No Fairytales, No Excuses

Four games in Washington. Six games in Philadelphia, three against Atlanta and then three more against Washington. That's it. Ten games in eleven days to determine whether the 2007 Philadelphia Phillies bring playoff baseball to this city for the first time since 1993, or if this team will end its season like the past 13 versions of the Phillies have ended their seasons- by packing their lockers while frustrated and disappointed fans look forward to an active winter from the front office, which will no doubt bring a fruitful 2008. Of course this team is different. While in years past the Fightin' Phills have all but folded in times of diversity and hardship, this team thrived. This team survived an 11-14 April, including a start of 3-10. The Phills survived losing Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber for the season. They survived DL stints from Ryan Howard, Tom Gordon, Chase Utley for a month, Shane Victorino, Brett Myers, Michael Bourn, Adam Eaton and Cole Hamels. Ryan Madson still has not returned from the DL. They have survived poor seasons from last season's key reliever Geoff Geary. The entire bullpen has had a terrible season: Antonio Alfonseca, Jose Mesa, Tom Gordon, Clay Condrey, Mike Zagurski, Francisco Rosario and JD Durbin's ERAs average out to 5.57. The starting pitching hasn't been much better as Moyer, Hamels, Lohse, Kendrick and Eaton's ERA are a collective 4.70. Pat Burrell's batting average in May and June was .154. Ryan Howard, despite his 40 home runs and 120 RBIs hasn't seemed right all season. Hell, Pat Gillick made 5 "big" acquisitions this past winter: Freddy Garcia, had a luckluster start to the season before being lost for the year with a shoulder injury. Adam Eaton, who boasts the league's worst ERA. Antonio Alfonseca, 5.11 ERA and 4 blown saves. Wes Helms, 5 home runs and 39 RBIs in 64 starts after being slated as this team's starting third baseman and right-handed bat in light of Burrell's past struggles. Rob Barajas, enough said. Yet this team finds a way to keep winning. Making the playoffs should only be the icing on the cake in a season where our Phillies have finally showed the heart and desire we've always demanded. The key word is "should".
The truth is the Phillies have put us through so much sine 2001 that it doesn't matter how close they get, or how much they've overcome, they need to make the playoffs. If this were another team that has a history of winning (and yes, in this city what the Eagles and Flyers have done over the past decade constitutes "winning", for the purposes of this writing), getting close may be acceptable, when all circumstances are taken into account. Yet for this team, which has been marred by injuries and bad pitching, anything but making the playoffs will be a failure. Excuses will not be accepted this season. The Phillies have been too close too many other seasons to cop-out behind injuries. Making the playoffs is no longer just a hope or a far off goal, making the playoffs is the bench-mark for success. This is a pass-or-fail exam that will not be graded on a curve. Make the playoffs and pass, miss out, yet again, and fail. The only way this "fairytale" season doesn't have a Grimm ending is if the 2007 Philadelphia Phillies succeed where everyone else has failed before them and make the playoffs.