The MacPhaillies - 2015 Show Phillies (and reflection) - philliesfan136's Dynasty

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The MacPhaillies - 2015 Show Phillies (and reflection)

Posted on June 29, 2015 at 10:37 PM.

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The Phillies and returning to baseball
Part 1

After a while of not caring about baseball, it seems the end of the football season and the Eagles' exciting offseason events has slightly brought me back. It's always been up there in my top two, since I can remember being a sports fan - which dates back in memory to 2008 specifically. That was the year the Phillies won the World Series, and the Eagles made it to the NFC Championship Game (damn Cardinals). We surely would have beat the Steelers in the PA faceoff, by the way. They'd already beaten Pittsburgh in a low-scoring, 12-3 type game where BDawk did the Wolverine on Big Ben, hah. We clanged pots and pans down the neighborhood street that October night and I brought an "80 to 08" sign to school after. My interest only grew in the following years as I progressively learned more about the team and eventually the league as a whole.

Those were the Raul Ibanez, Danys Baez, Chris Coste, Chan Ho Park, Ben Francisco, Miguel Cairo days. Hearing about Harry K's death the very same April day we found a kitty nicknamed "Babe". Feeling overjoyed to watch the end of Doc Halladay's perfecto against the Marlins on our computer. "Hit toward third, Castro has it! Spins, fires, a perfect game! Roy Halladay has thrown the second perfect game in Philadelphia Phillies history! He faced 27 batters, he retires alllll 27!" Watching Cliff Lee's start in the '09 World Series at Riley's Pub and being disappointed when they lost in the end. But along came Cliff and Doc and Roy Lee Harvey Oswalt to the rescue. When John Mayberry Jr. was capable enough to hit big homers against Colorado, and Placido was an old gem of a contact hitter at third. The Four Aces 2011 summer.. best team and best summer ever. I was so eager to follow the trade deadline through MLBTR and watched Hunter Pence, that fun "Let's Go Eat" joker, hug his Astros teammates goodbye. They already had the core of Chase, Chooch, Big Piece, JRoll, Hollywood Cole, and JWerth from the 2008 success. Ruben, for all his deserved criticisms nowadays, had added another layer of awesome talent on top of an already dominant NL East champion. They looked unstoppable. It was so early on in my love for both sports but the Phillies were soon approaching 100-game winners and looking like they were reaching the Yankees/Red Sox echelon of greatness. It had been just a three-year wait from their last trophy hoist and I didn't have to struggle like I did with Andy and the Eagles. I began to favor baseball for that very-obvious reason.

Then there came that fateful night. My awe-struck wonder of this dream team was crushed under the heat of the Cardinals, that plucky team that blew past expectations and ran over the juggernaut. I was sick that night, when Carpenter put the dagger in us. Then Ryan tore his Achilles to end it, a devastating yet fitting sign of what was about to happen to him, Cliff, Doc, Oswalt, RAJ, and the annual pennant-contending franchise. The red pinstripe-clad fantasy squad who seemed infallible in my eyes was about to change completely.

Even when someone left or retired, you couldn't help put feel they would be back strong next spring, leading the East and the NL at the end. Amaro hadn't proven us wrong yet with his moves, and the production of the core had only been complimented with the adjacent additions of star power that July. Charlie, the gum-chewing savant with his old country voice, would be static in the manager position and welcoming the new faces that kept the win column going. They would always be back. They wouldn't get old for a while, and they would stick around thanks to earned contracts sent out by his truly, RAJ. Phillies for life, and building a dynasty at that. While the Eagles fluctuated and didn't make any deep playoff run after '08, we were wishing for Andy to be fired and a new mind in place to shift the balance. There was no clear path to a Super Bowl in those late 2000s teams, and even when the drafting finally improved (Shady, Mac, and DJax) they were inconsistent. Nothing was the same (shoutout to drizzy) with the defense when the legend Jim Johnson died.

It was the opposite with the Phils. We were flying by the seat of our pants, as is the common phrase, happy with the consistency of the roster and the GM cultivating it on a year-by-year basis. The attendance correlated with that, not fluctuating, rather they repeatedly sold out and could overwhelm the poor Nationals faithful at Nationals Park. There was nothing to suggest that this exhilirating ride would end... until that moment.

The Big Piece was downed. Our rock, the former MVP and fearful slugger, the prototypical #4 hitter and a home-run beast in his prime. He could unleash that beautiful swing and drop the bat, walking with the immediate knowledge that with all his might he had just blasted that ball out again, making the Bell light up and ring to its hearts content. That swagger knowing he could propel, uplift his team with his rare strength in an instant, is just inspiring. Everyone wants a player with that game-changing type of ability. He had that, for a long time. We had that, as a collective unit, the force of the National League. And he was rewarded for his superb impact with that...ugh, heaving, dreaded sack of cash that weighs upon us seven years later. No, I assure you it was warranted for a player of his merit at the time. A dominance with the bat in hitting homers with that many RBIs at that rate, surely was unparalled for his age and would be a continuous influence in the middle of the lineup for the foreseeing future.

You could grieve with the strikeouts and questionable discipline on breaking pitches for a guy of his talent because of his surefire ability to drive in runs. Power, as it is in this era of pitching supremacy is hard to come by, and always sought and desired to push teams ahead against the staffs the likes of the 2010s Giants, Dodgers, Cardinals, and later Nats. Keeping that in mind, Ruben Amaro was not incorrect in his line of thinking to keep his franchise first baseman in place. For the reason explained, teams are wary to let go of young stars in free agency or in trade exchanges. In terms of hitting at least, they want to keep an inexpensive supply of youth with power to slot in and maintain a run-scoring lineup. Our own South Jersey hero Mike Trout isn't gonna be going anywhere until 2020 probably, and Mike Stanton is 25 and on the richest contract in sports history ($325 MM) as of this writing. Those elite hitters don't reach free agency anymore. Albert Pujols is who would be compared to Howard, if anybody, for playing the same position and hitting the market at 31, relatively young in baseball years. He was even rumored to be swapped for the Big Piece at one point in 2010, but that never amounted to anything and he signed a 10-year albatross of a contract with Los Angeles. The difference here is that the Angels hadn't quite gotten to the level of their NL counterparts and were hoping to make a splash by acquiring Albert, Josh Hamilton, C.J. Wilson and co. It was a gamble while he was being pursued by other clubs (Miami comes to mind), but he has appeared worthy of his $240 million distinction outside of a down 2013 campaign. The Cardinals homegrown star is on pace to end up with 50 bombs in a turnaround 2015 season, and the Angels are keeping pace in the AL West (39-37, 2nd).

The Angels have remained competitive in the years since Albert was signed away from St. Louis. He garnered a ring that year after not having won one since '06. Ruben was trying, and credit to him for investing in his core players, to keep his mega team together. They were at the top in 2008 and came close in 2009, but their hunger might have been different from a team like LAA who hadn't been at the peak of the food chain for over 8 years (2002). But ultimately, his contract with Ryan Howard and the subsequent crippling injury that occured was perhaps the first sign that our reign was going to soon come to a discouraging end.

Ryan was our source of power, reliable to electrify the crowd with balls sailing into the stands, and chugging along with 40 homers and 120 ribbies like it was effortless. He declined in 2012 and so went his teammates as well. The plug was pulled and the light went out that night in 2011, Game 5 of the NLDS. Albert and the Cardinals were celebrating on the other side, advancing all the way to the trophy that was supposed to be ours, the best team in the league giving way to these underdogs. David Freese, who joined Pujols on Anaheim later on. Allen Craig, the postseason hero who would be considered now as a deadweight contract lulling in Triple-A Pawtucket with the Red Sox, being thrown into imaginary Hamels trades for cash concerns only. These no-name kids that Luhnow just pumped through the system and gave starting jobs with utmost confidence. His scouting and development accumen that would make Jordan and Wolever green with envy. "Baseball's greatest fans" were appeased that fall while the passionate Philly people were detoured.

That excruciating expression of pain to the downed #6 proved as good as ever an example of the hopeless drought to be endured in 2012 and on. Limping to the finish line, battered aspirations and all. We were an animal in the wild who ruled the kingdom and were at last shot down so that new kings may rise. The announcers could only be happy for Chris Carpenter's brilliant shutout performance. He threw to first to complete the win and the series as Howard lagged behind. It was only a 1-0, one run game, but that in itself shows how close they could have been to returning to their glory. That picture, I'm assured of this.. burned in the mind of Phillies fans, at least at that point in time. A picture of the elated St. Louis team that, although it wouldn't be clear until long after, had shocked our prideful champs right down into the doldrums of the 1900s, before the Whiz Kids. This time, they weren't coming back. Like Ryan, they weren't going to recover to their commanding state. He needed to be assisted to stand, to rise up from the painful realization that he was hurt badly and his team was going no further.

It represents well the state of the 2015 Phillies and the Cardinals. Of course, the Giants have won three titles in five years and been ruler of the National League, but there is no doubting that St. Louis can reverse that fortune with one auspicious playoff run. They have the depth and management to withstand change and movement within and around them, remaining powerful challengers for the Series all the same. That assurance is one that disappeared for the Phillies. We could always depend on the core guys from 2008 who were left to remain NL East winners at the least. Unfortuntely, they had lost that JRoll "team to beat" magic of a young group trying to prove everyone wrong and end a streak of absence that lasted 28 years. It just so turned out that being at the top and defending the gold was harder than the grind and struggle to be in the championship conversation. For the first time since 2006, they missed the playoffs and went an even 81-81, .500 and third place.

Sure, we went to games that year. One May game where Harper went off in a Phillies loss and my ungrateful self proclaimed "Take me back when they're better," as we walked from the stadium to the car. Then in September, versus Francis and the Rockies. Nate Schierholtz - the most noteworthy part of the second Pence trade, as Joseph is being changed to 1B from C and Rosin was picked up in Rule 5 and given back - walked it off in an exciting 3-2 win, sending the fans home happy. Now you might be thinking "what's wrong with Philly fans, every bad team would love to win the title and go back to the playoffs three more years, .500 isn't that bad".. but it showed a vulnerability that would only be ripped down strenuously and progressively. Won the title in 2008, lost it in 2009, lost NLCS in 2010 to eventual champs (Giants), lost NLDS in 2011 to eventual champs (Cards), third in the division in 2012, fourth in the division in 2013. Mercifully, they were buried at fourth with 73 wins (for the second straight season) in '14, and are prepared for the #1 pick and the illustrious tag of worst team in baseball as of 2015. Has that measure of consecutive recession ever happened in sports? It means first to worst in every sense of the phrase.

Going back to Ryan's injury, that symbol of helplessness and falling off a cliff from being revered and at your best can be matched directly with my team's performance since 2011. He had to be picked up from despair and watch as other teams passed him by. That's the state of the Phillies, who hung on to their success long enough to be a detriment. Who were once the premium team with homegrown offensive stars all over the diamond and arguably the best-built rotation to boot. Maybe it's selfish, but that dissent from prestige and all the controversy among a losing team being indecisive about blowing it all up lost my interest.

Maybe I'm not a real Phillies fan, too young to understand that they have been through periods of loss before. Maybe I was too easily hurt at the loss of that new feeling of wonder and excitement, the urge to follow a highly-prosperous and competitive team year in and year out. Maybe I'm not a real fan of baseball in general, the sport as a whole, the other teams besides the Phillies. When they weren't doing well, my interest drifted. I quickly shifted over to football when that coach from Oregon boldly altered the Eagles that my brother, dad, and I support heavily. That new hope for change into a consistent contender, something to believe in. I think that ambition started with those '08 Phillies, the first team I felt attached to and invested in their future. Maybe that's why I get excited to see the process of our lowly Sixers and trust in Sam Hinkie along with other fans when there are some who aren't nearly as open-minded or patient. I guess that need for a champion was fulfilled when the Phillies won it and all we're waiting for now is a return to that glory. We've already seen a Philly team reach the top in my generation so we can expect that the Eagles, Sixers, and Flyers will get there some day too. These fans are passionate enough to desire the championship success desperately, but they are also open to the idea that it will take certain steps to reach that goal because we've been through the heartache. Hey, the worst thing that can happen is that they don't win the Super Bowl. Oh well, that's another one we haven't gotten since 1960, we'll be back with Chip doing some crazy stuff and Hinkie working his trade magic too. And I haven't forgotten about Sexy Hexy, Flyers fans. That Pronger trade was something huh? And they've been going all defense in the draft after Weber turned us down.

But yeah, that's why I went away from baseball. The team I knew went in the dumps to put it in layman's terms and I didn't know how to fully handle it yet I suppose. The Eagles have been bad but it was only 4-12 once and they have done solid since. I think the fact that the Phillies being bad was enough for me to be detached from baseball entirely says something about me as a fan, good or bad depending on how you perceive it. Things are looking up for the Phils, but I'll save that for next time.
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If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading this random thing I decided to write while we're down the Jersey Shore. Funny that playing the Show brought up all these ideas that I felt needed to be put to text.