Phillies Nation

Pitching…..Need Pitching: 3 starters, and a closer in the off season. To tell the truth, it was amazing how far they got with the pitching they had.

It was a great year and we have a lot of questions and work to do in the offseason. But this team isn’t done…its only beginning. Congrats to the yankees, we’ll meet again.

What I didn’t like was that everyone from Selig to every yankee interviewed, not one of them congratulated the Phillies on a great series. This is why I hate the yankees.

Congrats on a great season Philadelphia. The half of New York that I belong to wishes it was your team celebrating.

Ah, this hurts. It really does. But honestly, despite the fact that our season didn’t end in a parade, we still all had a great freaking time – at least I know I did. This team really brought our city together; whether it was to watch Ryan Howard blast another home run or to cringe as Brad Lidge blew another game, we all came together and had one hell of a ride.

I feel absolutely terrible about tonight, but things will get better. This spring.

In the meantime, I will continue to love this team with all of my heart.

Nicely written, Pat. I will never forget this team or this season..it’s been a lot of fun. And I think we should all sit back and take a second to appreciate the incredible run this team is on. Never before in franchise history has there been such a string of success. We can only hope that they’re on the road to building a winning tradition here. I envision a franchise where we’re no longer surprised by excellence, but we expect it. A place where players want to come and play, because they know that year in and year out they have a chance to compete for a world championship. Nothing breeds success like previous success, and let’s just hope that these past two seasons put us on the path to being one of the marquee teams in all of baseball, right up there with the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers.

Yeats? I cheated and used google. Morris, do you teach English or just read a lot?

You guys are class acts. The Phils had a tremendous year, and the front office demonstrated its smarts in bringing in both Lee and (despite a couple mistakes tonight) Martinez. This team is likely to only improve, as its core of talent is in its prime at the plate and getting better in the field. Phillies fans should be looking at a team that will contend for another few years, at least.

My condolonces to my friends here in this forum.At least you won the NL Pennant and are the best team in The NL.Saying that youse guys must look at this Fall Classic and winning the Pennant must feel like you swalled a can of Draino….sure it will clean you out,but it will leave you with a hollow feeling inside for not winning.And to ALL the leetches and imbecile so called Fellow Amazins fans PUT A SOCK IN IT! We didn’t win either so we have no say in laughing at the Phillies and their fans.Oh and Georgie REMEMBER only 98 more days til Pitchers and catchers.

@ Mike D, both.

I’m really into Irish literature. And based on what I have read, Philadelphia is the most Irish city in the world.

@Morris, you know, that makes a lot of sense and actually explains a lot. I’m half, myself, I know a lot of Irish people. It is very difficult for me to adopt a Tracey-like mindset; I can tend to be negative as hell. What was it that Matt Damon said in the Departed? Something like “I’m Irish. I’ll deal with something being wrong with me for the rest of my life.”

I don’t post very often but I do come to the site and read the articles regularly, and I just want to say thanks to all those that run this site for another fantastic season. Its been a pleasure to read them and occasionally banter with a few of you guys from time to time. Finally, I want to say while I am disappointed, if someone was to tell me 14 months ago that the Phillies would win the World Series, then win the Pennant the following season, I’d have taken it in a heartbeat. Thanks again guys, can’t wait till next season!

This was a great season and a lot of fun to watch even though we fell 2 wins short of the ultimate goal. Like others have said though, the Phillies have won 3 division titles, 2 pennants, and 1 World Series in the past 3 years. That’s pretty good! And you know what the best part is? This is only the beginning!

I can’t wait for next year! Keep your heads up. We’ve got high hopes! Next year is going to be great!

Hey, Jimmy Rollins, you where right, the World Series is over in 6 games, too bad you didn’t show up to play in it. Jimmy, go home and just shut up!

Sometimes the better team ends up on the short end of the stick. The Phillies are a resilient and talented team and they WILL be back next year to take back their championship crown

Al – actually JRoll said 5 games. If you want to spend your time talking sh*t on our blog rather than celebrating with your friends then at least get your insults right. Enjoy the feeling and savor it with people you care about. Don’t take it for granted and try being gracious and classy – since that is what New Yorkers supposedly are. Congrats.

well said…it hurt a lot less after winning last year. here is to next year, and harry the k, and yet another reason that its a wonderful thing to be a Philadelphia sports fan in the 21st century.

They need to find a new third basemen and get hamels to figure things out if he was half of who he was last year we’d won and get more help on the bench francisco is ther only good bat on the bench and get more help in the bullpen.

@Marco-Congrats on winning, and thanks for not being like a lot of other Yankee fans who have come to this site and a few others I read to just talk trash and be an overall dumb@ss.

Next year is our best shot, with our ages and the fact that it will likely be Lee’s last year as a Phillies…Lee, Hamels, Happ, Blanton, and Drabek? And so long, Pedro Feliz…I like his glove, but it’s not as good as advertised, and he has virtually no bat to speak of…

We have some needs we have to address for next year, but I’m gonna take a few days off without thinking about those things.

The original poster was a class act but many posts show the classless nature of Philly the city. The Yanks never once chanted Phillies suck and the illogical nonsense some phills fans live by.

We wouldnt win without CC? What does that actually mean? The only pitcher that could beat us was a gun for hire paid after you already had a 132 million dollar payroll–a team with the most losses in history.

Yanks dont buy success–they reaped the benefits of it. We had 8 guys from the farm on the field tonight–Phils had what? Our guys are overpaid and you actually had us beat at almost every position which proves that. Now you want MORE talent? What? You gonna spend as much as a franchise who won 40 pennants and has been in 1 out of every 2 WS? How do you justify spending any where near a team like that? You see, its just pathetic how illogical you are and how unwilling to accept that the Yanks are something special.

So the question is—who tried to buy success?

John – as your comments are directed at mine I would like to respond. There is a very simple and easy answer here. What did the Yankees do last year? No playoffs. What did they do in the offseason? They signed the 3 most highly sought after and prized free agents on the market. They played well, executed and won a WS. All I’m saying is that those players are the difference. I also recognize that the Phillies spend money too, compared to most teams in baseball they send a lot. However, the Yankees are on another level. That is the way baseball is structured and that won’t change. However, until I hear a Yankee fan admit that money plays a major part in their success over the past few decades I will be unable to take them seriously. That is all I ask – a little honesty and humility.

If you want to do the math you might find that the % of free agents to homegrown guys is about the same between these two teams. The difference is that the Phillies (much like the Yankees of the late 90′s) built this team from within (Howard, Utley, Rollins, Hamels, Happ, Myers, Ruiz) and after it started winning they brought in complementary pieces to round out the team. Werth and Victorino were FA’s but they were not starters. The Phillies made them into those players.

I would love to have a civil and levelheaded argument on this subject in the future but right now I would hope that true Yankee fans would have something better to do and somewhere better to be than on a Phillies blog at 2:30 in the morning after they just won a World Series.

This column says it all:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20091105_Gonzo__Yankees_win__but_we_keep_our_memories.html

Sums up exactly how I’m feeling. A little disappointed, sure.

But I also feel total gratitude and love for this team and this group of players.

It’s been a great ride. And something tells me it ain’t over yet.

Congrats to the Yanks. Tough way to lose, we never were really in that last game.

To John…um yes, you did buy it, at the very least in part. Two thirds of your World Series rotation were purchased this offseason, not to mention your 1B stud you also went out and purchased. Who starts if you didn’t just go out and purchase the top two SPs on the market this offseason? Are Hughes and Joba in the rotation? But, just because you bought it doesn’t mean it was a less deserved win, or that you shouldn’t enjoy it. The win was a total team effort on the part of the pinstripes, clutch hits and timely pitching were all in abundance. Mo is great too….a major difference was Lidge vs. Rivera.

Pettitte is awesome, props to him for being nails this late in his career on three days rest.

Im glad most people on here are not acting like the Yankees Sore Winners. Congratulations to the Yankees. They are a great team, they are the best time money can buy. They wanted a Championship, took advantage of having damn near unlimited spending money and went to get the best players available. They played well, but the Phillies did NOT quit! They took it to game 6 for the first time in 5 some odd years. They are also the first NL team to go to back to back WS in over a decade. Not a bad feat. I am proud of this team for not quiting. Quiting would have been losing it in the 6th game in NY rather than Game 5 in Philly. Most of everyone figured the Phillies would roll over and die in game 5 because they were down 3-2, but they didnt. The team has some obvious needs. Hamels is a question mark, Happ hopefully will come back strong, Blanton was pretty consitent, Moyer will come back but a year older, after being injured, and really shouldnt be relied upon, Martinez is done I believe. Closer, Lidge sucked this season, Madson clearly was a not a Closer, bullpen should be ok, most of the BP problems were injuries, and yet through all the turmoil and bad press and injuries, they still made it back tot he WS. Im pleased overall. I would have much rather won, but can you really be pissed off with 2 straight NL pennants? I can’t. Disappointed of course, but this has been fun. All great things must come to an end, I just hope this wasnt the end. Depends on the off season moves as it pertains to pitching. Look at it this way, several teams in the last few years since they went to the WS (win or lose) didnt even make it back to the playoffs the following year, (Cardinals and Rays come to mind right away). Actually since the Cardinals won the WS, they havent been past the 1st round of the playoffs since. This is a great team, and I hope to get a 4th straight NL East first and foremost, but the Phillies have bullseye on their back with the Braves and Marlins really wanting to de-throne the Phillies. Lets hope this has another year or two left in them. I think they should, but its not a certainty.

Stay classy, Yankees fans! Because shouting “Who’s your daddy” at a guy who never knew his father is ALL class, way way way above chanting “Yankees Suck”.

Most of the NY fans posting here are class acts, and thank you for the kind words. We got outplayed in all facets of the game except Chase Utley and Cliff Lee.

To guys like Bob and John – You’re the reason your team is the most despised team in baseball. Arrogant with a sense of entitlement, so much so that on the eve of victory you have to log in to a Phillies blog to talk smack. And then you have the nerve to say Philly fans are bad. Enjoy your hollow, empty, shallow lives. This win for the Yankees was for the classy fans, and I hope they enjoy it.

We are extremely pleased to have faced the great team, as the second greatest team in the World Series.