As Ryan Howard crumpled to the emerald green grass at Citizens Bank Park, ending the 2011 NLDS, so to did the fortunes of an entire franchise. The baseball was secured in Albert Pujols’ glove. The St. Louis Cardinals danced in jubilation on the infield – well on their way to the eleventh World Championship in team history.
Unbeknownst to the 46,530 souls in the ballpark that cool, early autumn evening, the greatest era of Philadelphia Phillies baseball was drifting into the annals of baseball history. The fortunes of two of the most historic franchises in Major League history was about to take a dramatic turn – into completely opposite directions. One manager was on the path to cementing his legacy as one the greatest of all-time. The other was on his way to being made the scapegoat for somebody else’s shortcomings. Unceremoniously discarded less than two years later – like yesterday’s Inquirer.
The precursor to the early playoff exit was an eight game losing streak at the end of September. Rarely, in recent history, do teams play well heading into the playoffs while leaking oil. The offense went into complete hibernation during the skid. The club rebounded during the last series of the regular season by sweeping the Atlanta Braves – setting a franchise record with their 102nd victory in the process. That sweep would prove to be fatal.
In the process of sweeping the Braves, the Phillies knocked them out of the playoffs and allowed the red-hot Cardinals to sneak in as the wild card. The Cardinals had to treat each and very game down the stretch as if it were do-or-die – just to have a chance to get into the playoffs. The 2008 Phillies were on a similar roll in late September. Everybody in the Delaware Valley remembers the parade down Broad Street that October.
When the 2011 playoffs commenced, the Phillies were heavy favorites to win their second title in four years. Many attributed the late-season slump as a blip on the radar. Some were a bit more ominous in their predictions.
Once the Phillies cruised to an easy rout in Game 1 of the NLDS, many were planning on where they were going to watch the parade later that month. As Cliff Lee was staked to an early 4-0 lead in Game 2, the excitement throughout Philadelphia was palpable. That excitement would be short-lived, however. The Cardinals would come back to win the game, 5-4. The momentum had shifted. The tide, turned. The offense would go into hibernation again – this time it was for the winter.
Game 5 featured two of the very best pitchers in the game – Roy Halladay versus Chris Carpenter. A marquee matchup in an elimination game. What the commissioner dreams of. What television executives dream of. What Madison Avenue dreams of. And, most importantly, what baseball fans dream of.
The fans had not even had the chance to settle into their seats, when the first two batters of the game produced a 1-0 lead for the Cardinals. It would be all that Halladay would allow. It happened that suddenly. The beer was still cold. The cheesesteaks were still hot. The crab fries were still crisp.
Surely the Phillies can come back from a 1-0, first inning deficit. After all, they did win 102 games during the season.
It was not meant to be. The proverbial switch could not be flipped to the ‘on’ position. The Phillies’ offense picked the absolute worst time to go stone cold. Comatose, if you will. Chris Carpenter was Cy Young, Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan all rolled into one neat package.
It was over that quickly. In a span of nine innings, the powerhouse Phillies had been reduced to a heaping pile of scrap. The slugging first baseman playing the role of poster child. A pall was cast over the ballpark. There is no tomorrow.
As the faithful spilled out into the night, rarely a word was spoken. It was as if a funeral had just taken place. Now what? World Series parties had been planned. Prime viewing spots along Broad Street had been carefully selected. It was not meant to be. For the third consecutive October, the season ended in heartbreak.
What followed that off-season, would put the franchise back into the depths of mediocrity. The very same mediocrity the team was trying so hard to avoid – the days of Jeff Stone and Steve Lake and Chad Ogea and Omar Daal.
Bad personnel decisions, bad contracts and poor scouting can set a franchise back many years. The Baltimore Orioles, once a model franchise, took years to recover. The Houston Astros, having played in the World Series in 2005 and being one of the solid franchises for years, have a fallen into complete and utter oblivion. There are others. All were set back by poor decisions made by the front office and ownership.
The change began after the 2010 season. It was decided that Jayson Werth’s services were no longer needed – even though he provided the protection in the lineup for Howard. John Mayberry, Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown were all plugged in to fill Werth’s spot. To no avail. General Manager Ruben Amaro, realizing his mistake, traded a king’s ransom to the Astros for Hunter Pence. Pence would be gone a year later for what amounted to outfielder Nate Schierholtz – a steady major league player. Schierholtz never got the chance to play full-time the rest of the season, was non-tendered during the off-season and signed with the Chicago Cubs. Both Pence and Schierholtz had solid 2013 campaigns.
Shane Victorino was shuffled off to the Los Angeles Dodgers for what amounted to a bucket of sunflower seeds. No Werth, no Victorino, no Pence equals no offense. Which in turn, equals no runs. Leading up to the 2012 season, the Phillies could have signed a power-hitting outfielder such as Michael Cuddyer or Josh Willingham. Juan Pierre was signed instead. That was followed up by trading for Pierre’s clone – Ben Revere.
Jim Thome, Delmon Young and Laynce Nix were signed as free agents. Maybe somebody told Amaro that the National League was adopting the designated hitter.
Then there is the fiasco that is the Rule V draft. The Phillies must have been the only team in baseball that thought David Herndon and Michael Martinez were Major League-caliber players. Michael Martinez! Martinez makes Steve Jeltz look like the second coming of Mickey Mantle. Everytime a player, infielder or outfielder goes on the disabled list, it’s Martinez driving down the Northeast Extension to the rescue.
Only the Phillies thought that Joe Blanton was worth $8 million per year. Only the Phillies would give Kyle Kendrick nine lives. Only the Phillies would run Tyler Cloyd out to the mound whenever they needed a spot start.
Then there are the players who were on the payroll that were allowed to walk. Good players. Players that will be playing on the big stage this October. Slugging, first baseman-outfielder, Brandon Moss is the primary power source for the Oakland Athletics. He spent a season riding the buses for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in Triple-A. Never got a chance. Pittsburgh Pirates’ closer Jason Grilli. 95-mph fastball with a power slider. He spent a season riding the buses for the Iron Pigs as well. Never got a chance. Now he’s an All-Star who is headed for the playoffs. These are the types of decisions that makes one wonder what the player personnel department really does. Can they really separate legitimate Major League talent from the bush leaguers?
As the 2013 Phillies play out the string on what was one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory, the front office has a monumental task staring them straight in the face. This is a critical off-season. The current window has closed. Either a new one will be opened or a generation of mediocrity will ensue.
Amaro was handed the keys to a shiny, new Cadillac when he took the reigns of the ball club. He and his minions have managed to turn it into a rusted, old Ford.
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