Opinion

At the quarter pole of the 2012 season, the Philadelphia Phillies find themselves in unfamiliar territory—staring up at the rest of the National League East.  And while the Phightins are off to their slowest start in the last five years, there's still reason to believe Philadelphia can claim its sixth consecutive division crown.  

Here are five good reasons to believe.

In the offseason, with Ryan Howard out for an extended period of time, the Philadelphia Phillies grabbed Jim Thome for $1.25 million. 

That experiment has run its course, and it’s time for the club to part ways with the aging bat.

Here are six reasons why:

1.  He’s hurt

The Cincinnati Reds played well Saturday in narrow victory at Yankee Stadium.  Homer Bailey is showing signs of being the starter that, for years, fans were told he was.  The bats were alive, and the Reds made the most of their opportunities.  

Joey Votto is looking hot, Heisey and Phillips are heating up and talents like Costanzo are revealing their worth.  But that's not all the 6-5 win over New York revealed.

The Giants have one of the youngest lineups in the National League, much to the dismay of manager Bruce Bochy.  If you don't count Aubrey Huff (and who does count Huff anymore?), then Angel Pagan at age 30 is the oldest everyday player. Most of the players are between 25 and 27 years old.

Ozzie Guillen frequently makes controversial comments, but his thoughts on Dwyane Wade are completely unnecessary and have nothing to do with him.

According to ESPN, the Marlin's manager had this to say on Wade's altercation with coach Eric Spoelstra during Game 3 of the Miami Heat's playoff series.

The Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles got interleague baseball off to a fantastic start on Friday night in Washington, DC.

The regional rivals played a well-pitched, defensive baseball game that went into extra innings.  The Orioles won the game 2-1 in the 11th inning after the Nationals could not successfully mount a comeback in response to Nick Markakis' impressive solo home run in the top half of the frame.

Anthony Rizzo is far and away the most exciting player in the Cubs organization. 

Rizzo is hitting .353 with 14 home runs, has a .416 OBP in 150 at-bats and is getting hot again, hitting .350 in his last 10 games with seven home runs, 14 RBI, four extra-base hits and a K-BB ratio of 6-to-4. 

There is no doubt Rizzo will be joining the Cubs in the very near future. Their upcoming schedule forces the front office to consider the options.

It seems more and more these days one can turn to the sports section of the newspaper on any given morning, or tune in to SportsCenter at any time and be assaulted by stories highlighting professional athletes, baseball players in particular, engaging in behaviors that are not only egregious and loathsome but unfortunate fodder for self righteous pundits and cynics alike—angry critics who claim that sports and their lionized idols are nothing more than a blight on our culture and embody an egocentric, selfish entitlement that threaten

"Aging" Andy Pettitte wasn't too old to pitch a brilliant eight-inning shutout game Friday night against a formidable Cincinnati Reds team. This gave him his first win in 2012, and it made up for a weakish previous start against the Seattle Mariners

His skills are still what they used to be. That is not unexpected for an older player, even a pitcher.

Texas Rangers CEO Nolan Ryan does not expect a new contract for Josh Hamilton by the end of this season, according to ESPN.com.