The Philadelphia Phillies were ousted by the eventual World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division series. Since then, they have added a top-rated closer and have modestly tweaked their roster.
Will the fans see World Series games this season at Citizens Bank Park?
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Will a basic shuffling of their aging baseball cards help the Phillies to make progress in 2012?
Being realistic
The Phillies were widely picked as World Series favorites after signing Texas Rangers free agent pitcher, Cliff Lee to a long-term deal last December. On paper they looked invincible. Reality proved that they were beatable.
The game of baseball involves pitching, defense and hitting. Last season, the Phillies only offered two thirds of that pie on their table. Yes, their offense was good at times. But, it wasn't in the playoffs and that was the main reason why they went home early.
So, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. looked at his aging baseball cards and knew that he had to do something before next spring arrived. He picked the option of reshuffling the deck.
Contractual limitations
As of late December, the Phillies had 16 players with guaranteed contracts that totaled $138.5 million. While Citizens Bank Park is a cash cow, it can only offer so much money milk each season.
With that in mind, there are only so many moves that Amaro could make without tearing apart the team. As a result, he completed one necessary acquisition, when he filled the closer's role, added some complimentary guys and re-signed Jimmy Rollins.
New expectations
Inking former Boston Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon isn't a significant risk from a sabermetric standpoint, as he should continue to generate 30 to 40 saves per season. As far as his $50 million+ salary goes, $11 million of it is included in the $138.5 million tally noted above.
This time around, the Phillies didn't need to offer Jim Thome a monster deal to refit his old red pinstriped suit. His $1.25 million deal reincorporates a great baseball guy into a group that will benefit from his positive nature and will also hopefully yield some left-handed lightning in a pinch.
Ty Wigginton ($4 million), Laynce Nix ($1.15 million) and Dontrelle Willis ($850,000) all offer cost-effective roster support. Wigginton may play the role of a utility man around the field, particularly spelling Placido Polanco at third base.
John Mayberry, Jr. has shown promise, but isn't a proven commodity. His 2011 statistical spike may lead to continued growth in 2012, but the production sample size is small and thus Nix was signed as a left-handed compliment for their left-field slot.
In keeping with the theme of versatility, the Phillies now have retooled their bench so that a variety of players can perform at various locations around the field. The undated return of Ryan Howard to the first base area and to the cleanup slot will also allow some of the other names mentioned above to fill-in for him during his absence.
The bottom line
In the end, these moves represent a belief that the core of this team can produce stronger playoff results if it can avoid the injury problems that affected the roster last season.
The amount of currently guaranteed money doesn't include pending 2012 contracts for Cole Hamels and Hunter Pence. These previously created financial obligations have limited what Amaro could have done without moving someone like Victorino who is entering the final year of his contract.
Sean was born in the Philadelphia region and has written professionally for over two decades. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB
More from Sean O'Brien and the Yahoo Contributor Network:
When Baseball Cards were King
Rounding out the Phillies 2012 lineup
The story behind Mike Schmidt's 1980 baseball card
Jim Thome's impact on the Phillies now and then
When Phillies' legend Richie Ashburn played the game
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