Some observations:

• I'm glad the Phillies hired their former general manager, Ed Wade, to serve as a special consultant to the baseball operations department.

While he didn't experience much success more recently as general manager of the Astros, Wade basically laid the foundation for the Fightin's to become a perennial contender during his tenure as Philly's GM from 1998-2005.

He'll never be remembered as fondly as Pat Gillick — who assembled the final, key parts of the 2008 championship team — but Wade's role shouldn't be forgotten, either.

He drafted Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard and Ryan Madson, and took Shane Victorino from the Dodgers as a Rule 5 pick. In Wade's final five seasons as GM, the Phils played .527 ball, so he established the franchise on a winning path.

He also convinced free-agent slugger Jim Thome to sign with the Phils before the 2003 season, a move whose significance shouldn't be underestimated. Until that point, Philly was hardly the destination du jour for top baseball free agents.

Current GM Ruben Amaro Jr. contacted Wade about returning to the Phillies as soon as he was fired by Houston, which tells you how much the Phillies wanted him back in the fold.

• I'm beginning to wonder if Ryan Madson's agent, Scott Boras, severely miscalculated his client's value in a year brimming with available closers.

The Phillies decided to go with Jonathan Papelbon, the Marlins inked Heath Bell, and the Rangers signed Joe Nathan.

I also remember reading that the Angels were interested in Madson, but then they went and spent a zillion dollars on C.J. Wilson and Albert Pujols.

Maybe Mad Dog will end up with the Red Sox after all — as Papelbon's replacement, ironically — but they don't exactly seem to be in a hurry to negotiate with him.

Perhaps Madson's relatively short tenure as a closer is hurting his bargaining position. Teams might be reluctant to give a lucrative, multiyear contract to someone who's mostly been a setup guy — albeit a very effective one.

• The Marlins made the biggest splash in the NL East by signing big-name free agent Jose Reyes, as well as closer Bell, but I believe the Nationals also will be a team to watch in 2012.

Their trade last week for 26-year-old left-handed starter Gio Gonzalez from the A's bolsters an already talented young rotation, with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann as the centerpieces.

I think most pundits will pick the Phillies to capture the NL East for a sixth consecutive year, but the Nats are getting awfully close to becoming a playoff contender, which I knew was on the horizon.

The Gonzalez deal means that could be sooner rather than later.

•I admittedly pay much more attention to pro and college football than the high school gridiron, but I did watch the Lancaster Catholic-Tyrone state title game last weekend on PCN.

I knew Catholic had an unbelievable running game, but I wasn't prepared for just how good junior running back Roman Clay is. It's one thing to zoom through a cavernous hole opened by your offensive line, but another to drag three tacklers with you to get a first down.

Clay isn't a huge guy, so his lower-body strength must be incredible. I can't imagine how recruiters from Division I colleges won't be knocking on his door next year.

Paula Wolf is a staff writer for the Sunday News. Email her at pwolf@lnpnews.com. She also blogs about sports at lancasteronline.com/blogs/w....