The long, cold winter and off-season is over. Today, Phillies pitchers and catchers will officially report for spring training, a symbol that spring has arrived despite the calendar only being in the middle of February.

Here are nine reasons Phillies fans should be excited about the start of spring training this year. Feel free to add your own in the comments section below.

1. Pictures of Roy Halladay (and others) running

45 players have already reported to camp-two days before pitchers & catchers first official workout. #ready2go twitter.com/Phillies/statu…

— Phillies (@Phillies) February 11, 2013

Enough said. But we continue on anyway...

Macho Row is currently looking to add to our starting rotation. If you think you have what it takes to provide some commentary on the Philadelphia Phillies, the National League East, or Major League Baseball in general and want an outlet to do it, the perhaps Macho Row is for you.

We are currently looking for regular contributors for routine Phillies coverage. You will be given a large amount of free will to contribute your own, unique content but we do hope it will focus on the Phillies. Some positions we are looking to set-up include:

• General news reporter - Someone who can help out with posting the latest news about the Phillies and provide a brief amount of commentary
• Sabremetrics analyst - With the increasing awareness of the more detailed numbers of the game, we would like to have someone who understands the advanced metrics and can relate them to an audience looking to learn
• Minor league reporter - Regular weekly updates on the Phillies minor league system, with a look at prospects to watch

Interested? Have a new idea for the site? Contact Macho Row for more information.

February 12 - Phillies pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, Florida

February 15 - Full squad reports to Clearwater.

Grapefruit League Schedule

All times 1:05 p.m. Eastern unless noted otherwise. All home games played at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida.

(ss) = Split squad

• February 23 - Phillies vs. Houston Astros (Comcast Network)
• February 24 - Phillies @ Detroit Tigers
• February 25 - Phillies vs. Detroit Tigers (Comcast Network)
• February 26 - Phillies vs. New York Yankees (Comcast Network)
• February 27 - Phillies @ Minnesota Twins
• February 28 - Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves (Comcast Network)
• March 1 - Phillies @ New York Yankees
• March 2 - Phillies @ Toronto Blue Jays
• March 3 (ss) - Phillies @ Baltimore Orioles, Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays (Comcast Sportsnet)
• March 4 - Phillies @ Pittsburgh Pirates
• March 5 - Phillies vs. Dominican Republic (Comcast Sportsnet)
• March 6 - Phillies vs. Washington Nationals (Comcast Network)
• March 7 - Phillies vs. Minnesota Twins (Comcast Network)
• March 8 - Phillies @ Tampa Bay Rays
• March 9 - Phillies vs. Tampa Bay Rays
• March 10 - Phillies @ Houston Astros
• March 12 - Phillies @ Detroit Tigers (Comcast Network)
• March 13 - Phillies @ New York Yankees, 7:05 p.m.
• March 14 - Phillies vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (Comcast Network)
• March 15 - Phillies @ Tampa Bay Rays
• March 16 - Phillies @ New York Yankees, 12:05 p.m.
• March 17 - Phillies vs. Baltimore Orioles (Comcast Sportsnet)
• March 18 - Phillies @ Atlanta Braves (ESPN)
• March 19 - Phillies vs. New York Yankees (ESPN, Comcast Network)
• March 21 - Phillies @ Boston Red Sox, 7:05 p.m.
• March 22 - Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves (Comcast Network)
• March 23 - Phillies @ Baltimore Orioles
• March 24 - Phillies vs. Boston Red Sox
• March 25 - Phillies @ Toronto Blue Jays
• March 26 - Phillies vs. Tampa Bay Rays (Comcast Network)
• March 27 - Phillies @ Detroit Tigers (ESPN)
• March 28 - Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays (Comcast Network)
• March 29* - Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays, 7:05 p.m., Citizens Bank Park (Comcast Network)
• March 30* - Phillies vs. Toronto Blue Jays, Citizens Bank Park

* = On-Deck Series

The page can now officially turn. With the culmination of the NFL season, capped by one of the more entertaining Super Bowl games that saw the Baltimore Ravens prevent San Francisco from celebrating a second major world championship in a matter of months, all eyes can now move on to baseball. Sorry NBA and NHL. It is time for spring training.

In just eight more days the Philadelphia Phillies will have pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, Florida. Three days later the rest of the team will assemble for the spring. For the first time in a while a strong case can be made that the Phillies will enter the 2013 season as a clear underdog in the NL East. The Washington Nationals are coming off their first division championship and should be a strong contender once again with a full year of Bryce Harper and (hopefully) Stephen Strasburg and a solid off-season. The Atlanta Braves ended their 2013 season with a one-game playoff loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. There is no more Chipper Jones but the Braves welcome the Upton brothers, Justin and B.J., to their lineup and once again appear to be a legitimate threat in the division.

It goes without saying that here at Macho Row we hold a special place in our heart for the 1993 Phillies. So naturally, when this music video popped up it seemed only natural that it had to be shared here.

Local cover band The Business put wrote a song in honor of those lovable bunch of throwbacks, titled "Those Phillies Thrill Me." The chances it gets stuck in your head today are probably pretty good, at least for a little bit after you watch the music video consisting entirely of clips and highlights from the 1993 season. Since it can be difficult to come across Major League Baseball highlights on YouTube there is a chance this video eventually gets pulled, so enjoy it now while it is available.

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Does anybody like the Phillies bringing in outfielder Delmon Young? It sure does not seem like it. Once again Ruben Amaro is taking a gamble and hoping it pays off in a big way. Nobody seems to be confident it will, and fortunately for the Phillies they are taking that gamble without putting out a lot of money to do so.

The Phillies signed Young at a price tag of $750,000 but incentives could yield up to $3.5 million this year if the move pays off. If Young manages to reach those incentives, this could be a very good year for the Phillies.

Young is 27 but lacks athleticism and mobility. The Phillies want to put him in right field but he is probably better suited for left field. The Phillies outfield situation is far from the days of Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino. With Darrin Ruff, John Mayberry an Domonic Brown all in the mix along with newly acquired Ben Revere and now Young, the outfield will be a complete on-going experiment and adventure in the field and at the plate.

Young's temperamental history should also be a concern, and a reason why he is able to be signed for a small contract.

Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins will once again represent the United States in the World Baseball Classic, it was announced Thursday. Rollins is the only Phillies player to be chosen to play in the spring baseball tournament for Team USA (the remaining rosters for other participating countries will be revealed later today) that runs at the same time as spring training.

Rollins is one of four players returning to Team USA from the 2009 team, the first year of the World Baseball Classic. He is joined by former Phillies centerfielder Shane Victorino, now with the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers leftfielder Ryan Braun and New York Mets third baseman David Wright.

Nobody will be inducted in to the Baseball Hall of Fame in the Class of 2013. The Baseball Writers Association of America, for the eighth time in the history of the hall of fame, elected nobody to their class this year on Wednesday. 

Among the former Phillies on the ballot this year included Curt Schilling (38.8%), Kenny Lofton (3.2%) and Jose Mesa (0%). Players appearing on the ballot need to receive 75% of the votes in order to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

On MLB Network after the announcement, longtime baseball analyst Peter Gammons said he believed because of the fallout of the PED and steroid issue surrounding a number of big names on the ballot, Schilling might have been able to get elected this year with voters looking for someone to vote in this year. Clearly, not enough support was there for Schilling, who won two World Series rings away from Philadelphia but had one of the more memorable World Series pitching performances with the Phillies in 1993.

This year's ballot was the first to feature some of the game's biggest names in the modern era. First-year ballot players Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa and seven-year ballot player Mark McGwire all failed to receive enough votes to be elected. It goes without saying these players are among the big names tied to the tainted steroids era in baseball.

Much will be debated about whether or not these players should be in or not. You can make cases for players using sabremetrics that were not around in the 1980s and 1960s as much as you can make a case against other players using the advanced methodology. In the same respect you can debate how much value should be placed on use of PEDs or not. How these affect your view on greatness is your own right.

To be honest, I do not care.

Well, of course he did. Philadelphia is awesome.

Shane Victorino was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer as the trade deadline loomed and Ruben Amaro Jr. opted to begin a bit of an overhaul project with the roster. Victorino was shipped to Los Angeles and Hunter Pence was sent to San Francisco in exchange for an assortment of players. Though he had been traded to the Dodgers, Victorino's impending free agency left him as a potential target for the Phillies this off-season. Last week Victorino signed with the Boston Red Sox instead, agreeing to a three-year contract worth $39 million. That kind of contract was certainly not going to come close to anything the Phillies would have even considered offering Victorino, if it got to a point that he was going to be a serious candidate to fill the hole in center field.

Of course, the Phillies brought on Ben Revere from Minnesota in a trade involving Vance Worley and minor league arm Trevor May.

During a recent radio interview with WEEI in Boston Victorino admitted to being a little distracted by his potential future while in Philadelphia last season. The following choice quotes were provided by Sports Radio Interviews:

We believe it’s better to learn how to fail in big markets like Philadelphia because it prepares you to play in Boston. Do you agree?

“Absolutely, 100 percent of that. Am I going to miss Philly? One hundred percent. But again, I will always call that home. It will always have a special place in my heart. When you talk about the fans and all that kind of stuff that we were able to create, and at the end of the day it’s about going out there and having fun. It’s about going out there and being the team we can be. Here in Boston you have that great fan base. You have the people who are hard-working, that love the game, who are passionate about the game, who know the game and understand the game. All those things where, yes ,it’s an added incentive to come to a place like this. And I’ve been very fortunate to play eight seasons in Philly and have that opportunity to play in a market like that and, again, for me it’s going out there and just being myself and going there and having fun and giving 100 percent. At the end of the day, I can’t make everyone happy, but I go out there and play hard and play the game correctly. That’s all I can do.”

A Phillies fan favorite will be moving form the studio to the broadcast booth at ESPN for coverage of Sunday Night Baseball this season. Phillies Wall of Famer John Kruk will be providing his commentary this season for ESPN, replacing former Phillies manager Terry Francona.

“It’s a real honor to work with Dan and Orel, and to be front and center on baseball’s biggest game of the week,” said Kruk. “When I was asked to join the team, I couldn’t have been happier.”

Of course, Phillies fans adore Kruk and his style but our friends over at Awful Announcing are not exactly warm to the idea of putting Kruk in the booth...

This has the potential to be a disaster for ESPN. I don't think Kruk's loudmouthed approach will fit in well with the soft-spoken, intelligent pairing of Shulman and Hershiser. It seems to be a poor fit chemistry-wise. Analytically speaking, the downgrade from Francona to Kruk is a meteoric shift. Kruk has limited experience calling games and his analysis isn't exactly very thoughtful or compelling when sitting behind the desk on Baseball Tonight.