan Howard, age 27, is coming off an astonishing 58-homer, 149-RBI breakout year that landed him the MVP, and now he's considered one of the game's premier sluggers. Second baseman Chase Utley, 28, has managed back-to-back years with at least a .291 batting average, 28 home runs, 102 RBI and 15 stolen bases, and is now the hands-down top fantasy player at his position. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, 28, is coming off a year in which he set career highs in homers (25), RBI (83), runs scored (127) and OPS (.812), vaulting him into fantasy's top-five at his position. All three are in their prime, occupy three of the top four lineup spots and are early-round fantasy picks, which on its own would be enough to make a team a top-10 offense. And that doesn't even consider the fourth infielder, new third baseman Wes Helms, who batted a remarkable .329 with a .965 OPS as a part-timer in Florida last year.

Sounds pretty optimistic to me. Chase Utley is going to be a very sought after 2nd basemen in fantasy leagues especially with Soriano leaving the position. If only Rollins got steals he would be a great fantasy pick-up. Wait did I just say that, yea Jimmy Rollins needs to steal some more bases this year and not just for fantasy reasons.
And just a quick Burrell comment from that article, I didn't want to put it in, but I had to.

OVERRATED: If you live anywhere near Philadelphia or are a Phillies fan, you probably won't come close to overrating Pat Burrell in a fantasy draft. But people in other areas of the country might not be aware of how maddening a player he can be to watch, or own in a fantasy league. Burrell led the majors in called third strikes (63), and batted .169 with 131 K's in 254 at-bats in two-strike counts, .222 with runners in scoring position and .167 with runners in scoring position and two outs. Whether you believe in the notion of "clutch" hitters, Burrell was -- statistically speaking -- anti-clutch in 2006.

Michael Bourn, a player the Phils are very big on, but he hasn't quite lived up to any hype yet. In this section Cockcroft says,

OF Michael Bourn: The organization's steals champion three years straight, Bourn is a left-handed hitting leadoff type, a sort of "lite" Juan Pierre. If Aaron Rowand is traded at any point, Bourn could take over and be a .280-hitting, 40-steal man right away.

I think that may be a bit too optimistic, but hey this is spring training the time when we are all happy, optimistic, and every player could be a star.

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Now onto the Jayson Stark article on the Phillies.
Just for your information 16 of the current Phillies players weren't even born the last time the Phils won the World Series (me too). Over the last 23 seasons the Phils have been in the playoffs less times than the Cubs (thank you 1993 for our only time in those years).
Here are some quotes from the article that different people had in response to Rollins' quote of winning the division:

From Rollins' double-play partner, Chase Utley:"In order to be successful, I think you have to expect it. You have to set the standards pretty high."

Very high class comment by Chase.

From GM Pat Gillick: "Even though those statements kind of put the bull's-eye on you, when they come from players, I like to hear that. It means they feel good about themselves and they feel good about their teammates. So I like to hear those kinds of positive comments."

It's about the right attitude.

And from the most enthusiastic endorser of Rollins' predictive powers, closer Tom Gordon: "I never read the article where he said that or heard anything about it until now. But why not? Why not us? Everybody pencils in the Mets. Everybody pencils in the Braves because they've done it every year. But why can't the Phillies win this year and next year and the following year, and be one of those teams? This team has had an opportunity to see every year what the Braves have done. So now why can't we do just what they've done, if not better? I mean, why not?"

Yea, why can't the Phils win 11 straight divisions, that would be a lot of fun.

It's an intriguing question, all right -- not to mention an intriguing opportunity for some shrewd South Philadelphia entrepreneur to print up about 100,000 "WHY NOT?" T-shirts.

Can anyone tell me where I can get one of these shirts?

Speaking for the Mets' defense counsel, here's David Wright, in a recent interview with WFAN: "I read in the paper that Jimmy Rollins thinks nobody else has a chance. … When you read that, it irks you a bit and makes you want to go out there and beat them that much more."

It's good to know that Wright misquoted him wrong and there will be some nice rivalry games this year.

What this race is liable to come down to, in the simplest terms, is whether the Mets' biggest worry (starting pitching) will turn out to be less of a liability than the Phillies' biggest worry (bullpen).

Ahhh, the bullpen, I really hope the bullpen doesn't ruin us. It's such a crappy aspect of the team that when it's great no one notices, but when it's bad it really hurts and everyone gets upset.

"We still need work in our bullpen," Gillick said, unequivocally. "We need to get better back there."

It's good that Gillick admits that, go spend the owners money Gillick, do it for the sake of Philadelphia.