A Philadelphia Guarantee

By John McMullen

(The Phanatic Magazine) - There are no guarantees in life, save death, taxes and "The Undertaker" winning at Wrestlemania.

And I guess you can add the Philadelphia Phillies front office not going the extra mile to that list.

With opening day finally here, most Phils fans are in a frenzy and it's not all that hard to understand why. This is a playoff club that has three superstars (Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley) in their prime.

Of course, those same fans that are conjuring up dreams of a championship also haven't seen the bottom of the rotation pitch yet. So, if they sit down and are honest...really honest...they all know the Fightins have no shot at a World Series crown.

All that offense might get you to the Big Dance again but when you are actually there, who would you rather be -- North Carolina (a serious contender) or Maryland-Baltimore County (a product of a week league)?

Right now, the Phillies are more Retrievers (that's UMBC's nickname) then Tar Heels.

Even if you make a giant leap and assume Cole Hamels wins the Cy Young award and Brett Myers' 10-cent head finally catches up to his million dollar arm, the names that follow them in the rotation are 45-year-old Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Adam Eaton.

And that's just not good enough.

It's not like I'm advocating Pat Gillick...excuse me...Reuben Amaro go out and trade for Erik Bedard or Dan Haren and it's not like I want them to throw $100-plus million at the feet of Johan Santana.

That's pie in the sky type stuff and Phils ownership doesn't like baked goods.

But, what about bringing back a Kyle Lohse or, if you are taking a flyer on someone, how about the former ace like Bartolo Colon instead of the guy with the hot wife and nothing else (Kris Benson).

In other words...when your window is open...how about trying to fit through?