This is Why We Die Hard

To heed all you Royals fans and Orioles fans out there.  Every 8-year old kid in the DC-metro area, pay attention.  Please do not give up, all you diehards in Western Pennsylvania.  Trust me when I say, “stick with your team, it is SO worth it.”  There will be a time when all of what you are investing in your teams will pay you back.  We Philadelphia die-hards have invested so many nights, so much hope, and so much heartache into our red-pinstriped team over the past countless number of years, and now is when we reap our dividends–and it was all SO worth it.  You all will get your chances.  Trust me.

Last night, when the Phils scored three two-out runs in the 9th innings to win a game that they looked to have blown an inning prior, we officially entered the “sit back and enjoy” phase of this epic Phillies team.  They have put in their time, gained the maturity required to reach this pinnacle of their sport, and now they just have to go out and play, and they will continue to make history.  And, we, as fans, get to sit back and let the joy of it all just seep in…especially because we have been there and seen the other side.

We were there in the 90’s when the team was basically a laughingstock and the doormat of the NL East.  Back then, we were just looking for one young player to jump up and make us think, “Is this the guy around which we can build a ballclub?”  Is Pat Combs a future ace?  Is Kevin Stocker an all-star shortstop?  Do we hold on to Curt Schilling or trade him off for a bundle of prospects?

We were there from 2001 to 2006, when there were six consecutive winning seasons, but no playoff appearances.  We had to question if this team was “good,” but not “great.”  What pieces have to go?  What pieces should stay?  Can a team led by Bobby Abreu ever win anything?  Is Scott Rolen’s incredibly thin skin going to derail his whole career or is it ridiculous to think that someone’s “sensitivity” can impact an otherwise immensely talented player?  Can a pitching staff built around Randy Wolf and Vicente Padilla ever really come through when it matters?  (These two, by the way, are pretty interesting questions again, come 2009, huh?  But that is for another conversation.)  Do we really trade away our best player and best teammate for a big, potential flash-in-the-pan firstbaseman, who has spent six years in the minor leagues?  Will this Utley character ever field well enough to play 2B every day, and if not, will he hit well enough to play LF every day?  Can Larry Bowa ever get buy-in from his players?  Will Jimmy Rollins EVER take a pitch???

We were there in 2007 when this team of question marks answered all the current questions in one unbelievable month of September, before raising a whole fleet of new questions in four forgettable October days.  Yes, this team got over the hump, but did the Mets just choke?  Will Utley and Howard ever hit in postseason situations?  Are Victorino, Werth, and Ruiz really every day players?  Can we stake our future postseasons on the eccentricities of Cole Hamels?  Can Charlie Manuel manage the game or will he always just be “Uncle Charlie?”

We were there in 2008, when it all came together in one magical season.  The championship that we have all been dying for.  The strikeout…the greatest sports moment of my life.  And, everything was great.  Nothing else mattered.  All the suffering was justified.  All the heartache was repaid, in spades.  And, though it didn’t matter (and still doesn’t matter), the questions arose again.  How can you expect a closer to go 48-for-48?  How lucky was this team in avoiding the Cubs in the NLCS and the Red Sox in the ALCS?  Again, it didn’t, and doesn’t, matter.  No one and nothing can take away the unbridled joy of October 29, 2008.  That night paid back all of our investments; now, we are getting the icing on the cake.  And, it is fantastic!

Just as last October was the ultimate accomplishment for a great team, this October may be the culmination of the journey of a historic team.  And, never will it be better shown than in the ninth inning of last night’s series-clincher.  They had given up a lead that had enjoyed since the game’s second hitter when the Rockies scored 3 two-out runs in the bottom of the 8th.  The crowd was electric.  The young Rockies were pumped.  But, the veteran, professional Phillies were unconcerned; they were unrattled. 

With one out, Jimmy Rollins (the guy who wouldn’t ever take a pitch) battled to a 3-2 count and then beat out an infield single up the middle.  Victorino bounced into what could have been a game-ending double-play, but hustled the entire way to keep the game alive.  And, though, hustle was the reason that these two hitters did not end the game, it was not the typical David Eckstein-type hustle that you see as “Wow, this team is ‘playing hard,’ good for them.”  It was the Derek Jeter-type hustle that you see as “Well, that is just what winning players do at times like this.”  I don’t know how to better explain it, but it seemed to me to be different.  It wasn’t hustle out of desperation or a feeling of inferiority.  But, it also wasn’t cocky or brash.  It was hustle for a reason–almost a confident swagger–even though neither ball left the infield. 

Now, with two outs, Chase Utley came up, with Ryan Howard on-deck.  I have never felt as confident in such a dire situation.  Maybe it was foolish to be so confident, as even the Ruth and Gehrig in 1927 would have long odds to pull out a game with 2 outs and a runner on first.  But, I felt confident.  Utley worked an incredible at-bat, laying off a 3-2 pitch down and in, at which 99% of MLB players would have swung.  Huston Street should have had the save right there.  In fact, I think that even the 2008-version of Chase Utley strikes out on that pitch.  But, this team is calm and poised.  This team has become a team of professional winners.

Now, it was the next “professional winner’s” turn to get it done.  Ryan Howard laid off a pitch that was close, took a big man’s hack at a hittable pitch, and then laid off another close pitch to get the count in his favor.  He is just, as Doogan always says, “dialed in.”  He then got the pitch he wanted and hammered it to rightfield.  An earlier version of Ryan Howard may have tried to put that ball in the seats, but this one knew what was needed to WIN.  A two-run double later and the game was tied.  It wasn’t Huston Street’s fault.  He was just up against professional winners, doing what they are paid to do.

Finally, Jayson Werth steps in to finish the offense’s job.  And, what does he do?  Belt a hanging curveball over the fence?  No.  Because you don’t always get hanging curveballs, do you?  He took exactly what Street gave him–a good pitch on the outside corner and blooped it into right-center, for the winning run.  And, it had to be Werth because Ibanez was out of the game, and the pitcher’s spot was on-deck.  It had to be…so, it was.

Eventually, they turned it over to the bullpen and, now that Brad Lidge is not Mr. Perfect, what did they do?  They ded exactly what they needed to do to win.  Uncle Charlie pushes every right button, in an absolute geniusly managed series (he outmanages YET another “brilliant” manager in a playoff series–adding NL MOY, Jim Tracy, to a list that already includes future HOFer Joe Torre and “genius” Joe Madden).  Scott Eyre gets a couple outs, but gives up a couple of baserunners.  No problem, if it’s needed to win, I’m sure that Lidge can fire up a couple of those nasty sliders that he used to throw with regularity.  And, he did.  And, the Phillies won. 

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t “ho-hum, another victory.”  But, it was INCREDIBLY impressive how they did it.  They were not handed that game last night.  They were not handed either of those games in a ballpark in which it is exceptionally difficult to win.  But, they did it.  They were professional, seasoned, and just flat-out impressive.

Now, I have no idea if they are going to repeat as World Champions.  In fact, I don’t even know if they’ll get past Bowa, Wolf, Padilla, and company in the NLCS.  But, what I do know is that I am certainly not betting against them.  They have figured it out, whatever “it” is, and this is so incredible to watch, as a fan. 

So, fans in Kansas City, fans in Pittsburgh, please stick with your teams.  Even if Zack Greinke doesn’t ever pitch in the postseason or Andrew McCutcheon never makes an All-Star game, stick with them.  Because every heartache, every crushed dream will turn into unbridled joy in moments like the ones we are experiencing right now.  And, unlike some of the “priviledged” franchises out there, we will never, ever take this for granted.  Because of that, days like today are places that only us “long-time investors” can appreciate.