Much has been said and written about how the Phillies have turned a corner in recent years, how they finally seem to “get it.” I was reminded of that after another day of Eagles football came and went with a hauntingly familiar result. The Birds have taken over as Philadelphia’s — hell, maybe ALL of professional sport’s — Groundhog Day Team.

You know, they do the same thing over and over and expect something different to result. Phil Sheridan of the Philly Inquirer hit on it in his assessment of their latest loss…

“The veteran head coach has to take some of the heat for the way some
very good drives fizzled…”

“…another winnable
game gets away… the Eagles are just a mediocre football
team…”

Those comments — and I swear I’ve seen them before at some point every year for the past ten or so seasons — got me thinking about how much these two teams have traded places and even more so, WHY that has occurred. For me, it boils down to one simple aspect:

The Phillies have a FEEL… the Eagles do not.

The Birds are led by men (Andy Reid and his bosses) entrenched in a mind-fart of epic proportions, unable to deviate from a stubborn and insane belief that their system is the be-all, end-all of perfection and if repeated often enough will lead to success. Unfortunately, as much as the system, it is these mens’ definition of success that is the failure. They just don’t get it.

Contrast that with the Phillies. Professional sports’ most successful loser, the team suffered for years as a “second tier” organization run by a management group more intent on controlling the level of debits over credits than wins over losses. Like Lurie/Banner/Reid now, the Phillies front office had no FEEL for success, not really. They liked to try to get you to believe they did, but we knew better.

A couple close calls were made worse by a lack of action when action was called for. The elusive ring was right there, but we were told it was unreachable.

And then something changed…

Someone woke up and Ed Wade was banished to the abyss, destined to make another franchise suffer his indignities. Pat Gillick was presented to us and we were told he got it, he had a feel, just look at what he’d done in Toronto and Seattle. Pat gave us Charlie Manuel, a West Virginia bumpkin on the outside, but a fierce competitor on the inside. We were told Charlie had a feel, and we just had to trust him, we’d see.

At first we were reluctant, but as time passed we saw something in their eyes and heard something in their voices, something different. Off-field moves once thought impossible became commonplace. On-field moves questioned at first soon spawned results. The close calls became championships. A division out of nowhere. Then another with a pennant and a world title. It became a three year run unlike any before.

And best of all, it promises more to come. Not because that’s what the mindless dolts tell us will happen, but because we can FEEL it. Watching the Eagles, more and more of us feel nothing. There is no look of a champion, no innate sense they are destined for something other than more of the same. If nothing else, the Phillies have proven more of the same is no longer acceptable. Watching them, despite a World Series defeat, we feel good.

As the off-season settles in, anticipation for the future is high. The Fightins’ still carry the look of a winner, the look of a champion. The new season (now more than ever given the Eagles awfulness) can’t get here soon enough.

Can you FEEL it?

I knew you could…

Things are already moving for the Phillies so no point holding off on thoughts regarding their future. I’ll get right to it…

Already Done:

• Cliff Lee will be back in 2010 it was announced today. This one was a no-brainer. Enough said.
• Brett Myers will NOT be back. This one just came down. Not necessarily a no-brainer, but I think we all saw it coming. As Brett said: “Thanks for putting up with my ****.” – we couldn’t have said it better.

Things to Work on:

• Pitching

With Lee in and Myers out, a few outstanding questions remain. Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ are going nowhere. That puts three lefties in the rotation. I not a fan of going with four so that means Jamie Moyer becomes odd man out; if healthy, I send him to the pen for long work and/or the occasional spot-start. He already earned his $ for 2010, but that doesn’t mean he has to start. Hamels is too much of a “?” every 5th day – no need adding another.

That means two righties are needed. Joe Blanton is up for arbitration. I have no problems with him in the rotation. His numbers say he’ll get a raise, but without Myers, that should be manageable. So that leaves another spot. As much as I liked the shot on Pedro Martinez, I don’t think he returns (see “?” above). That means I see a Spring Training battle between Kyle Kendrick, Kyle Drabek, and a yet-to-be-named-group of other contenders.

If Double-K doesn’t make the rotation, I put him in the bullpen. His learning of a third pitch showed promise late in the year. Clay Condrey and Chad Durbin have injuries and advancing age; one or both may not return. Same with Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge. With the dregs on the current list of free agent closers, I give Lidge a shot to return to form. I would sign Chan Ho Park; he was solid in relief, and the return of J.C. Romero helps, but another lefty or two wouldn’t hurt.

The BP is the biggest mess and there will be a host of bodies given a chance to compete. Stay tuned on this one.

• The Bench

A glaring weakness all season, the reserve core MUST improve. Of all the good things Ruben Jr. did, he dropped the ball here. Matt Stairs, Eric Bruntlett, Paul Backo should all be let go. Greg Dobbs gets a pass because of injury; he stays. Ben Francisco is back. That means three to four are needed, including a back-up catcher.

This is a prime area for the elusive “veteran help” but finding the right guy(s) who want to sit most of the time is hard. I’d like to see a push for Mark DeRosa. He can spell both Jimmy and Chase (and BOTH MUST BE SPELLED more in 2010 and beyond) as well as play outfield. Marlon Byrd is an interesting possibility. He has pop from the right side and can play all 3 outfield spots. Combined with Ben, those two could give Charlie more options in resting guys.

That leaves a lefthanded bopper and a reserve catcher.

For catchers the FA list here is long, but I’ll list Jason Kendell, Miguel Olivo and Brian Schneider as possibilities (oh, man, did I say Schneider? He freaking kills the Phillies wherever he plays so maybe getting him would be a good idea). And no, I’m not bringing back Chris Coste.

Lefthanded bopper could be interesting. Seeing what’s on the FA list, maybe Stairs does survive another year… either that or someone I can’t see comes up and takes this spot. Another stay tuned area.

• The Regulars

None are threatened with the exception of Pedro Feliz at third base. (Hell, by time I post this he may already be gone…) Pete Happy’s glove work is Gold Glove-worthy, but they don’t give GG’s to light hitting third sackers, they just don’t. He did knock in close to 80 runs this year, so it’s $5m to sign him or $500k + a new contract to let him go. Can they get someone for $5m that is an upgrade? I’m not sure… I need to revisit this one later.

The biggest thing I see for the A-Team is they ALL need more off days next year. No need to run them into the ground (see Chase’s fall off, then big rebound after the rest before the WS). Getting the right bench players makes that happen easier. It’s a balancing act, but this team has the chance to be WS contenders for a few more years. No point wasting that chance being stubborn, stupid, or cheap.

The endless and sure to continue sell-outs make “cheap” no longer an option. They’ve been proving that lately. If it was my money, I’d continue, but try to make sure it is spent wisely… no “buy a trophy” here, not in this town. However it shakes out the Hot Stove and next season are going to be fun.

I’m looking forward to both.

The Philadelphia Phillies are NOT the Champions of Baseball…

There is no cause for sadness and thus, no tears, not this time, not for this team. A season has ended, nothing more, a trophy passed from one team to another. Wounded but still strong, it will take more than the temporary discomfort of that task to lessen the immense pride in the Phillies’ accomplishments… or the anticipation and promise of those yet to come.

In years past, such feelings were absent. Somehow we knew that to which we were witness was fleeting, a flash of light in our collective darkness. 1980 was a culmination, an ending to countless years of frustration and heartache. The struggle left little on the candle and the light  soon flickered out for good. We knew 1983 and 1993 were aberrations, blips on a radar, a momentary spark, but nothing more.

And then something happened, something changed. It was a simple proclamation by Jimmy Rollins, January 23, 2007: “I think we are the team to beat in the NL East… finally.”

And so it began… and we believed.

Finally, the players realized there was more than ME in team. Gone was the dead-weight and anchors of selfish and uncaring divas, men interested more in personal stats than wins. There was something different, a strength in the core unseen but felt. No longer would futility be accepted or expected. It was time for something great…

• September 13, 2007: 7 back with 17 to play…
• September 30, 2007: Phillies beat Nationals to win National League East…
• September 27, 2008: Ground ball towards short, Rollins make the stop, flips to Utley, to Howard, DOUBLE PLAY… the Phillies are NL East Champions again…
• October 5, 2008: Phillies beat Brewers 6-2 to win NLDS 3 games to 1…
• October 15, 2008: Phillies beat Dodgers 5-1 to win NLCS 4 games to 1… back in the World Series for first time in 25 years…
• October 27, 2008 to October 29, 2008: Brad Lidge completes a perfect ending of a perfect season and the Phillies beat Rays 4-3 to win the World Series…
• October 31, 2008: The greatest parade in history takes place on a perfect day…

This was no flash, no flicker. The flame would burn on…

• September 30, 2009: Phillies beat Astros to win a third consecutive NL East crown…
• October 12, 2009: Phillies gain retribution, beat Rockies 5-4 and 3 games to 1 in NLDS…
• October 21, 2009: Phillies beat Dodgers 10-4 to win NLCS 4-1… first repeat Pennant in team history…

Again, there is no feeling of “the end” despite the results of the World Series. The Phillies played the Yankees with the same effort and heart displayed for the better part of three years, since the day of Jimmy’s proclamation. Nothing about it seems temporary or fleeting. There is no hoping, not with this core. We EXPECT them to EXPECT to be back next year.

And so, we will not cry, for there is no crying in baseball.

See you in Spring Training 2010… the NLFC’s have a lot more business to take care of.

Unflappable to unfathomable. How else to describe the stunning transformation of Cole Hamels, arguably one of the game’s better young pitchers? After another mind-numbing display of immaturity and stupidity, the Phillies find themselves in a hole for the first time in two post-seasons. Whether the hole is too deep remains to be seen. What is clearly no longer in question is Mr. Hamels needs to grow up.

Sure, the 3-2 pitch to Texiera MIGHT have been strike 3, it was close, but it did not warrant a melt down of epic proportions. Suddenly Hamels forgot everything he’d been doing well to that point. Pound A-Roid inside became leave a fastball out over the plate, a fastball overthrown in the remnants of the growing tantrum. The Republican’s year-long hissy fit over Obama’s election has nothing on a Hamels’ whine fest.

The stupidity came an inning later, when inexplicably Hamels began lobbing lame-assed curve balls at Nick Swisher, a lame-assed hitter buried in a deep slump. Nick the Dick should send Hamels a gift certificate to Baby Gap, a reward for the slop of the hanging curve ball that ended the slump and so much more.

Under “lesson NOT learned” (or maybe: “Thank you, may we have another?”) Hamels followed a great strikeout and a chance to see his way out of the inning by slopping up another curve ball – HIS THIRD BEST PITCH – and turning Andy Pettitte into an imitation of a DH. The end came after a lazy walk to Jeter and a dagger of a line drive double by Damon. A game that began with promise, promise that looked even better with a 3-0 cushion, suddenly smelled of rotting garbage.

The grossest smell, however, is that of the stench of Hamels’ effort, not just last night but all season. More so than any Brad Lidge blown save, the supposed Ace being a Joker is inexcusable. The seemingly unflappable psyche displayed in his first two years has devolved into something seen on Sweet Sixteen, with Cole playing the part of the angry bitch who is crying because she ONLY got a BMW.

But then again, that’s what spoiled brats often give you… much ado about nothing. Cole Hamels gave the Phillies too much ado and a lot of nothing this year, especially last night.

Can you spank a grown man?