pre-postseason ramblings.
have you ever been to a phillies game in september and october? it’s the most incredible thing. our players get buzzed from the energy, from the passion. other teams get a little thrown off by it. it doesn’t matter if there’s a sold out crowd or not (which, there usually is), it’s ALWAYS loud. everyone gets into it. forty-five thousand plus hearts racing and voices raising in support of our team.
baseball in october is a beautiful thing. it’d be even more beautiful if the phillies weren’t playing like they’re running on empty right now. which, okay, they probably are. we’ve already clinched the nl east, and it’s a lot to be proud of. but we’re still fighting for homefield advantage in the playoffs, and that’s important, too. we were undefeated at home during the postseason last year, and we’ve all heard the stories about how the philly crowd intimidates other teams. that being said, it’d be in our best interest to play at home as often as possible during the postseason.
but there are factors that affect that, of course. we need to rest some of our everyday guys. utley and victorino got the day off on thursday, and rollins, feliz, and ibanez got yesterday off. it showed. when miguel cairo is making better plays than anyone else in the starting nine, you know things aren’t right. but seriously, folks. the phillies are a tired team, but the playoffs begin on wednesday. it’s time to buckle down and get everything in gear. there’s no doubt in my mind that we could go far this postseason. how far, i’m not sure. but if i know this team, i know they’re going to put all of their heart into every single game, and play each game like it’s their last. the phillies have always been the underdogs. but this group of guys, this team, they don’t care about what other people think about them. the game is the most important thing to them, and they play to win. their passion and determination is undeniable, and we fans feel it, too. that’s why we get so invested in this game, in this team. that’s why, even if we don’t make it to the playoffs – hell, even if we don’t make it out of the NLDS – the true fans will look back on a season that was successful for all intents and purposes. we got some new additions to the team in raul ibanez, cliff lee, and ben francisco, and we’ve seen some of our players absolutely shine, like j.a. happ and jayson werth.
there are a lot of questions that loom for the phillies going into the postseason – who pitches game 1? who goes into the bullpen and who stays in the starting rotation? who doesn’t make the postseason roster? the executive office is going to have to make a lot of tough decisions over the next few days, decisions that will shape and effect how the postseason plays out. whatever happens, though, it’s going to be a good ride. these are the phillies, after all.
