Division Champs!

(originally posted 9/30/07)
Not long after today's regular season finale at Citizens Bank Park, Shane Victorino and Antonio Alfonseca were watering the seats with a fire hose. If you had told me four weeks ago that this would be the scene after Game 162, my reaction would have been pessimistic. I likely would have saluted the two Phillies for parlaying their experience with the grounds crew in Colorado into an exciting postseason employment opportunity. I never would have considered the possibility that they would be celebrating with a sellout crowd of ecstatic Phillies fans. Celebrating a Division Championship.

Trailing the New York Mets by seven games with only seventeen games remaining, the Phillies appeared to be out of the division race. The Wild Card was still possible, but likely out of reach for such a flawed team. The bullpen was inconsistent at best, the starting rotation a mess, and injuries had taken their toll. Philadelphia's attention began to turn to the football Eagles, and their new Australian punter.

As the Phillies prepare for the postseason, after today's 6-1 domination of the Washington Nationals, everything has changed. The bullpen has become a strength, with Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero, and Brett Myers evolving into capable workhorses. Kyle Kendrick, recalled from AA for a spot start only because it was his day to pitch (for Reading), has ten wins, and has become the #2 starter. Cole Hamels and Chase Utley are back from the disabled list, and back to their All-Star form. Pat Burrell has morphed from a midseason salary dump candidate into a powerful leader with a powerful bat. Jimmy Rollins has been the MVP of the National League. Last season's NL MVP, Ryan Howard, had 47 home runs and 136 RBI's, despite spending a month on the Disabled List. Adam Eaton has been worth every penny of his $8.5 million contract. (OK, Eaton's best chance at postseason involvement is with the Phillies' grounds crew, or as a server at McFadden's, but the other stuff is true.)

It seems like a lifetime since the Phillies have been in the playoffs. Fourteen years ago, the 1993 Phillies rode the arm of Curt Schilling to the World Series. In Game Six, the Phillies roared back from a 5-1 deficit after six innings, to a 6-5 lead. Within two outs of forcing a seventh game, Joe Carter hit a series-ending walk-off home run into the Toronto night. The Blue Jays had their second World Championship, in only their sixteenth year of existence. The Phillies, with only one World Championship since they began play in 1883, faded into oblivion for the next decade.

After three consecutive second place finishes, the Phillies have finally returned from postseason irrelevance. With no standout National League team this year, the resilient, streaking Phillies could very well return to the World Series. Possibly, against Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox. The season has already been an incredible one for Phillies fans, but the ride has just begun. Fourteen years and one day after the last Phillies Fall Classic appearance ended in infamy, Game One of the 2007 World Series will be played. In the words of Jimmy Rollins, "World Series. Let's do it!"