Pitchers and catchers report in how many days?

Welcome, Phillies fans. It's 11 short months before playoff tickets go on sale again, so let's get started talking about the team you hate to love.

Though I'm a Delaware Valley native, I live in Louisville, sandwiched between the territories of the Redlegs and the Redbirds; local AAA squad the Bats has been an affiliate to both. I've been here for more than a year, and following my favorite team is harder than it used to be, as is raving and bitching with family and friends about its performance. Thus, this blog -- better late than never.

Here are a few of the things I hope to maintain on this site, based upon how much interest is demonstrated:

• Live game chat threads
• Short previews and wraps

Batgirl does an exemplary job with those elements of her site for the Twinkies.

A few more things:

• Strategy discussions. Gillick's wheeling and dealing, as well as Manuel's in-game moves.
• Performance appraisals. who's better or worse than expected?
• Link swapping. Have a good Phillies photo, video or blog that fans would like?
• Media takes from Philly and beyond. A rundown of story links in one spot every day.
• Sharing your stories. Were you at the park for a Rollins triple? Did you catch a foul screamer? Did Art Howe's shopping cart mow you down at Giant?

Obviously, lots of things will be only occasional, and most of this won't get up to speed until well into spring training. But I'm expecting the 2007 season to be very, very fun to watch -- the team could be anywhere from slightly above average to the class of the National League -- so I'm getting you used to this site now. Be ready to chat up a storm.

Oh, about thread comments. There are plenty of places on the Internet where any jerk can post his nasty, worthless stinkbombs, but this will not be one. Don't get me wrong, pessimism and despair are accepted and even embraced. (These are the Phillies, and I am not an idiot.) Comments with value, positive or negative, will be untouched in the hopes of constructive discussion.

So enjoy what's left of the World Series, root for Ryan Howard to be voted MVP in November, and check back every so often this winter.