Philadephia Pheels the Pressure

Well, well, well. This is an interesting predicament the Philadelphia Phillies have gotten themselves into. They have marched along all season, undisturbed, toward their inevitable National League Eastern Division title. And with the St. Louis Cardinals in town last weekend, trying to claw their own way back into playoff contention, the Phillies found themselves one win away from the division crown. When they beat down the Redbirds last Saturday night 9-2, the Phillies clinched their fifth consecutive division title. They politely high-fived each other on the field and then retired to their clubhouse for a champagne celebration. They earned it. They deserved it. Their record that evening sat at 98-52, a preposterous twelve games ahead of the second place Atlanta Braves. The Phillies had the best record in baseball, 7 games better than their evil empire counterpart from the American League, the New York Yankees. The baseball world paused and tipped their cap toward the City of Brotherly Love. Even ESPN’s Sportscenter had to push the Yankees game back to second billing that night in honor of the Phillies’ accomplishment.

But, the Phillies were not finished. There was work to be done. This team was not built for just an Eastern Division flag. Not with that starting pitching. Not with Cy Young award contenders Roy Halliday (19-6 record, 2.35 ERA, 220 Ks in 233 innings) and Cliff Lee (16-8, 2.38 ERA, 232 Ks in 226 innings) leading the way, and not with Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and spectacular rookie Vance Worley. No sir, this team was built for nothing less than a World Championship. It will be a catastrophe of BOO-ming proportion if this team does not at least make it into the fall classic. The Phillies stumbled last October on their way to the Series to the those upstart San Francisco Giants, who went on to beat the Texas Rangers in the fall classic. The Phillies could not let that happen again, so they went out and added Lee back to their rotation, stealing him away from the Rangers. And this was after they traded for Oswalt at last year’s training deadline. With this true Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Halliday, Lee, Hamels, and Oswalt), this team was built for the long haul in 2012.

The division title they captured last week was just a checkmark on a list. One champagne celebration down, three to go. The Phillies woke up last Sunday, knowing it was time to rest a few regulars and set up their pitching rotation for the first round of the playoffs. But Charlie Manuel, the Phillies manager, would have none of that nonsense. He was quoted in the St. Louis Post Dispatch last Sunday, saying "When we were trying to be a wild card we used to check box scores, I saw some games on the West Coast and the closers they were using and I'd laugh. I thought it was a joke because they weren't giving us a chance. It's respect for the game — not only for the Cardinals and Braves, but for the game." The Cardinals had spent the first couple of weeks of September fighting their way back from oblivion, trying to catch first the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central, but then turning their sights to the Atlanta Braves and the Wild Card race after the Brewers started pulling away. But after the Phillies clincher, the Cardinals found themselves still 4 ½ games behind the Braves, with 13 to play. A daunting task, but not impossible. But ole ‘Chollie’, as my Phillies Phriend Kas likes to call his manager, is an old school guy in an old school town with old school baseball principles, and he still had 2 more games to manage against the Cardinals and a season ending 3 game series on the horizon with the Braves. The fans in both St. Louis and Atlanta had nothing to fear from Manuel; they knew they’d get the best the Phillies had to offer as the Wild Card race came down to the wire.

But unexplainably, even after old ‘Chollie’ said it wouldn’t happen, the Phillies let their foot off the gas pedal and had trouble getting back on track. The Cardinals, behind a Chris Carpenter shutout and a gem by Kyle Lohse as he outdueled Halliday, won the last two games of the series and found themselves only 2 ½ games behind Atlanta as the Braves kept finding new ways to lose ballgames. The Cardinals left Philadelphia with a 3-1 series victory over the home club and a new-found sense of purpose. Meanwhile, the Phillies were left with a two game losing streak and a sour stomach. But the Phillies Phaithful had little to worry about; their team had home field advantage for the playoffs sewn up and the Washington Nationals coming to town for a 4 game series. A winning streak was certainly just around the corner, as was that all important 100th victory. And then the Phillies could march on to their next 2 victories to give them a franchise record 102 wins for the season. But, the players on the field did not cooperate with destiny’s plan. The losses kept coming, even with Washington in town. The Nationals kicked dirt on the best team in the National League, sweeping the series and leaving behind a team of destiny found suddenly scratching their heads. The Phillies finished their 2012 home schedule with 6 losses in a row, and left town to a chorus of boos, even though they still had the best record in baseball.

A trip to New York would brighten their spirits and pad their win total, but after being rained out Friday night, the Mets swept the makeup doubleheader on Saturday to run their improbable losing streak to 8 games. Manuel was quoted Saturday night, "I'm sitting there watching it. Don't know what I can do about it," he said. "If you want to know the truth, our team's out of sync, definitely out of focus, and we're not playing. You guys see how we're playing. The teams that we're losing to, we stop and look at our record against them this year and everything. There ain't too much going our way right now." The Phillies would finally scratch their way to a victory on Sunday afternoon, behind Halliday’s 19th victory of the season. But while that game was being played, the Cardinals and Braves were continuing their ebb and flow in the standings. After losing two ugly games on Thursday and Friday and finding themselves once again 3 games behind the Braves and virtually on the brink of elimination, the Cards and Braves went different directions again on Saturday and Sunday. The Cardinals stormed back against the Chicago Cubs, winning the last 2 games of their final home series of the 2012 regular season. Those 2 games in St. Louis had a playoff atmosphere, full of late inning heroics as the Cardinals came from behind in both games to keep their hopes alive. Sunday’s game also featured numerous standing ovations for the great Albert Pujols, as the restless St. Louis fans wondered if they would ever see their soon-to-be free agent hero in the home whites again with the Birds on the Bat logo. And in the nation’s capital, Atlanta was finishing their road schedule by losing 2 games in a row to the Nationals. The Wild Card lead was down to 1 with 3 games to play.

Which brings us full circle back to the Phillies and their role in this season ending saga. While the Cardinals are traveling to Houston to play the hapless Astros, the Phillies are licking their wounds on a flight to Atlanta to play their final 3 against the Braves. The Phillies are still looking for that 100th victory, sitting on number 99. And the only way they can reach the franchise record of 102 wins would be to sweep the Braves. The last weekend of the season for a clinched champion, waiting for the playoffs to start, was not supposed to be this fretful. They expected to have about 105 victories at this point, so they could use the series against Atlanta as a merry tune-up. Charlie Manuel could play his regulars for a few swings each, and give his entire pitching staff a choreographed number of innings, much like a spring training schedule. But now, Manuel and company have to find the switch. They need to find a way to win, and they need to get hot and build momentum, to avoid another playoff collapse. And they must certainly have mixed emotions about doing it. If they spend the next three nights knocking the Braves down, they will dash Atlanta’s playoff hopes against the rocks in the process. And that would likely propel the Cardinals to the National League Wild Card title, setting up a first round NL Division Playoff Series between those very Cardinals and Phillies. And Libertytown still remembers what happened last weekend when the Cardinals were in the neighborhood. The Birds bested the local club 3 out of 4. And it wasn’t just that recent series; the Cardinals took the season series against the Phillies, 6 games to 3. Although the Phillies would not be intimidated against any club, they might not exactly be looking forward to a first round series against the Cardinals.

But in an ironic twist of fate, the Phillies control their own playoff opponent destiny. If they roll over to the Braves this week, Atlanta would win the Wild Card, and St. Louis would be on the outside looking in. Then the Phillies would host the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round, and they split the season 3-3 with the D-Backs. But if the Phillies take care of business against the Braves to get their engine once again revved up to full speed, their prize will be the Cardinals in the first round. Door number 1 or door number 2? The Lady or the Tiger? Surely Old ‘Chollie’ wouldn’t lay down for anyone though. Surely Old ‘Chollie’ will damn the torpedoes and put the throttle down. St. Louis sure hopes so.