The Philadelphia Phillies have won five consecutive division titles, two National League pennants and one World Series championship during the past five years. But, even rich kids have wishes.

Those who don’t take baseball, themselves or this piece that seriously will understand its message. As for the others, Jacob Marley will be visiting you once again this year.

Here are three wishes that the Phillies are expressing to Santa this Christmas:

Three Christmas wishes: Number 3 – Papelbon’s smooth transition

Stoppers are key to their team’s in-season progress and playoff hopes.

By inking former Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon to a long-term deal, they also bid adieu to Ryan Madson. Curiously, he had just assumed the stopper’s role in 2011 and saved 32 games. Current advice from Scott Boras was likely the element that caused the Phillies to seek a new late-inning mound man.

Papelbon averaged 37 saves per year in his six full seasons as Boston’s closer. The 31-year-old comes to Philadelphia with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.018 WHIP (Walks + Hits per innings pitched), dual marks that inspire strong confidence.

So, the Phillies are wishing that he makes the mental adjustment needed to handle life in the National League.

Three Christmas wishes: Number 2 – That the big three keep on rolling

Last season’s four aces: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt never reached their overly hyped goals. But that wasn’t because of the efforts that Halladay, Lee and Hamels put forth.

Oswalt’s back issues basically derailed his season and any hopes he had of returning to the team in 2012.

Moving on to the future, the Phillies are wishing that their remaining three aces stay healthy. If so, they are nearly certain to continue to produce historically great numbers.

This franchise, as well as most other franchises, have never had three starting pitchers of this caliber who are in the prime of their careers.

Three Christmas wishes: Number 1 – Playoff potency

Some have raised a red herring about the Phillies 2011 offense.

Their incomplete point is this: The Phillies offense was one of the best in baseball after a certain point, the All-Star break, last season. Really?

Every rational baseball fan knows that the Phillies lineup wasn’t the best when the playoffs arrived and that’s when it needed to be. That legitimate point reveals something else that every baseball fan knows, statistics can be used to make almost any claim.

The Phillies number 1 Christmas wish is that their offense is potent in September and October.

When a team’s lineup warms in September and sizzles in October, playoff series against the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals, Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks or any other team can generally be won. Then, the Fall Classic can be directly addressed like it was when they beat the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008.

Merry Christmas Santa and all the best to Mrs. Claus and your team in the North Pole.

Sean was born in the Philadelphia region and has written professionally for over two decades. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB

More from Sean O’Brien and the Yahoo Contributor Network:

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Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The Philadelphia Phillies offense was uneven last season. It was inconsistent for the first few months, steady for most of the way after the All-Star break and then went silent again by the time the playoffs arrived.

General manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. has targeted his bench in an effort to improve the team’s overall offense. That’s where the addition of Jim Thome comes into play.

The Earl of ‘Toemay’

Ed Wade’s free agent acquisition of Thome in December 2002 electrified the baseball world. That watershed decision happened for a number of reasons, including generating interest in the 2004 opening of Citizens Bank Park.

The big money deal was a signal to the fans that the team was prepared to spend money to try and build a winner.

And then there was Ryan

The Phillies new first baseman finished fourth in the National League Most Valuable Player award voting during the 2003 season. The 47 home runs that he hit that year fell one short of Mike Schmidt’s franchise record and gave the team a true clean up hitter.

Thome hit 42 bombs in 2004, but his Philadelphia run proved to be short-lived due to arrival of a 24-year-old rookie who had been mashing minor league pitching.

Ryan Howard hit two home runs in 19 games in 2004. He took over at first base for Thome in 2005 when health issues caused the veteran to spend a majority of the season on the disabled list.

Howard’s 88-game performance, during which he hit 22 home runs and had 63 RBI’s, was strong enough to earn him National League Rookie of the Year honors. That performance caused Pat Gillick to easily conclude that the team had to move in a new direction.

Now

The November 2011 free agent signing of Thome had a few things in common with his initial Phillies agreement. He left the Cleveland Indians in both instances and was obtained because he was expected to use his bat to supply left-handed power to the team.

While no longer one of the premiere sluggers in the game, Thome still has the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark. He spent nearly his entire career as a starter in the field before becoming a designated hitter in 2006, when he was traded to the Chicago White Sox in the Aaron Rowand deal.

The Phillies have brought Thome back this time because they believe that he can fill a different type of need than the one that existed nearly a decade ago. They didn’t have a left-handed pinch hitter with power last season. Now, they are hoping that they do.

Beyond that, their marketing machine knows that his presence will help to sell merchandise in the ballpark that he once helped to open.

Sean was born in the Philadelphia region and has written professionally for over two decades. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB

More from Sean O’Brien and the Yahoo Contributor Network:

When Baseball Cards were King

Now that Rollins has signed, what is Victorino’s Phillies’ future?

Rounding out the Phillies 2012 lineup

Will the Phillies big three be enough?

When Phillies’ legend Richie Ashburn played the game

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Jimmy Rollins just re-upped for three more years with the Philadelphia Phillies. That alone was hardly an Earth-shattering move. But it was one of significance to the Atlanta Braves.

Thanks to their epic September free fall, the Braves finished second to the Phillies in the National League East, which has been widely documented. What has gone largely overlooked is that the Braves finished closer to fourth place (12 games ahead of the New York Mets) than to first (13 behind the Phillies).

The third-place team, the Washington Nationals, should be stronger with Stephen Strasburg coming back from arm surgery and right fielder Jayson Werth possibly coming back from oblivion.

And the fifth-place team, the now-Miami Marlins, served notice that they donÂ’t intend to remain at the bottom. The MarlinsÂ’ makeover, to coincide with their plush new ballpark, began with acquiring manager Ozzie Guillen from the Chicago White Sox. That move alone means nothing without players. But the significance was that Guillen knew the Marlins were committed to spending money to win. Sure enough, the Marlins signed shortstop Jose Reyes, starting pitcher Mark Buehrle and closer Heath Bell. Suddenly, a team that was just 10 wins short of a winning season has to be considered a threat to at least contend for the NL wildcard.

The Mets, despite losing Reyes, figure to be stronger after overhauling their bullpen. Then thereÂ’s the aforementioned Phillies. As if winning 102 games and running away with their fifth consecutive division title werenÂ’t enough, the Phillies signed one of the gameÂ’s dominant closers in Jonathan Papelbon. Oh, and they won 102 games with Roy Oswalt, their No. 4 starting pitcher (thatÂ’s another story) spending a chunk of the season on the disabled list and second baseman Chase Utley playing hurt.

And the Braves?

To date, their big offseason acquisition has been the signing of Robert Fish, a hard-throwing lefty. Maybe Fish will turn out to be another Eric OÂ’Flaherty. Or maybe heÂ’ll be a left-handed Chris Reitsma. Even if heÂ’s Jonny Venters, Fish likely wonÂ’t have a great impact on the BravesÂ’ bullpen because, well, because OÂ’Flaherty and Venters will get most of the work.

The Braves entered the offseason with two glaring needs: another strong right-handed bat for the outfield and more offense at shortstop.

Unless they make a move, the Braves will address those needs with a retread (Matt Diaz) in left field and a rookie (Tyler Pastornicky) at shortstop.

Maybe theyÂ’re not done shopping. Maybe Frank Wren, the Braves general manager, is merely bluffing when he says this team, as constituted, can overtake the Phillies.

The Braves donÂ’t have the deep pockets to compete with other big spenders. But they do have an asset — actually, a collection of assets — that even the richest teams in baseball covet. They have a treasure trove of pitchers. Young pitchers. Young dominant pitchers who could become All-Stars for a decade.

Randall Delgado. Julio Teheran. Arodyz Vizcaino. Mike Minor. All projected to be top-of-the-rotation starters. This is in addition to Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlen, all established big-league starters. Medlen is the old man of the bunch. He just turned 26. That doesnÂ’t include former Glenwood, CVCC and Auburn star Tim Hudson, whoÂ’s still going strong at 36.

The bullpen, as noted, is equally loaded. OÂ’Flaherty, Venters and Craig Kimbrel are baseballÂ’s best bullpen trio. Cristhian Martinez and Anthony Varvaro would be stars on most other teams.

One of baseballÂ’s truisms is that you never can have too much pitching. An arm can go out on one pitch.

But itÂ’s also true that you have to score runs to win, and the BravesÂ’ lineup has too many holes to keep pace with the Phillies.

ItÂ’s time for Wren to dig into that treasure trove of pitching and deal for a legitimate right-handed bat in left field. If not, this time next year, they might be looking up at more teams than the Phillies.

– Guerry Clegg is an independent correspondent. You can write to him at sports@ledger-enquirer.com

General manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. continued to add pieces to his Philadelphia Phillies roster when he signed veteran pitcher Dontrelle Willis to a one-year contract.

The move allows the team to add a left arm that was very effective against left-handed bats last season.

From the beginning

Willis was originally selected by the Chicago Cubs in the eighth round of the 2000 amateur draft. He never pitched in the big leagues for Chicago and was later traded to the Florida (now Miami) Marlins in a multi-player transaction in 2002.

He posted the highest winning percentage of his career (.700) in 2003 when he went 14-6 for a Marlins team that defeated the New York Yankees in that season’s World Series. His efforts earned him an All-Star berth and the National League Rookie of the Year award honors. At 21, it seemed as though the Oakland, Calif. native was at the beginning of a brilliant career.

Willis’ next season actually foreshadowed others that were yet to come, as he went 10-11 with a 4.02 ERA. Then, he bounced back to produce the best year of his career in 2005. He went 22-10, made the All-Star team and finished runner-up in the Cy Young Award voting. That was his last great performance to-date.

More recently

The ‘D-train’ had a decent year in 2006, going 12-12, but followed that with a rough 2007 campaign. His 10-15 record, 5.17 ERA and a salary that was scheduled to escalate over $10 million in future years facilitated a trade to the Detroit Tigers after the season.

The Tiger years lasted through 2010 and resulted in a 2-8 record and a 6.86 ERA. Injury issues, an inability to regain mound focus and a WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched) that amazingly ballooned over 2.000 appeared to put Willis firmly into the category of a has-been.

But, when you’re a left-handed pitcher who hasn’t yet turned 30, there’s always hope.

What about now?

After spending some time in the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants organizations, Willis signed a 2011 free agent contract with the Cincinnati Reds. This past season he started 13 games, went 1-6, had a 5.00 ERA and a 1.520 WHIP.

While his overall numbers weren’t great, he did have success against left-handed batters. Considering that Antonio Bastardo is the team’s only current left-handed reliever with more than a few games of major league bullpen experience, the Phillies are likely to give Willis the chance to serve as a lefty specialist.

Pitching coach Rich Dubee has helped many men play to their strengths during his time with the team. That type of positive influence should put Willis in position to make further progress in 2012.

After earning a Communications degree from Penn State in 1990, Sean started his career in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons front office. At that time they were the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A farm team. He has written professionally for over two decades. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB

More from Sean O’Brien and the Yahoo Contributor Network:

When Baseball Cards were King

Albert Pujols broke the bank and may also break baseball’s home run record

Will the Phillies big three be enough?

When Phillies’ legend Richie Ashburn played the game

Was Babe Ruth the greatest baseball player of all-time?

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The Philadelphia Phillies trade of Ben Francisco to the Toronto Blue Jays isn’t the most sizzling news to be served from baseball’s hot stove. But, this change was anticipated in light of recent moves that the team has made.

The summer of 2009

After beating the Tampa Bay Rays to win the World Series in 2008, the Phillies were in the hunt for another championship the next season. So, general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr., negotiated a late July trade for the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee.

Lee went 7-4 down the stretch and 4-0 in the playoffs. The two World Series games that he threw in 2009 against the New York Yankees were nothing short of brilliant.

Amaro sent four minor league players to the Indians in that multi-player transaction. While time has yet to make its final ruling on the deal, all indications show that the Phillies won it.

The sixth player in that trade was Francisco.

Backing up

Francisco proved to be a quality person and a decent player during his two-plus years in Phillies pinstripes because he accepted his bench role.

The 6 foot 1 inch, 190 pounder showed decent pop in his bat and posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage during the games he played in 2009 and 2010. After Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals last winter, he initially became the team’s primary right fielder in the spring of 2011.

During the 225 games of his Phillies’ career, the now 30-year-old only made three errors in the field, hit .259, had 17 home runs, 75 RBI’s, scored 58 runs, stole 13 bases and produced a .752 OPS.

His last hurrah was a dramatic game-winning, pinch hit, 3-run home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2011 National League Division Series.

That’s baseball

The Phillies dealt the serviceable outfielder to the Blue Jays for minor league left-handed reliever Frank Gailey.

The team plans to platoon John Mayberry, Jr. and the recently signed Laynce Nix in left field. That reality, along with the addition of right-handed hitting Ty Wigginton, left little room for Francisco on the team. The move also makes financial sense because he is arbitration eligible.

Francisco was obtained in the Lee deal to provide outfield depth. He fulfilled his part of the bargain and will likely do the same in Toronto.

After earning a Communications degree from Penn State in 1990, Sean started his career in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons front office. At that time they were the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A farm team. He has written professionally for over two decades. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB

More from Sean O’Brien and the Yahoo Contributor Network:

When Baseball Cards were King

How a post-Jimmy Rollins era would affect the Phillies

Albert Pujols broke the bank and may also break baseball’s home run record

Will the Phillies big three be enough?

Was Babe Ruth the greatest baseball player of all-time?

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.