About a month ago, I wrote a piece asking if the Phillies could lose 100 games this year. It didn’t get published (thanks, Obama Kyle), but I am far from the only one thinking that is a possibility. One of those outliers who thinks the Phillies will not lose 100 games is Sports Illustrated. According to their 2015 MLB Preview, the Phillies will only lose 99 games. High hopes.

As SI pointed out, fans left Citizens Bank Park in droves. Specifically, season-long attendance was down by 588,551 (the worst in the league, for an average of 7,266 per game). It’s not all bad, however. SI acknowledges that the rebuild has begun, and this season could surprise us. In fact, this could end up being a good year:

On top of all this, the Phillies were a bad defensive team last year and figure to be again in 2015. A second consecutive last-place finish in the NL East—the first time that’s happened since ’96 and ’97—seems like a near certainty. The best thing their fans can hope for is that Amaro finds a way to trade away all the stars and starts loading up on young talent to infuse that barren minor league system with some players who have legitimate upside.

That is to say: The best thing their fans can hope for is that Amaro finds a way to completely change the way he works, the deals he makes, and how his brain operates.