This Team Is Something Special

We're not done. By no means are we as Phillies fans and the team as the ones competing are we finished. There is one more step to accomplishing the goal for this season. That is to take it one game at a time and win a World Series for the second year in a row.

However, two days after the euphoria of winning back to back National League titles, it is much easier to put into perspective how special this team really is.

Think about it–only two of our current teams have won back to back world championships–the 1948 and 1949 Eagles and the 1974 and 1975 Flyers. Connie Mack's Athletics won back to back World Series in 1910 and 1911. Then they won another one two years later in 1913 (not to mention they were AL Champs in 1914).

This Phillies team is the only team in club history to win back to back NL Pennants. They are only the second team in club history to win three division championships in a row. They are one of only about a handful of teams to sport five All-Stars in one year.

Without question, regardless of what happens over the next two weeks (hopefully something great), this team is one that will go down in history as one of the best.

We're Back!...and I am Too!

It's been a while hasn't it. I have to admit, I've been quite busy since my last post was, whenever it was. And to be perfectly honest, I'm still pretty busy. Yet, I'm also in the mood to write about my teams, our teams. And that's what I'm going to do. I know I've said that before, but this time I'm serious. Stay tuned for continuous update in posts. It's going to be a great time.

Been a While.....GO PHILS

As a side note before I get to what I actually want to say. I just want to say I'm going to try to end the patheticness of this blog by pretending that the last couple of months have not been totally ignored. It would take more than a couple a posts to get back up to speed. Eagles, Flyers and Sixers all making noise right now, but we all know the focus.

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The Philadelphia Phillies picked up on their 2009 playoff run right where the 2008 one ended. The Phillies knocked off the Colorado Rockies in a tidy 4 games, even though it was the only division series that did not conclude in a sweep.

In game 1 of the series Cliff Lee pitched a gem going all 9 innings with 6 hits, 1 earned run, 5 strike outs and 0 walks. The Phillies offense was silenced for the first 4 innings of the game by the Rockies, Ubaldo Jimenez. The Phillies then put up 2 runs in the 5th and 3 in the 6th enroute to a 5-1 Phillies victory.

Game 2 would prove to be rougher waters for the Phillies. Cole Hamels, with the impending birth of his first kid on his mind, was chased from to game after only 5 innings giving up 7 hits and 4 earned runs. The Phillies offense pitched a furious rally late in the game, but with a runner on first and second with 2 outs in the 9th inning Shane Victorino lined out to second to end the game. Huston Street registered the save for the Rockies, which would prove to not be a sign of things to come.

Game 3 shifted its scene to frigid Colorado where the first pitch temperature was 31 degrees. The Phillies struck first, scoring in the first inning on a home run by Chase Utley. However J.A. Happ was touched up for 2 runs in the bottom of the inning. Happ would only pitch 3 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 earned runs. The Phillies offense again was not going to go quietly, they put 3 runs in the 4th inning to give them the 4-3 lead, then retook the lead in the 6th inning only to see it relinquished in the 7th. Ryan Howard would eventually deliver the final blow on a sacrifice fly to left field that platted Jimmy Rollins. Unlike (or much like) Huston Street this would be a foreshadowing of things to come.

Game 4 featured a marginally warmer temperature and an even more dramatic ending. The Phillies sent out the man who started things to end them. Cliff Lee pitched a solid 7.1 innings with 5 hits and 1 earned run. Colorado was hoping to get a different result when sending Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound for his second start. This game would not come down to starting pitching, as both starters were credited with a no-decision. This game would be be settled by the teams bullpens. The score was 2-1 Phillies going into the bottom of the 8th inning. Colorado would break out to score 3 runs in the inning. With the Phillies trailing by 2 going in their final at bat the Rockies called on their closer, Street, again. With 2 out in the top of the 9th the Phillies had a runner on first (Chase Utley) and second (Shane Victorino) when Ryan Howard roped a double to deep right field scoring Utley and Victorino easily. The next batter was Jayson Werth who blooped a single into right that scored Howard. The Phillies called on Scott Eyre to close the game out, but left the game. To get the last out the Phillies looked to Brad "Lights-out"(knock-on-wood) Lidge to preserve the victory, and like he did all of 2008, he did just that.

As a side note to the series, and all the divisional series for that matter, the umpiring was horrendous.

The Phillies will now face a familiar foe in the National League Championship Series, the L.A. Dodgers. The Phillies knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs last year to advance to the World Series. Obviously the teams are not exactly the same as they were last year, however the cores are still the same and the Dodgers definitely have a bad taste in their mouths from last year. The regular season series belongs to the Dodgers, they hold the 4-3 advantage. This will be the 5th meeting between the Dodgers and the Phillies in the NLCS the series, currently tied at 2

Overall, starting pitching and hitting should out last bull pen. Phils in 6