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The Phillies have suffered from unexpected injuries. They have had longer than expected rehab time for key players like Ryan Howard. Their previously elite pitching staff has been anything but. Shortly after the All-Star break, the consensus was that the Phillies were left for dead.
FIRE SALE
In baseball, when a team’s front office has all but thrown in the towel, they will deal their more attractive players, near the end of their contracts, to teams in contention in exchange for prospects with very low salaries and multiple years remaining on their contracts. Philadelphia joined this dubious group prior to this year’s trade deadline.
During this season the Phillies have dealt future Hall of Fame third baseman Jim Thome (.252, 7 HR, 21 RBI, .450 SLG, 48 GP), former All-Stars outfielders Shane Victorino (.257, 10 HR, 51 RBI, 33 SB) and Hunter Pence (.259, 20 HR, 88 RBI), and former World Series winning pitcher Joe Blanton (9-13, 4.98 ERA). Even former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee (4-7, 3.43 ERA, 170 Ks), who could not record his first win until after the All-Star break, was rumored to be on the trading block. Clearly the Phillies did not expect an October run by trading so many key players in the lineup.
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| When you dump a young power hitter like Pence, you've thrown in the towel. 1 |
BACK FROM THE DEAD
The Daily Hat Trick’s stance on the Phillies has been pretty clear this season. Bitterly disappointing…. Underachieving…. No prayer…. Here are some exerpts from prior articles.
“…MLB may as well skip the regular season hand the Phillies the N.L. East division title.”
--April 4, 2012
“Philadelphia had better get its last place butt in gear.”
--June 1, 2012
“It is gut check time for the Phillies.”
--July 5, 2012
“I will not say, ‘Stick a fork in them’ because this team does have the talent and experience to make a furious second half run.”
--July 10, 2012
“Phillies will not be…in the playoffs for the first time since 2006.”
--August 23, 2012
So what happens? True to form, when violating the “never say never” principle or the “don’t count our chickens until they’re hatched” axiom, sports fate decides to make the situation more interesting. Philadelphia has won 14 of its last 18 games and charged back into the National League Wild Card race, with a .500 record (71-71) and just four games out of the final playoff spot as of this morning.
How is this happening? The Phillies, very late in the season, are doing what many expected them to do all years long. Pitching! Pitching! Pitching! In, September, the Phillies have a 2.44 team ERA, and average over nine strikeouts per nine innings. Their starting pitchers are 6-2 in September though 10 games played, meaning the team is jumping on top early, holding its leads, and getting good, quality innings from the starters.
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| Cliff Lee had his personal Fourth of July fireworks, finally getting the "winless" monkey off of his back. 2 |
Even the casual baseball fan knows what happened in Major League Baseball last September. Epic collapses…mammoth September runs…and a regular season finale that was unprecedented and may never be seen again in our lifetimes from the standpoints of drama and changes in the postseason picture in a single evening.
I maintain that nothing will ever compare to last season, but with the second Wild Card spot in each league and the seeming unwillingness of any two of the Wild Card contenders to take charge and run away with those spots, the Phillies may do the impossible and reach the playoffs for the sixth year in a row.
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1) Image from http://bayareasportsnews.blogspot.com
2) Image from www.thereporteronline.com
3) Image spliced from www.123rf.com (grave) and www.chrissniderdesign.com (logo)
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