Vance Worley

WHETHER OR NOT we realize it, one of the reasons for our fascination with professional sports is that they share so many variables with the lives that we live. You can wake up with a body feeling like a million bucks, a head uncluttered and free, and talent that is the envy of your fellow man, but you cannot control the strike that is called a ball, or the grounder that sneaks through the infield, or the blooper that finds the one patch of grass not guarded by a defender. Last year, Vance Worley experienced many of these moments, none more significant than the one that occurred on the morning of Dec. 6, when the continuous buzzing of his phone kept interrupting the closing stages of his elliptical workout at Citizens Bank Park.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The biweekly bullpen sessions started in late January. Every Tuesday and Friday, Rich Dubee made the 60-mile drive from his home in Sarasota to watch Roy Halladay and Kyle Kendrick throw from mounds outside Bright House Field. The Phillies pitching coach's interest in Halladay, his fallen ace, was obvious. Kendrick did his work, and no one - even Dubee - needed to tell him the words he had waited five years to hear. "I guess it was just known," Kendrick said.

VIERA, Fla. - If you want a scouting report on new Phillies centerfielder Ben Revere, his former Minnesota Twins teammate Denard Span is more than willing to offer one. "First off, the Phillies got a real, real good player and a real good teammate," Span said before working out with his new team, the Washington Nationals, on Wednesday morning. "You'll see he's goofy, has a good sense of humor, and likes to have fun. He's just a guy who brings it hard every day he is on the field.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - There may be no joint more watched in baseball this spring than Roy Halladay's right shoulder, and for good reason. It is Halladay, the two-time Cy Young Award winner and quintessential ace, who could control these Phillies' fate. Then again, he is but one-fifth of the rotation, and will start 33 games at most. About 60 starts could come from the tandem of Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan, two pitchers who did not begin 2012 in a major-league rotation. The focus is not nearly as intense on those two as Phillies pitchers and catchers officially report Tuesday.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Phillies have not won the offseason. They have, in fact, finished third in the National League East, the same position they were stuck in when time expired on the 2012 season. The events that have transpired since the Phillies' final game in Nationals Park in October have been fascinating but not at all fulfilling for fans thirsty for one more championship from an aging core of players. With center field identified as their greatest need before the season ended, the Phillies made an offer for free agent B.J. Upton, but it was reportedly $20 million less than the $75 million over five years he'll be paid to play for the Atlanta Braves.

This is an excerpt from a post on the Daily News' Phillies blog, High Cheese: MAYBE THE Mayans were wrong. Or maybe they were Phillies fans. Because right now, it is looking like Dec. 21, 2012, will go down in history as the last day any realist could consider the Phillies a surefire World Series contender. The next day, the last of the everyday corner outfielders was in the process of vanishing from the free-agent market, as Nick Swisher was agreeing with the Indians on a 4-year, $56 million contract.

FOR THE first time in 10 years, the Phillies of 2012 failed to finish a season with a winning record. In the days following the season finale, manager Charlie Manuel was placed squarely into the crosshairs of outsiders seeking a fall guy. Manuel, whose contract expires after the 2013 season, watched his bosses promote Triple A manager and rumored major league manager heir apparent Ryne Sandberg to the Phillies' coaching staff. In a news conference days after the season ended with a series of coaching changes, Manuel answered all of the questions correctly, and with confidence, too. He isn't worried about his job security.

Until Saturday, it was an uncharacteristically quiet offseason for these Phillies, still smarting from their first postseason absence in six years. They finally spent money on the 42d day of free agency by reaching agreements with a setup man and fifth starter in the span of hours. Mike Adams, one of the game's dominant late-inning relievers, agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with a vesting option for a third year, according to a source. The Phillies also signed John Lannan to a one-year deal worth $2.5 million, according to CBSSports.com.

Two days after Zack Greinke signed the richest-ever deal for a righthanded pitcher, Kevin Correia agreed Monday to a two-year, $10 million contract with Minnesota. Last week, former Phillie Joe Blanton signed with the Los Angeles Angels for $15 million over two seasons. The cost of doing business in the pitching market is prohibitive, from top to bottom. That's why, as the Phillies seek a replacement for Vance Worley's fifth spot in the rotation, they are thinking Chan Ho Park. No, the Phils are not signing Park, who recently announced his retirement from baseball.

The Phillies are looking for a starting pitcher, among other things, and waiting for an answer from Michael Young. After he said Thursday that he might be willing to fill the rotation spot vacated by Vance Worley's trade to the Minnesota Twins from within the organization, Ruben Amaro Jr. conceded that he is more inclined to sign a free agent. "We're looking for a low-risk, high-reward type of guy," the general manager said Friday night. "We've been exploring the market, and there are a lot of pitchers still out there.