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March 2, 2008

Every Given Sunday

Newfound Philly Fanaticism

by John Perrotto

The Philadelphia Phillies waited 14 years to get to the playoffs, and their stint in the postseason seemingly ended before it even began, as they were swept in three games by the Colorado Rockies in the National League Division Series. Thus, the Phillies’ storybook finish--in which they overcame a seven-game deficit to the New York Mets in the final 17 days of the regular season to win the NL East--ended against a team in the midst of a hot streak for the ages. The Rockies had won 14 of their last 15 games to capture the NL wild card, then went on to sweep Arizona in the National League Championship Series after dispatching the Phillies. Ultimately, Colorado had 21 wins in 22 games before being swept by Boston in the World Series.

“It was just a case of us running into a team that was red hot, actually beyond red hot,” Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard said. “It was bad timing on our part. We played the wrong team at the wrong time. That’s why I didn’t sit around and mope all winter. I knew we had a great team. We just drew the wrong team in the first round.”

Getting a taste of the postseason--for the first time since losing to Toronto in the 1993 World Series--has whetted the Phillies’ appetite. They want to experience October baseball again. “Absolutely,” Howard said. “We definitely walked away from last season feeling like we had some unfinished business. We were happy to be in the playoffs but our ultimate goal was to win it all and that didn’t happen. It’s been a long time since Philadelphia fans have had a championship to celebrate. It’s been too long. That’s why we’d like nothing better than to bring home a World Series title. It would mean so much to the organization, the fans and the entire city.”

The Phillies haven’t won the World Series since 1980. The last Philadelphia team to win a major professional sports title was the 76ers, who captured the NBA championship in the 1982-83 season. Thus, many of the Phillies can be spotted in their clubhouse this spring wearing T-shirts that read Winning Starts Now. “The playoffs were too short,” left-hander Cole Hamels said. “That’s why we’re thinking about more than just defending our division title. We want more than that. We had a great season last year but it wasn’t enough.”

The Mets' off-season acquisition of left-hander Johan Santana seems to have tipped the scales back toward New York in the NL East. The Phillies, meanwhile, made a flurry of moves in the offseason, but whether they have improved the team or not is open to debate. The Phillies’ biggest winter move came early, when they traded with Houston to acquire closer Brad Lidge. That deal enabled the Phillies to move right-hander Brett Myers--who shifted to closer early last season when Tom Gordon was injured--back to the starting rotation, where he joins holdovers Hamels (5.2 SNLVAR last season), left-hander Jamie Moyer (3.2), and Kyle Kendrick (3.2). After posting only 0.7 SNLVAR last season, right-hander Adam Eaton is being forced to win his job back this spring. Lidge underwent knee surgery this past week, a procedure that will cause him to miss the opener and possibly the first month of the season. Thus, Gordon will fill in until Lidge is healthy.