Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

The 2008 Philadelphia Phillies thrilled local sports fans with the city's first major sports championship in a quarter century. For that they were embraced and showered with love, and as Fred Shero once famously said of the 1970's-era champion Flyers, they will "walk together forever."

Eventually there will be reunions, old-timer's games if you will, alumni homerun derby nights at the ballpark. These heroes, some of whom are now temporarily booed because they moved on to opposition teams, will all be cheered again at the ballpark. 2008 will trump anything and everything else in the long run.

Nothing lasts forever, particularly the roster of a major sports team since the free agency era began, and especially in the 21st century when the money involved has become so huge. Keeping the core of a championship team intact for more than 3-4 years is nearly impossible. What Ruben Amaro has done at the helm of the Phillies has been magnificent, but the challenge becomes more and more difficult as each year passes, and as each new champion from 2008 gets a year further along in their contract and a year older in age.

The first major goodbye came almost immediately after the magic of 2008, while some loose confetti still blew down Broad Street and before championship rings had even been dispersed. Pat 'the Bat' Burrell, the slugging leftfielder who had bashed homeruns for 9 seasons at Veteran's Stadium and Citizens Bank Park and who had ridden in the honor position at the very front of the team title parade caravan, left via free agency for World Series opponent Tampa Bay.

Another year passed, the Phillies returned to the World Series and this time lost to the New York Yankees, and following the 2009 season another longtime franchise hero left when pitcher Brett Myers signed as a free agent with Houston. Myers had pitched 7 1/2 seasons for the Phillies, including a year when he saved their skins by moving successfully into the closer's role.

Some of the key role players for that 2008 title team had moved along as well. Outfielder Geoff Jenkins, whose booming double to centerfield had led-off the 2nd-half portion of the now legendary rain delayed Series clincher with Tampa, was released in spring of '09. Infielder Eric Bruntlett, who seemed to always be in the middle when a big run was scored in the Series, and who turned an unassisted triple play in 2009, was released following that season.

Matt Stairs, whose dramatic 8th inning homerun in the NLCS will remain legendary in team annals well into the future, and whose early 2009 homerun was the last ever called by legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas, left as a free agent. Pedro Feliz brought slick-fielding excellence to the hot corner, albeit with the price of a mostly weak bat, and also knocked in the Series winning run, and then took his airtight defense off to free agency following '09.

Now it is continuing, that process of saying goodbye to 2008 heroes. Lefty reliever J.C. Romero, such a key part of the bullpen for the better part of four seasons and particularly in '08, was not re-signed this off-season. Veteran hometown hero and ageless wonder Jamie Moyer is expected to either retire or move along as his contract has expired.

As varied as their individual departure stories have been, the cold, hard fact of the matter is that none of them, with the possible and arguable exception of Myers, were key losses on the field, none of them were really wanted any longer by the organization, and with the likely exception of Moyer, none has been especially missed by the fans.

That is all likely about to change. Rightfielder Jayson Werth is a free agent, and is widely considered as one of the top three names available this winter in all of baseball. Along with outfielder Carl Crawford and pitcher Cliff Lee, the bearded one is about to get rich beyond his wildest dreams. These opportunities come along seldom in a player's career, and particularly for Werth, who had so much of his early career derailed by injuries, this is his one shot at the big money.

Werth took the bold step during the 2010 season of hiring super agent Scott Boras to represent him in his coming contract negotiations. His services as a player would be welcomed by any organization in baseball, but will only be affordable to a handful. The likely landing places for the strong, speedy, clutch-hitting, colorful talent include the New York Yankees, the Texas Rangers, the Los Angeles Angels, the Detroit Tigers, and the Boston Red Sox.

These are only the most likely based on their ability to pay him the anticipated big bucks that Boras is currently demanding. Boras has begun his public posturing by putting out the 7-year, $120 million dollar deal signed by Matt Holliday with Saint Louis last off-season as the Werth benchmark. Some in baseball speculate that he may have to settle for something more like the 4-year, $66 million dollar deal signed by Jason Bay with the New York Mets. Splitting the difference means that you are likely looking at something like a 5-6 year deal worth approximately $90-100 million.

There are other teams who may be able to pay that type of contract. Both the Beltway franchises of Washington and Baltimore come to mind. The Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians should have money to spend. Perhaps the big-market Los Angeles Dodgers or Chicago Cubs or White Sox could get involved. And there is always the nightmare scenario of the rival Atlanta Braves or New York Mets getting involved.

The likelihood is that Werth will play only for a team that he believes can contend for a World Series title. Anyone who has watched him play with fire and passion here in the post-season for the past four seasons in Philly knows that he will not be satisfied to collect a huge paycheck for an also-ran ball team. And the fact is, he will not have to do so. His suitors will include some of the most serious contenders.

This all brings us back around to one serious contender who also will have some money to spend this off-season. That team is his now former team, the hometown Philadelphia Phillies. Will Amaro and the Phillies ownership be willing to go that many years at that dollar amount to bring one of it's most popular core players back into the fold? Should they even think about it? Would the money be better spent elsewhere, such as the bullpen and bench, allowing young Domonic Brown the playing time opportunity?

Ruben Amaro has claimed that the team has enough money to bring Werth back, but will they? The odds seem to be leaning towards yet another goodbye for a 2008 Phillies hero, a process that is inevitable. It did not end with Burrell, or Myers, or Romero, and it will not end with Moyer or Werth. Jimmy Rollins, the leader of this entire era of Phillies players, will see his contract expire a year from now if no extension is forthcoming.

Like Schmidt and Carlton, Bowa and Boone, Luzinski and McGraw, Daulton and Dykstra, Kruk and Williams, Rolen and Schilling, and hundreds more before them, every one of the 2008 Phillies will be moving along eventually, either into free agency, or retirement, or via trade to another chapter in their career. It will happen with Charlie Manuel, with Chase, with Lidge, with Chooch, with the Flyin Hawaiian, even eventually with Hamels and Howard. Parting is such sweet sorrow, but we will always, always have 2008 together.

Tampa Bay's Red-Hot Rays Are Cole'd

The tall, lanky, mega-talented Phillies lefthander, one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, took the mound for his first-ever appearance in the World Series. He seemed in complete command as his team staked him to a 2-0 lead. Cole Hamels in last night's opener of the 2008 World Series between the Phils and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field? Well, yes actually. But the same exact scenario could have been written about Steve Carlton in Game #2 of the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals at Veteran's Stadium, spotlighted in a story at this blog just two days ago. Though there are differences, there are also many similarities shared by the two most talented left-handed starting pitchers to ever don Phillies pinstripes. Carlton mixed in a moving fastball and a solid curveball with his devastating signature slider. Hamels mixes in that same fastball-curveball combo with his own devastating changeup. Both have led the Phillies as the staff pitching ace into the World Series. And now both can say that the team won their start, albeit after overcoming a few bumps in the road during the game. 'Super Steve' mowed down those Royals through 5 shutout innings, but KC got to him for 3 runs in the 7th. He ultimately went 8 innings, allowing 10 hits and 6 walks, but the Phils won the game 6-4 thanks to their own 4-run 8th inning rally. Hamels had to endure his own rough stretch, but was ultimately in far greater control than Carlton had been. The young lefty mowed through the first two innings without a scratch, usually a sign that the other team is in for a long night. But the Rays loaded the bases in the 3rd before Hamels induced young Rays' star outfielder B.J. Upton to hit into a doubleplay to end the inning. In the Phils 4th, Carlos Ruiz knocked in Shane Victorino with a groundout and Hamels had a 3-0 lead. Carl Crawford then reached him for a two-out solo homerun in the bottom of the inning and cut that lead to 3-1. The Rays then rallied again in the 5th, but Hamels induced another doubleplay to get out of the jam, this time thanks to a nice play by 3rd base glove whiz Pedro Feliz. Hamels then settled down and went through the 7th inning without being challenged further. He turned the ball over to the bullpen combo of setup man Ryan Madson and closer Brad Lidge, and what that has meant for the Phillies has been an automatic victory. Madson and Lidge would close it out without incident, and the Phillies had a key victory in this pivotal opening matchup. Hamels had yet another strong outing to pad his already bulging playoff resume. He won the NLCS MVP award as a pair of his strong starts led the Phils into the Series. He had previously been strong in last season's NLDS loss to Colorado, and in this year's NLDS victory over Milwaukee. Cole Hamels is proving that he may be Carlton's talent equal, though he still has many years to go before he can think of joining 'Lefty' in the Hall of Fame. But his performance last night has the Phils up in this Series. Now it is Brett Myers turn. Myers, who plays the 'emotions on his sleeves' ying to Hamels' 'calm and cool' yang, needs to harness his talent and control those emotions. If he does, he can take the Rays bats that Cole made go cold and put them on some seriously thin ice in this World Series.

Phillies on a Pennant Push

For a baseball fan like myself, it's always a great summer when your home team is involved in a pennant race. My hometown Philadelphia Phillies have found themselves in the race for most of the past half dozen summers, finally reaching the playoffs a year ago when they won the National League East Division pennant on the final afternoon of the season. The Phils chased down the New York Mets last season, edging them by a single game after trailing by 7 1/2 games with just 17 left to play. This year the Phils are not in such desperate shape heading into the final week of the season. In fact, the club is firmly in control of it's own playoff destiny. By winning their last 7 straight games, they have taken a lead over the Mets by a half game in the NL East, and the New Yorkers have lost their closer, Billy Wagner, for the remainder. Better still, the Phils are two games up on the Milwaukee Brewers, the nearest pursuers to the Mets for the NL Wildcard berth, and the Brewers may have just lost their 2nd best starting pitcher, Ben Sheets, for the remainder. So the Phils enter the next-to-last weekend in first place, and with a firm grasp on a playoff spot. They probably need finish only 5-4 to get the playoff berth, though will perhaps have to do better than that to nail down the divisional title. The Phils offense began the season being led by a red-hot Chase Utley, who bolted out of the gate on fire for the first two months, and Pat Burrell, who was picking up where he left off last season with big hits. Utley and Burrell's fire was needed, as both Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino spent significant time on the Disabled List early on, and Ryan Howard was ice cold the first two months. Just when Utley and Burrell began to cool, Howard heated up significantly, and was joined by outfielder Jayson Werth in leading the offense. Victorino returned and also got hot, and as September began even J-Roll began to get his game together and started producing. Howard has remained hot since June, and is a leading NL MVP contender heading into the final week, needing perhaps just one more hot week leading the Phils to that division title to clinch it. But the real reason that the Phils are in this solid position right now is an unexpectedly strong performance from the pitching staff, especially the bullpen. Cole Hamels has been as good as advertised most nights, and Jamie Moyer has once again defied Father Time to post one of his most consistently strong seasons in years. Brett Myers was downright awful for the first three months, got sent down to the minor leagues, and since returning two months ago has simply been one of the best pitchers in baseball. Joe Blanton was added in trade to provide stability, and he has done just that. He will never be a lights-out stopper, but he gives you a dependable, veteran, quality start most times out. Kyle Kendrick kept winning for awhile, but it was with mirrors, and the league finally caught up to him. To the rescue has come lefty J.A. Happ, who has been solid every time the Phils have given him a chance. In the bullpen, the off-season trade to bring in Brad Lidge as the new closer has proven to be perhaps GM Pat Gillick's best acquisition to date. Lidge has been perfect in save opportunities, though he has struggled from time to time since being misused in the MLB All-Star game back in July. The rest of the pen has also been solid, with Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson, Clay Condrey, Rudy Seanez, and now the newly acquired Scott Eyre holding most of the leads with which they have been entrusted. Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett have been invaluable off the bench, and Pedro Feliz has been one of the best defensive 3rd basemen in the league when healthy. The Phils catching combo of Chris Coste & Carlos Ruiz is highly underrated. And for the pennant push there are veteran bench bats Geoff Jenkins, Matt Stairs, So Taguchi, and Tadahito Iguchi around for depth and pinch-hitting. Charlie Manuel's team appears like it has everything that it needs heading into the final games, and hopefully into the playoffs, and there is every reason for we fans to believe that not only will this pennant push be successful, but that the season will continue well into October.