Red pinstripes on a roll
Readers of this blog are well aware that I am a lifelong phan of the Philadelphia Phillies. So too is Google (aware, that is, not a phan). An appreciable number of the pathetically low number of hits I receive come from searches for the Phillies logo, which I placed within a posting from almost exactly a year ago.
I wrote that post on the occasion of the Phils coming from way behind the New York Mets to win the National League East championship. Well, lo and behold, this year they’ve come from not quite so far behind the Mets to take the NL East again! It’s their first back-to-back postseason appearances since 1980-1981, and the second of the appearances back then occurred only because of the odd arrangements resulting from that year’s lengthy labor dispute. The Phils were in first place when the strike started on June 10, but went under .500 and came in third in the second half of the season. MLB chose to have the artificial “first half” and “second half” leaders play off to determine the division champs, and the Phils lost to Montreal in that “division series”.
The last time the Phillies won consecutive division championships was 1977-1978, the second and third consecutive titles for that great Schmidt-Carlton-Luzinski club.
Even before last year’s celebratory post, I’d written fairly long pieces about the team I’ve been following for over half a century, both here and on DailyKos. As those essays indicate, my team hasn’t exactly been a raging success over the decades. They are, I’m all but certain, the losing-est team in history. Not just baseball history ... I’m talking about every sport, every country, every continent.
As I write, the Phils have already advanced far beyond last year’s accomplishments. Not that it would have taken much—last season ended abruptly with a quick NLDS sweep by the eventual World Series-losing Colorado Rockies. Going into today’s game, the Phils hold a 2-0 lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in one of this season’s NLDS matchups. Today, the ageless Jamie Moyer, who turns 46 next month, will try to win the series for the Phils!
Interestingly, all four of the Division Series currently stand at 2-0. Like the Phils, the came-out-of-nowhere Tampa Bay Rays won their pair at home, against the wildcard Minnesota Twins. In the other two series, however, each league’s winning team was beaten twice at home. Both the Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago Cubs now face do-or-die contests on the road, at Boston and Los Angeles (the Dodgers, that is), respectively.
The Cubbies, as everyone knows, had high hopes for their first World Series win in a full century. Or, at the very least, their first WS appearance since 1945 (that’s 63 years, if you’re counting). Doesn’t look like they’re going to get off either of those schneids, does it? Which is fine by me; I like the Cubbies “cuddly” rather than formidable.
Though, as noted earlier, the Phillies have lost far more games than any other team, their postseason record—at least, for as long as I’ve been around—hasn’t been nearly as bad as that of the Cubs. The Cubs, after all, are 0-for-my-lifetime in World Series appearances. While hardly an earthshaking record compared to that of the damnYankees or Red Sox or Dodgers or Cardinals, the Phils have been in the Series four times since I was born. Now, one of those appearances shouldn’t really count, since it began approximately 8.5 days after my birth. I was alive for the Whiz Kids, but not particularly aware of them as a neonate. I was certainly attentive, however, in 1980 (from afar, as I was out of the country at the time), 1983, and 1993. I even had the privilege of attending a World Series game in 1983 ... alas, the Phillies lost.
Will 2008 be another World Series adventure for the guys in red pinstripes? I sure hope so. But as a phan, I certainly don’t expect it. I’ve learned not to expect much from my team.
Comments
Shhh. Do not jinx the Dodgers. Apparently MLB and TBS are conspiring to hide that series, since it’s being played at 10:00pm EDT tonight and (if necessary) tomorrow. I wrote a letter to Selig about that today.
Good luck to the Phillies; maybe we’ll have a replay of the 1977-1978 NLCS games.
Good luck to the Phillies; maybe we’ll have a replay of the 1977-1978 NLCS games.
With a better result for my guys this time around, I hope. If Manuel sends Jerry Martin out to play LF for Burrell, I won’t complain.
Seriously, though, a Dodgers-Phils LCS would please me greatly. I love Manny, and he, Kemp, and Lowe are mainstays of my APBA team. And for some reason, every time Markos says something about his Cub-love on Kos, I dislike them just a wee bit more.
Well, Mota and Davalillo aren’t playing any more. On the other hand, Hooton’s not pitching so the Phillies fans can’t rattle him.
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