By Tim Reinboth
After the Philadelphia Phillies 2012 season there are not many fans in the Delaware Valley with smiles on their faces.
The word that best describes the season is disappointing.
After the 2011 season, in which the Phillies won over 100 games, expectations were high as the team eyed a second championship in the last six years, and a sixth division title in as many years. Many fans not only believed that a team of this caliber should make it into the playoffs, but also advance to the World Series.
“They put themselves in a good position to really make some noise in the National League,” said Tyler Strauss, 19, a biology major from Warminster. “They added a few veterans, along with a team of guys who had won it all four years prior.”
The Phillies made many offseason moves, acquiring the likes of Jim Thome, Jonathan Papelbon, Lance Nix, Ty Wiggington and Dontrelle Willis through free agency. The additions proved to be more geared towards their bench and not towards a big bat that they would desperately need as the season progressed.
After a mediocre April record of 11-12, the Phillies got back on track by going 16-13 in May to pull within three games of the first place Washington Nationals.
However, the fan’s optimism was extinguished in coming months.
June proved to put the team in a hole as they went 9-19. The Phillies started losing six of the next seven games and ended the month 10 games behind the Nationals.
That deficit only grew as the season went on and the lead proved to be insurmountable. The teams seemed to switch roles as the Nationals began to play like perennial contenders, while the Phillies struggled to keep themselves out of last place.
July only brought worse play, as the Phillies hole continued to grow. They hit the half way point with a record of 37-50, their worst record at that point since 1997.
Even the returns of first basemen Ryan Howard and second basemen Chase Utley from offseason injuries could not boost the Phillies season.
The Phillies stumbled into the final week of July posting a 10-13 record and looked to be in unfamiliar territory as they were expected to be sellers rather than buyers at the July 31st baseball trade deadline.
The predictions proved true as the Phillies traded away a hero from the 2008 championship team Shane Victorino, sending the outfielder to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Later in that same day, the Phillies sent outfielder Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants after acquiring him the prior year from the Houston Astros.
“I knew the team had in a way, given up when they traded away Pence and Victorino,” said Christopher Cornwell, 19, journalism major from Southampton. “It was becoming evident that the team was looking more towards next year,” he said.
The Phillies’ brass had seemingly given up on the season. The team had other thoughts, as they posted 17 wins each in the months of Aug. and Sept. to force their way back into the wild-card race.
The team began Aug. 13 games back in the wild card standings. Yet, the team fought back to shrink the lead to only two games at one point in Sept.
The team, however, was unable completely close the gap, losing three out of four games to the Houston Astros in a crucial four games series in mid-Sept. The Astros would go on to secure the worst record in the league, losing 107 games.
Although the Phillies season did not go as planned, there are a few positives that can be taken away from this season.
One saw the emergence of Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, who was able to raise his average to a career best .325, 50 points higher than his career average. At times, he was one of the most feared hitters in the National League.
Another was that the Phillies were able to sign Cole Hamels to a six-year deal, worth about $144 million. Hamels proved he deserved the large contract by posting a 17-6 record with an ERA of 3.05.
“This signing was crucial because Hamels is just now in his prime,” said Nick Check from Warminster. “We know that we will have an ace on this team for the years to come,” he said.
The final positive that can be taken is the Phillies combined record of 34-22 in August and Sept. This proves to be important as it signaled the return of Utley and Howard to the lineup. The team hopes these cores players will be healthy for the start of next season.
One reason baseball is unique is that you know every team will win 50 games, and every team will lose 50.
It’s the middle 62 games that decide if your team is a contender or not. Hopefully next year those frowns that were seen all over the Delaware Valley will be turned upside down, and this team will play better.