PHILADELPHIA — How can it be that the best new rivalry in baseball pits a near-dynasty, a franchise that has won its division five years in a row and that brought Philadelphia its first major pro sport championship in nearly three decades, against a franchise that, historically, has been ineptly run and that finished last in the National League East last year?
Well, it sure ain't easy.
You start by bringing the bombastic managerial talents of Ozzie Guillen to South Beach, and all his accompanying controversy. On top of the buzz created by bringing baseball's foremost Latino manager to Miami, you stack $191 million worth of make-a-statement free-agent signings: speedy shortstop Jose Reyes, workhorse lefty Mark Buehrle and closer Heath Bell. You rebrand your team (from the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins) and your power-hitting right fielder (from Mike Stanton to Giancarlo Stanton).
And you open a gaudy, glitzy new half-billion dollar stadium, which brings a stability that shows your community and the rest of baseball you're planning on an impressive future.
Yes, the new Miami Marlins are the newest toast of baseball. Never mind they haven't made the playoffs since 2003. Never mind their slow 2-3 start. Never mind that Guillen already has sparked his first controversy with some ill-advised comments on how much he likes Fidel Castro. While the Philadelphia Phillies have been the standard bearer of the National League the past half-decade, there's a palpable feeling around these Marlins that it will be their turn pretty soon and that the next few NL pennants must pass through this divisional rivalry.
And never mind that these are the same Marlins who finished 30 games behind the Phillies last season.
"We finished in last place last year, so I don't know how much of a rivalry it can be," Marlins left fielder Logan Morrison told FOXSports.com before facing the Phillies on Monday afternoon. "Obviously, we want to be rivals with them. We want them to be like, 'Aw, we have to play the Fish,' but I think we have to earn that."
Morrison's words convey a respect these Phillies have earned in the past five years, when they have posted the second-best record in baseball next to the New York Yankees.
The Phillies have built a near-dynasty around homegrown talent; shortstop Jimmy Rollins, second baseman Chase Utley, first baseman Ryan Howard and starting pitcher Cole Hamels were all drafted by the organization. And a savvy front-office has complemented that homegrown core with timely free-agent acquisitions and trades: trading for starting pitcher Roy Halladay, signing free-agent starter Cliff Lee after having traded him away, trading for outfielder Hunter Pence and then, this offseason, signing free-agent closer Jonathan Papelbon.
Yet even dynasties have a way of wearing out their welcomes. Just as the youthful Marlins appear ascendant, there's a fear in Philadelphia that the Phillies are headed in the opposite direction. The two faces of the franchise, Howard and Utley, began this season on the disabled list. Home runs used to come by the dozens at Citizens Bank Park, but not so in recent years, as the Phillies' offensive production has dropped off.
The pitching staff had the lowest ERA in baseball last year, but Hamels, one of the team's three aces, is heading toward a lucrative free-agent payday — and the Phillies already have the second-highest payroll in baseball.
Creeping up on the Phillies in the NL East are the newly free-spending Marlins, who jumped from 24th in payroll last year to seventh to begin this season.
Sure, this rivalry will never have the fan-generated heat of the one between the Phillies and the New York Mets. That's a rivalry fueled in a large part by Philadelphia's hatred of New York and by New York's look-down-its-nose view of Philly.
"When I was in New York, that was great," Reyes told FOXSports.com. "There was a lot of intensity. Every time the New York Mets come to town, you know the fans are going to be crazy. Just the atmosphere of the fans, you feel like you're playing a playoff game in the regular season. That was great. I enjoyed coming here to play. The fans would boo us here. They didn't like us too much, but that's the kind of thing that as a player you like."
Sure enough, each time Reyes stepped to the plate Monday in his new uniform, Phillies fans remembered his time with the Mets and showered him with an extra helping of boos.
What could make this new rivalry great isn't so much about the fans' animosity for each other as it is about the stark difference between the how these two teams play ball.
The Phillies are all about pitching and fundamentals; the Marlins are all about speed and flash. The Phillies are led by the drawly, ineloquent 68-year-old Charlie Manuel, the second-oldest manager in baseball; the Marlins have at the helm the fiery 48-year-old Guillen, one of the youngest. The veteran-led Phillies have the third-oldest roster in baseball to open this season; the upstart Marlins rank 16th.
On Monday, at the Phillies' blustery home opener at Citizens Bank Park, the story of the day wasn't about this game representing a possible changing of the guard in the NL East. The day belonged to Guillen, who was playing damage control as he apologized to reporters for his remarks on Castro. The day belonged to Hamels, whose contract negotiations before his pending free agency has Philadelphia talk radio in a tizzy, and whose nine-strikeout outing was marred by earning the loss in the Phillies' 6-2 defeat. It belonged to Marlins' second baseman Omar Infante, who crushed two home runs.
But make no mistake: There was more going on Monday during the first of 18 meetings this year between the new-look Marlins and the old-school Phillies. This, if both teams' plans stay in place, was a preview of the future of the National League East for years to come.
"I hope," Guillen said after Castro questions were exhausted. "That's what makes baseball fun. If we're a rivalry, that means we're playing good. And people only talk about you when you have a great ballclub. We do. We have a good ballclub. Hopefully we play the way we look."
Let's hope they do. And let's hope the Phillies are able to extend their amazing run just a few more years. Another great rivalry is nothing but great news for baseball.
You can follow Reid Forgrave on Twitter @reidforgrave, become a fan on Facebook or email him at reidforgrave@gmail.com
