Not that I’m the first person to accuse Philly fans of lacking some perspective, but I think, with the first series of the Phillies season complete, it might be time for all the fans out there to take a step back and have a look at the big picture. I’m not talking about the “big picture” in the sense of “It’s a 162-game season, it’s a marathon not a sprint, it’s only three games, don’t worry about it”. The Phillies (and us fans) have seen too many seasons recently go down the drain with abysmal Aprils and I don’t think any of us want to hear that anymore.
I’m talking about the picture even bigger than that. It seems like, heading into the season, many fans got caught up in assuming that this team would do better and go further in the playoffs than last year’s team. They have a pretty young core, the thinking went, that includes three MVP-caliber position players and a legit ace at the front of the rotation. They have a year more experience, they will inevitably have less injuries and, most importantly in many people’s mind, they know how to win now, after capturing the division title last year.
I think, in the afterglow of the team’s first playoff appearance in 14 years, a lot of people forgot something: this is still a flawed team. I think no less an expert than the man who put this roster together, Pat Gillick, would agree with that statement. Offensively, they have absolutely nothing to worry about. Yes, they were shut out by the Nationals on Wednesday, but those sort of anomalies happen.
The shortcomings all lie in the pitching staff, and those flaws have already been on display: Tom Gordon imploding on Opening Day and Jamie Moyer struggling yesterday. Not only are Gordon and Moyer old and unreliable, but they’re also filling very key roles on this team, as main setup man and #3 starter, respectively. That tells you something about the starters and relievers that, in effect, rank below them as far as level of confidence from the coaching staff.
All that being said, this team still has a great shot of repeating as NL East Champs. The anticipated flaws of the Mets and the Braves have also been on display early, with Pedro Martinez and Mike Hampton finding themselves in a very familiar position: on the disabled list. If pushed to make a pick, I would still have to go with the Mets as favorites, just because I put so much stock in the left arm of Johan Santana, but this should be a nip and tuck race between these three teams all season.
Basically, my point here is to make a preemptive plea for some sanity. Instead of building this team up to something they’re not, or tearing them down after a couple of bad losses, let’s all try to keep some perspective. If you take a look at the proverbial “big picture”, you’ll see an incredibly exciting team that plays hard every day and is really just fun to watch. Having a core like Rollins, Utley, Howard, and Hamels is something that doesn’t happen for any team very often, so let’s enjoy it. With some of the stiffs on this pitching staff, there are bound to be ups and downs, but they have a definite chance of heading back to the playoffs, and maybe even doing some damage this time when they get there. It’s a good time to be a Phillies fan.
