On a cold November night
in the Bronx, the
Philadelphia Phillies watched
from unfamiliar territory as
the New York Yankees celebrated
their record 27th
World Series Victory.
The Phillies, who were
defending World Series
champions, must now look
toward next year.
Before they shift their
attention to the spring, let us
take a look at the past year,
which was filled with ups
and downs, furious comebacks,
and heart-breaking defeats.
The season started off with high
expectations. The Phillies were
fresh off of a magical October run
that saw them rip through the
playoffs with an 11-3 record en
route to their secondWorld Series
championship. The best way to
describe that 2008 team was with
one simple word: Juggernaut.
For the second year in a row the
Phillies sent Brett Myers to the
mound to open the season and
lost. World Series MVP Cole
Hamels wasn’t given the opportunity
to pitch the opener due to an
injury he sustained in the offseason.
A World Series hangover
seemed to be the trend over the
last decade, but despite their
opening season loss that
was never on the
Phillies’minds. They
were slow out of the
gates, just as they
always seem to
be. Their closest
foe, the
New York
Mets, actually
stood
in first
place in
the NL
E a s t
through much
of April.
Fortunately for the
Phillies, the Mets suffered
a pretty ridiculous
string of injuries to their core
of players, though there is no
doubt in my mind the Phillies
would have won the division anyway.
Early on, they withstood tests
from not only the Mets, but the
Braves and those pesky Florida
Marlins as well. Keep in mind
that this was the seventh year
since the Marlins last championship,
who also won seven years
before that. When the Marlins
took over first place temporarily
in May, many people began to believe
in the theory of seven.
That theory did not last long as
the Phillies took first place from
them, and refused to relinquish it
for the rest of the regular season.
The path to their third straight
NL East title though was rocky at
best. There were high times like
that of their 10 game win streak.
Then there were the low times like
when they suffered series sweeps
at the hands of the Toronto Blue
Jays and the Baltimore Orioles,
the two cellar-dwellers of the AL
East.
Adding to the roller-coaster ride
in 2009 was the completely ineffective
Brad Lidge. Lidge, who
was perfect in save opportunities
in 2008, seemingly forgot how to
pitch. Lidge struggled through
one of the worst years ever for a
reliever. He ended up with a
record of 0-8 and an earned-runaverage
of 7.21 to go with his 11
blown saves.
Despite Lidge’s failures in the late innings of games, he wasn’t
the only troubled arm in the
Phillies bullpen. The Phillies lost
lefties JC Romero (50-game suspension
for steroids) and Mike
Zagurski, leaving Scott Eyre as
the only experienced lefty. Who
by the way has been pitching with
bone chips floating around in his
elbow.
Romero, who was a key part of the 2008 title run for the Phils, eventually returned from his suspension only to suffer an injury that would keep him from pitching in the playoffs.
The Phillies also lost Jack Ta s c h n e r
(who frankly
didn’t pitch well
before being injured)
and right-handed
long relief pitcher Clay
Condrey who had pitched exceptionally
well for the Phillies.
Not to be overlooked though is
the signing of Chan-Ho Park, who
despite failing as the Phils fifth
starter turned into a very reliable
right handed arm out of the
bullpen. He was a much needed
late inning arm that helped secure
a lot of games. Without Chan-Ho,
the Phils ‘pen would have been
much worse.
Speaking of impact signings,
how about Raul Ibanez. This man
was completely away from the
spotlight playing over in Seattle,
despite putting up solid numbers
year after year. He came in to
Philadelphia as the replacement
for fan favorite Pat Burrell who
went over to the Phillies World
Series victim Tampa Bay.
Ibanez quickly became a fan favorite
himself, as he got off to a
torrid start. To put into perspective
how hot he was, he kept pace
with the man they call “the machine”
Albert Pujols. He was hitting
over .330 for the first fewthreat to go deep every time he
stepped to the plate. Unfortunately
for Ibanez, he suffered an
injury that sidelined him for a
stretch of games and he was never
the same.
The Phillies boasted one of the
most potent offenses in all of
baseball. It featured former
MVP’s Jimmy Rollins and Ryan
Howard, the league’s top second
baseman Chase Utley, and an allstar
caliber outfield that featured
the “flyin’ Hawaiian” Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth on top of Ibanez.
The Phillies did not go un-noticed
this year as they did in years
past, as they were rewarded with
five all-stars. In 2008, only Brad
Lidge was voted to the National
League Squad. This year, the entire
Phillies outfield was voted in
as well as Ryan Howard and
Chase Utley. Chase Utley earned
the most votes out of any other
player in the National League,
right up there with Albert Pujols.
That did not matter however, as
once again the National League
fell in a close game to the superior
American League.
Once the all-star break was
over, the Phillies turned their attention
back to their race to the
playoffs. The day after the all-star
game, the Phillies announced the
months of the year and was a signing of the aging yet wily veteran
Pedro Martinez. Martinez,
who has won three Cy Young
awards in his career, is widely
considered one of the greatest
pitchers of this generation if not of
all time.
Just one week after the all-star
game, the Phils rookie GMRuben
Amaro Jr. made what was perhaps
the best trade of the season. He
sent four minor league prospects
to the Cleveland Indians in exchange
for reigning Cy Young
winner Cliff Lee as well as utility
outfielder Ben Francisco.
Every Philadelphian dreamed of seeing
Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay in red pinstripes, but after the show Lee put
on since coming to the Phils, it was enough to make everyone forget who Halladay
even was. Once Lee was acquired, it was
a sprint to the finish. The Phillies
never looked back on their NL
East rivals that were nipping at
their heels. They finished the regular
season strong with a record of
93-69 and a healthy six game lead
over second-place Atlanta.
For the third straight year, the
Phillies found themselves in the
playoffs. This year they were able
to exorcise the demons of the Colorado
Rockies from 2007, as they
bounced them from the divisional
series in only 4 games. They then
went on to face the Los Angeles
Dodgers for a second straight year
in the National League Championship
Series.
In an even more dominating
fashion than last year, the Phillies
once again eliminated the
Dodgers in only 5 games. Ryan
Howard was awarded MVP honors
after going on a tThe rest of the story is history.
As you all know, the Phillies
would go on to lose in six games
to the New York Yankees in the
2009 fall classic. Midseason acquisition
Cliff Lee was everything
the Phillies needed him to be, winning
both of his starts of the series.
It wasn’t enough however, as
the Phillies fell short on the offensive
side of things, something that
nobody saw coming. Then Yankees
proved to be much more of a
competition than the Tampa Bay
Rays were last October.
All in all, this was a great year
for the Phillies. This team is full
of winners and anything less than
a World Series crown is considered
a failure in their minds. Perhaps
that is the best mindset a
team that has aspirations of greatness
can have.
This should be a fun offseason,as Amaro is sure to make some moves to help the Phillies return to glory. You can expect to see
the Phillies back in the mix of things next
year, and for many years to come.