Clearwater is little more than a memory now.
The regular season? Seems like it was eons ago.
Those 102 wins, which shattered the franchise record? Nice, but sort of inconsequential.
Such are the expectations that hang heavy on the shoulders of the Phillies – and their fans – today.
Winning in the regular season used to be a nice change for this downtrodden franchise.
Now they’ve won five straight National League East crowns. No one around here is celebrating.
It’s this simple. The Phillies must win tonight, or their season – trumpeted with such bombast along with their league-best Four Aces starting rotation – will be deemed a failure.
This morning I have been thinking not of the post-season, but of the final series in the regular season.
Remember that trip to Atlanta? The Braves were still alive in the Wild-Card hunt. The Phils had just lost eight in a row. But the Phils promptly went to Atlanta and swept the Braves, in the process sweeping them right out of the playoffs.
For their reward, the Phils got the St. Louis Cardinals as their NLDS foe. The Cardinals are one of the few teams the Phils struggled against this year. St. Louis posted a 6-3 mark vs. the Phils vaunted lineup.
Now the two sides of split two-games sets in Philly and St. Louis.
All eyes will be on Citizens Bank Park tonight for the deciding Game 5.
If there is one trait about this Phillies team that has held true it is that every time their back has been against the wall, they have responded.
They will again tonight. With Roy Halladay on the hill, the Phils will win and advance to the NLCS.
Tomorrow’s headline: Roy To The World!
Of course, should the Phils lose….
The regular season? Seems like it was eons ago.
Those 102 wins, which shattered the franchise record? Nice, but sort of inconsequential.
Such are the expectations that hang heavy on the shoulders of the Phillies – and their fans – today.
Winning in the regular season used to be a nice change for this downtrodden franchise.
Now they’ve won five straight National League East crowns. No one around here is celebrating.
It’s this simple. The Phillies must win tonight, or their season – trumpeted with such bombast along with their league-best Four Aces starting rotation – will be deemed a failure.
This morning I have been thinking not of the post-season, but of the final series in the regular season.
Remember that trip to Atlanta? The Braves were still alive in the Wild-Card hunt. The Phils had just lost eight in a row. But the Phils promptly went to Atlanta and swept the Braves, in the process sweeping them right out of the playoffs.
For their reward, the Phils got the St. Louis Cardinals as their NLDS foe. The Cardinals are one of the few teams the Phils struggled against this year. St. Louis posted a 6-3 mark vs. the Phils vaunted lineup.
Now the two sides of split two-games sets in Philly and St. Louis.
All eyes will be on Citizens Bank Park tonight for the deciding Game 5.
If there is one trait about this Phillies team that has held true it is that every time their back has been against the wall, they have responded.
They will again tonight. With Roy Halladay on the hill, the Phils will win and advance to the NLCS.
Tomorrow’s headline: Roy To The World!
Of course, should the Phils lose….
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