Ho-Hum, Another Banner to Wave…

I know, I know, what a relief!  The Phillies finally clinched the 2011 NL East title on Saturday with a 9-2 win over the Cardinals on Saturday.  While it comes to no one’s surprise and is but a single step on the way to a much larger goal, we should still take a minute to step back and think about what it means that this team – our team – will, for the fifth consecutive season, be able to call themselves National League Eastern Division Champions.

While this post hasn’t nearly the room to fit all the ways that the life of the die-hard Phillies fan has changed in this past half-decade, and, regardless, I would never believe myself capable of chronicling them all, but it does bring a wholly unfamiliar joy to my heart when I think about the transformation of the red pinstripes that has taken place in such a short period of time.

Let us flashback, for a second, to September 30, 2007.  It is a day that I honestly will never forget for as long as I live.  Doogan and I were together in a small, lavish Manhattan apartment owned by Stri, one of my best friends, and, oh by the way, a die-hard Mets fan.  While I completely respect Stri and his fandom in every way, that day I threw it out the window (and kind of feel bad).  His Mets were on the verge of the biggest collapse in at least a generation, and Doogan and I had both the Phillies and Mets games on simultaneously – both games in the 9th inning – counting down the outs to a Phillies win, a Mets loss, and the dream scenario of a the first Phillies playoff trip since before the last players’ strike.  The Phils finished off a dream September, made it to October by the skins of their teeth and bowed out in, what felt like about 20 minutes, to the Rockies in a 3-game sweep.  That team was scrappy – and quite a bit different than the team that will represent out city this October.  Brett Myers was the closer because he “wanted to be a rockstar.”  23-year old Cole Hamels got shelled in his postseason debut because “he hated wearing long sleeves.”  Jayson Werth was a part-time player that sat against right-handers.  Shane Victorino was a free-swinging rightfielder because everyone’s favorite Phillie, Aaron Rowand, patrolled center.  Abraham Nunez was the starting thirdbaseman.  And, Kyle Kendrick, a rookie, and Jamie Moyer, still in his early-40’s, were the Phils #2 and #3 starters that postseason with Game Four’s starter still completely up in the air (I think it was going to be Kyle Lohse since Adam Eaton was left off the postseason roster).

Fortunately, unlike 1993, 2007 was only the beginning…

The next year, the Phils actually clinched on the second-to-last day of the season (thanks to one of the best double-plays I’ve ever seen from Jimmy Rollins against the Pirates and another save by offseason acquisition Brad Lidge), allowing them the luxury of not pitching Cole Hamels in Game #162, and saving him for his now-historic postseason run to a World Series championship. 

2009 brought the gigantic trade deadline acquisition of Clifton Phifer Lee, the arrival of Pedro Martinez midseason to slot in as the, get this, Number Two Starter, another NL East title, and another National League pennant.

2010 saw the shocking departure of Lee, but the equally shocking arrival of Roy Halladay.  It also watched as the Phils continued to upgrade their previous upgrades.  Pedro Feliz (a former “upgrade” over David Bell and Abraham Nunez) turned into the much better 3B, Placido Polanco.  Brett Myers (the ace of the staff for the majority of this decade) was shipped out because, well, they didn’t need him.  And, this only a year after upgrading one of the franchise’s long-time cornerstones, Pat Burrell, with the acquisition of the best hitter on in the Pacific Northwest, Raul Ibanez.  Oh, and by the way, they also added one of the best pitchers of our generation at the deadline in Roy Oswalt.  Halladay sparkled a perfect game in the regular season and a no-hitter in his postseason debut against Cincinnati.  While the Phils fell short of their goal, they were still the best team in the NL, yet again.  And, then we get to this year.

Our Phils shocked the world in the offseason by bringing back Mr. Lee to create, arguably, the best starting rotation in the 130-year history of the sport.  When Oswalt showed signs of age, they brought up a kid named Worley, who only led to a Phils win in 14 straight starts.  When Jayson Werth took his .220 batting average to Washington for a 9-digit contract, they filled the hole nicely with a right-handed sparkplug in Hunter Pence.  Injuries throughout the season to Lidge, Jose Contreras, and Ryan Madson didn’t even put a dent in this freight train to 100 wins, as Michael Stutes and, particularly, Antonio Bastardo emerged as dynamic relievers, with the latter even evoking 1996 Mariano Rivera comparisons.

Honestly, it amazes me that a team can come so close for 3-4 years, then breakthrough and win the division followed one year later by putting it together for a World Series title, and THEN, in each of the next THREE years, field a team that is demonstrably better than its predecessor.  Yes, the 2008 team is the only one that reached the pinnacle, but is it even debatable that the 2009 team was better?  And, then that the 2010 team was better than that?  And, now, the 2011 team is easily the best yet…?  It is so hard to maintain excellence over a long period of time in an industry of mostly losers.  We are lucky, my friends, and let’s not forget that.

So, while the end result of this season is still up in the air, and the real treasures are still beyond reach, let us take a moment here and raise our glasses to our team on yet another well-deserved championship.  Oh, and get some sleep now, as it looks like we may be in for another sleepless October.