Good morning in Bloggerland. Got back a little while ago from the clubhouse, where I had a conversation with new Phillies 3B Wes Helms (left). Last season, Helms played for the young Marlins team that surprised baseball by finishing 78-84. Most pundits had them losing 120 games. I asked Helms when he knew the Marlins were better than everyone thought. "We had a terrible April, and it was getting a little scary there for a while," he said. "But by mid-May, I started to sense we were coming together a lot quicker than I thought we would. That's when I started noticing this team can play, and we wound up putting it together."So, can the Marlins, led by new manager Fredi Gonzalez, continue to improve and challenge the Mets and Phillies in the NL East?
"It depends on how hard they work," Helms said. "If they're satisfied with what they did [in 2006], then probably not. It's up to them."
Right now, I'm sitting in the press box here at Bright House, awaiting the Phillies' first full-squad workout. For the past hour or so, GM Pat Gillick and manager Charlie Manuel have been addressing the team in the clubhouse. I'll try to find out the context of the meeting and pass it along, but I'm sure it's the standard stuff about their goals for 2007. Think back to what your teachers used to tell you on the first day of school, and you get the idea. Meanwhile, a member of the grounds crew is mowing circles into the grass around the pitchers mound. Exciting stuff, I know. ... Temperature on the scoreboard is 60 degrees -- and hopefully, climbing.
Jimmy Rollins, who is expected to participate in today's workout, will address the media at 1 p.m. I'll have more after that.
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