The phrase “pitchers and catchers report” has always been less about baseball and more about the fact that spring is around the corner. Winter’s days are numbered. We’ve got sunshine and dingers on the horizon. Hot dogs and beer.

Throw in the vaccine situation and there’s a bright light at the end of the long tunnel, which leads us perhaps out of the pandemic and into stadiums for the first in a long time.

We’re stuck in the snowy Delaware Valley RIGHT NOW, but the Phils kicked off spring training in Clearwater today, and here are some assorted tidbits to lift your spirits:

Hell yeah, Archie Bradley. It’s gonna be nice to roll out a respectable bullpen this season. It cannot be any worse than it was last season.

Speaking of which:

Watson is 35 now, but pitched 18 innings with a 2.50 ERA for the Giants in 2020. Good SO/9 and BB/9 numbers, so let’s see what he’s got. Bring him in and let’s have a look.

Here’s a very nice shot from John “Airport” Clark:

No snow? Nice.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure:

Brandon Workman? What a fantastic season he had in 2020.

Anyway, we should feel pretty good about the Phillies, right? They brought back J.T. Realmuto and Didi Gregorius. The bullpen is improved. Zack Wheeler’s fingernail is repaired. We have a good manager and a GM with two rings. At the very least, the Phils will be competitive in a strong NL East, which now features a high-spending Mets team under Steve Cohen’s ownership. It’s going to be a really interesting division.