{"id":398,"date":"2009-10-13T23:49:19","date_gmt":"2009-10-14T03:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=398"},"modified":"2009-10-14T11:03:26","modified_gmt":"2009-10-14T15:03:26","slug":"this-is-why-we-die-hard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/?p=398","title":{"rendered":"This is Why We Die Hard"},"content":{"rendered":"

To heed all you Royals fans and Orioles fans out there.\u00a0 Every 8-year old kid in the DC-metro area, pay attention.\u00a0 Please do not give up, all you diehards in Western Pennsylvania.\u00a0 Trust me when I say, “stick with your team, it is SO worth it.”\u00a0 There will be a time when all of what you are investing in your teams will pay you back.\u00a0 We Philadelphia die-hards\u00a0have 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.\u00a0 You all will get your chances.\u00a0 Trust me.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

We were there in the 90’s when the team was basically a laughingstock and the doormat of the NL East.\u00a0 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?”\u00a0 Is Pat Combs a future ace?\u00a0 Is Kevin Stocker an all-star shortstop?\u00a0 Do we hold on to Curt Schilling or trade him off for a bundle of prospects?<\/p>\n

We were there from 2001 to 2006, when there were six consecutive winning seasons, but no playoff appearances.\u00a0 We had to question if this team was “good,” but not “great.”\u00a0 What pieces have to go?\u00a0 What pieces\u00a0should stay?\u00a0 Can\u00a0a team led by Bobby Abreu ever win anything?\u00a0 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?\u00a0 Can a pitching staff built around Randy Wolf and\u00a0Vicente Padilla ever really come through when it matters?\u00a0 (These two, by the way,\u00a0are\u00a0pretty interesting questions again, come 2009, huh?\u00a0 But that is for another conversation.)\u00a0 Do we really trade away our best player\u00a0and best teammate for a big, potential flash-in-the-pan firstbaseman, who has spent six years in the minor leagues?\u00a0 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?\u00a0 Can Larry Bowa ever get buy-in from his players?\u00a0 Will Jimmy Rollins EVER take a pitch???<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Yes, this team got over the hump, but did the Mets just choke?\u00a0 Will Utley and Howard ever hit in postseason situations?\u00a0 Are Victorino, Werth, and Ruiz\u00a0really every day players?\u00a0 Can we stake our future postseasons on the eccentricities of Cole Hamels?\u00a0 Can Charlie Manuel manage the game or will he always just be “Uncle Charlie?”<\/p>\n

We were there in 2008, when it all came together in one magical season.\u00a0 The championship that we have all been dying <\/em>for.\u00a0 The strikeout…the greatest sports moment of my life.\u00a0 And, everything was great.\u00a0 Nothing else mattered.\u00a0 All the suffering was justified.\u00a0 All the heartache was repaid, in spades.\u00a0 And, though it didn’t matter (and still doesn’t matter), the questions arose again.\u00a0 How can you expect a closer to go 48-for-48?\u00a0 How lucky was this team in avoiding the Cubs in the NLCS and the Red Sox in the ALCS?\u00a0 Again, it didn’t, and doesn’t, matter.\u00a0 No one and nothing can take away the unbridled joy of October 29, 2008.\u00a0 That night paid back all of our investments; now, we are getting the icing on the cake.\u00a0 And, it is fantastic!<\/p>\n

Just as last October was the ultimate accomplishment for a great team, this October\u00a0may be\u00a0the culmination of the journey of a historic<\/em> team.\u00a0 And, never will it be better shown than in the ninth inning of last night’s series-clincher.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The crowd was electric.\u00a0 The young Rockies were pumped.\u00a0 But, the veteran, professional Phillies were unconcerned; they were\u00a0unrattled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Victorino bounced into what could have been a game-ending double-play, but hustled the entire way to keep the game alive.\u00a0 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.”\u00a0 It was the Derek Jeter-type hustle that you see as “Well, that is just what winning players do at times like this.”\u00a0 I don’t know how to better explain it, but it seemed to me to be different.\u00a0 It wasn’t hustle out of desperation or a feeling of inferiority.\u00a0 But, it also wasn’t cocky or brash.\u00a0 It was hustle for a reason–almost a confident swagger–even though neither ball left the infield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, with two outs, Chase Utley came up, with Ryan Howard on-deck.\u00a0 I have never felt\u00a0as confident in such a dire situation.\u00a0 Maybe it was foolish to be so\u00a0confident, 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.\u00a0 But, I felt confident.\u00a0 Utley worked an incredible at-bat, laying off a 3-2 pitch down and in, at which 99% of MLB players would have swung.\u00a0 Huston Street should have had the save right there.\u00a0 In fact, I think that even the 2008-version of Chase Utley strikes out on that pitch.\u00a0 But, this team is calm and poised.\u00a0 This team has become a team of professional winners.<\/p>\n

Now, it was the next “professional winner’s” turn to get it done.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 He is just, as Doogan always says, “dialed in.”\u00a0 He then got the pitch he wanted and hammered it to rightfield.\u00a0 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<\/em>.\u00a0 A two-run double later and the game was tied.\u00a0 It wasn’t Huston Street’s fault.\u00a0 He was just up against professional winners, doing what they are paid to do.<\/p>\n

Finally, Jayson Werth steps in to finish the offense’s job.\u00a0 And, what does he do?\u00a0 Belt a hanging curveball over the fence?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 Because you don’t always get hanging curveballs, do you?\u00a0 He took exactly what Street gave him–a good pitch on the outside corner and blooped it into right-center, for the winning <\/em>run.\u00a0 And, it had to be Werth because Ibanez was out of the game, and the pitcher’s spot was on-deck.\u00a0 It had to be…so, it was.<\/p>\n

Eventually, they turned it over to the bullpen and, now that Brad Lidge is not Mr. Perfect, what did they do?\u00a0 They ded exactly <\/em>what they needed to do to win.\u00a0\u00a0Uncle Charlie pushes every right button, in an absolute geniusly managed series (he outmanages YET another<\/em> “brilliant” manager in a playoff series–adding NL MOY, Jim Tracy, to a list that already\u00a0includes\u00a0future HOFer\u00a0Joe Torre and “genius” Joe Madden).\u00a0 Scott Eyre gets a couple outs, but gives up a couple of baserunners.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 And, he did.\u00a0 And, the Phillies won.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t “ho-hum, another victory.”\u00a0 But, it was INCREDIBLY impressive how they did it.\u00a0 They were not handed that game last night.\u00a0 They were not handed either of those games in a ballpark in which it is exceptionally difficult to win.\u00a0 But, they did it.\u00a0 They were professional, seasoned, and just flat-out impressive.<\/p>\n

Now, I have no idea if they are going to repeat as World Champions.\u00a0 In fact, I don’t even know if they’ll get past Bowa, Wolf, Padilla, and company\u00a0in the NLCS.\u00a0 But, what I do know is that I am certainly not betting against them.\u00a0 They have figured it out, whatever “it” is, and this is so incredible to watch, as a fan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, fans in Kansas City, fans in Pittsburgh, please stick with your teams.\u00a0 Even if Zack Greinke doesn’t ever pitch in the postseason or Andrew McCutcheon never makes an All-Star game, stick with them.\u00a0 Because every heartache, every crushed dream will turn into unbridled joy in moments like the ones we are experiencing right now.\u00a0 And, unlike some of the “priviledged” franchises out there,\u00a0we will never, ever\u00a0take this for granted.\u00a0 Because of that, days like today are places that only us “long-time investors” can appreciate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To heed all you Royals fans and Orioles fans out there.\u00a0 Every 8-year old kid in the DC-metro area, pay attention.\u00a0 Please do not give up, all you diehards in Western Pennsylvania.\u00a0 Trust me when I say, “stick with your … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[759,428,23,377,382,30,222,17,70,763,210,764,14,766,765,762,85,761,16,310,746,218,755,82,369,760],"class_list":["post-398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mlb","tag-2009-nlds","tag-bobby-abreu","tag-brad-lidge","tag-carlos-ruiz","tag-charlie-manuel","tag-chase-utley","tag-cole-hamels","tag-curt-schilling","tag-dodgers","tag-huston-street","tag-jayson-werth","tag-jim-tracy","tag-jimmy-rollins","tag-joe-madden","tag-joe-torre","tag-kevin-stocker","tag-larry-bowa","tag-pat-combs","tag-phillies","tag-randy-wolf","tag-rockies","tag-ryan-howard","tag-scott-eyre","tag-scott-rolen","tag-shane-victorino","tag-vicente-padilla"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/broadstreetbelievers.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}