Rise and Phight: 1/31/2022

With the conference championships out of the way in football and today being the last day of January, spring training starts to come into focus. Most baseball fans start to get the itch around this time, longing for the warming sun of Florida (or Arizona) and begin to think about what lies ahead. This year brings a new wrinkle with the lockout still in effect, but one has to think that the time to make a deal is close.

We saw last week that the two sides were talking about core economics and that they were at least on the same side of the world (though still not particularly close) with their ideas, but there is still a long way to go. Talks will likely accelerate after the Super Bowl is over, bringing the national pastime into focus. We’ll just have to wait and see.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• More Matt mailbags mean more must read musings ($)!
• It’s players like Alec Bohm, those needing to get some work in this offseason, that have been hurt the most by the lockout.
• The way the team continues to construct its roster should give fans a cause for concern.

MLB news:

• Turns out, bringing all of the minor league teams under the umbrella of MLB wasn’t as bad a thing as some people thought.
• Please, don’t use WAR as a way to help players get paid. It’s not a smart thing to do.
• When it comes to expanding the playoffs, more could actually be less.
• The Mets have been aggressive adding to their team this offseason and don’t look like they’ll slow down regarding their rotation.