Pathetic year in store for Phils, Pirates

"It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything is new again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings. And then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone."

As far as baseball is concerned, spring has arrived. Players in Florida's Grapefruit League and Arizona's Cactus League are dusting off their bats and gloves and shedding those extra pounds put on during the off-season in preparation for the 1997 baseball season.

The game has changed.

This season will be historic due to the birth of interleague play. Also, the pitcher's mound has been raised in an attempt to prevent the Kevin Elsters of the world from hitting 20 home runs.

Even though much has changed in baseball, there are some things that will always remain the same. Pennsylvania will still house arguably the two worst teams in the National League -- the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies.

Go ahead and try to name 10 Pirates. I dare you. The Bucs invited 70 players to spring training, a number that rivals Bill Cowher's list of invitees to last year's Steelers camp.

The Pirates finished 73-89 last year, and they will not have the help of Denny Neagle, Jeff King, Jay Bell, Orlando Merced, Carlos Garcia and Dan Plesac to even match those 73 wins this year. However, one could look at losing those players as addition by subtraction since they were the nucleus of a team that finished 16 games under .500.

Many people, including myself, think General Manager Cam Bonifay made the right decision when he cleaned house. The people he let go would not have won a World Series -- or even a wild card spot for that matter -- so why not start rebuilding for a better future?

The Pirates have some young talent that may develop in ex-Brave Jason Schmidt and Jermaine Allensworth. Schmidt was expendable because the Braves have a good pitcher here and there -- and everywhere -- so he could become a nice pickup. Don't forget, he is a pitcher who came through a Braves system that seems to work.

Fans who pay to see the team this year should know they will see many rookie mistakes, but at least they will see some fresh faces. However, I can understand why so many Bucs fans are frustrated with the team. When Al Martin is a team's top performer, that team is in trouble in a big way.

But Pirate fans have no one to thank but themselves for the salary-dumping the organization has done the last five years. Even when the Pirates were winning games by the truckload in the early 1990s, fans avoided the stadium like it contained a plague.

As of last year the Phillies still had a somewhat respectable attendance, but after another last-place finish and an off-season as boring as an episode of Friends, the Phillies have had a hard time convincing their season-ticket holders to renew their pledge to the charity case that is the team.

The Phillies intended on starting a youth movement this season, but they contradicted that plan by signing Rex Hudler and the Mark brothers -- Portugal, Leiter and Parent. All these players are past their primes, and their primes were average at best.

The Phils did pull off one good trade, however, when they committed highway robbery by trading Toby Borland and Ricardo Jordan to the New York Mets for Rico Brogna. The Phils are banking on Brogna returning to 1995 form when he hit 22 homers.

The controversy surrounding the Phillies in camp is what to do with Darren Daulton. The former catcher wants to play first, but that's Brogna's territory.

What I will never understand is the Phillies front office's fascination with Daulton. He is a career .243 hitter, who averages about 10 home runs and 44 RBIs per season, and the Phillies had one winning season with him as starting catcher.

The Phils could attempt to trade Daulton, but it's doubtful they would get much in return for a 35-year-old with a $5 million contract and nine knee operations under his belt.

The Phillies are banking on promising youngsters like Scott Rolen, Wendell Magee Jr. and Scott Ruffcorn to eventually bring the team back in contention. Rolen looks like a player who will be consistently good, but rarely great. Magee, who had a tougher time adjusting to the majors last year, showed flashes of brilliance.

The organization is excited about the signing of veteran malcontent Danny Tartabull, but he is severely overrated. He is supposed to be a legitimate power threat, but he's only reached the 30-homer plateau three times in his 13-year career.

The cold, hard fact is this: Pennsylvanians are going to see some very poor baseball this season. Neither team is even three years away from a division title, and both could legitimately be picked to lose 100 times this year.

But like Giamatti said, spring is a time of rebirth and optimism. However, I don't think the Pirates and Phillies will wait until September to break their fans' hearts.