Phighting Irrelevance: to 2016 or to not 2016

Much has changed (finally) over the course of another brutual brutual season my longsufferingest.  (And lets's be honest, there's still a lot of change to come) The change has ranged from unexpected, (hello Ryne Sandberg throwing away any chance of ever managing in the majors again) to heartbreaking, (Chase Utely, you will always be the man) to necessary (god speed and good riddance to Jonathan "the posting uppingest" Papelbon - Go suck the winner's soul out of somebody else's championship dreams there buddy).

It's so weird seeing them in blue

Cole Hamels was rightly flipped for a King's ransom, and Ruben was finally released from his burning tower.  Perhaps most importantly, once again (as the team did in 2006) the ownership sought a voice from outside the organization (this is good wonderful news Philly fan), Andy McPhail, to be chief bloodletter as the team goes through the pains of the rebuilding process.

Interim turned full-time manager Pete Mackanin becomes a remarkably important and interesting character in this, the first chapter of transition.  Having lived on the fringes of pro baseball for 45 years both as a player and a coach, MacKanin just might have the right underdog's sense of humor and grit to guide a young, eccentric group through some difficult growing pains.  He's passed the eye-test as the team played a winning brand of hustle and heart baseball for long stretches after the all-star break.

This is all great news, you're saying, but when are the Phillies going to be good again, you say, Andy MacPhail can't hit 50 homeruns from the four hole, you say, and play gold glove 2nd base and center field, you say. Pete MacKanin can't magically summon three or four starting pitchers-you silly goose, you're saying- to fill out a rotation.

Yes, slightly hsyterical and sarcastic Philly fan, your logic is as always, impeccable. Truly, executives at the age of 65 can't dominate the playing fields at the the highest level of professional baseball or field two positions simultaneously, and you are correct again in noting that the manager Pete McKanin is indeed not an all-powerful warlock capable of conjuring flesh and blood from the secret invisible magic ethers of the universe but simply a human man.

Hey Charlie,..Got any more of that secret universe juice? er..ahh.ether?

Well...

Well, I'm taking note of your sincere doubt and misplaced anger and well, ignoring it completely and focusing on the possible next nucleus.  Focusing on what the next championship team is going to look like.  It feels a bit like 2003 all over again.

There's reason for hope here dearest Phillies fan.  Amidst the stink and debris that was 2015, (woah, careful there, when you move around Cliff Lee's tarnished aura, you have to watch out for Ryan Howard's broken swing), but here look some kid named Brock Stassi was leading the double A phillies on deep run into the playoffs.  And that double A team is loaded!

Meanwhile, Aaron Nola has the look of the real thing (6-2, 80.4% LOB, 3.58 xFIP) and  Odubel Herrera (3.9 WAR) and Maikel Franco (128 wRC+) blossomed into serious everyday starters.

This guy just won the Eastern League MVP and he plays for the Phillies!

The Fightin's are close is what we mean to say, and we'll walk you through the entire depth chart to show you how close (or far) the Phillies might be to contending in 2016.