There’s a whole new generation of Phillies fans who just
don’t understand.
The Phillies’ “Golden Era” ushered in a wave of new fans,
young and old, who either returned or jumped on the Phillies’ bandwagon in
2008.
For those fans, they don’t remember, or they never knew what it
was like.
They don’t remember the seasons in the early 2000s when the
Phillies were on the cusp of making the playoffs, but fell just a few games
short each year.
They don’t remember the last losing season in 2002.
They don’t remember the 95- and 94-loss teams of 1996 and
1997.
They just don’t remember.
And it’s why the current struggles are causing more
frustrations than they really should. I jokingly wrote the Phillies' obit after
the Mets’ sweep to poke fun at the fact that the “Golden Era” is coming to an end.
The fact is, fans got comfortable with winning in a city
that is constantly made fun of for its losing.
The Phillies stole the city in 2008 with Philadelphia’s only
professional championship in the last 29 years. The Sixers won in 1983, the
Phillies won their other title in 1980 and the Flyers won a pair in 1974 and
1975. And, of course, the Eagles haven’t won a title since before the Super
Bowl was established.
So when the Phillies won in 2008, it was easy for them to
capture the hearts of many Philadelphians. When they immediately went back to
the World Series in 2009, we, as a fan base, couldn’t believe what we were
witnessing. And then, when Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee teamed up in 2011, we
were sure this team was destined for dynasty status.
But, it has fallen short of that, and it is now running out
of time. Rumors of trades now resonate loudly in Philly as key players from
that 2008 championship, Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino, are potential trading chips that could usher in a new wave of Philadelphia Phillies.
Whereas those two players could bring in some great parts to
build a new championship squad, the Phils’ window hasn’t necessarily closed, and
if they are to make a run this year, they’ll need both Victorino and Hamels.
If those two are traded, the returning players will likely not be ready
to help the Major League club right away. Therefore, they’re only gone if the
Phillies are out of it, which in turn means, if the Phillies aren’t trading
Hamels and Victorino, they’re going all in for another title because it will be
tough to sign both of them for 2013.
The key to avoiding the fire-sale begins this week. It’s a
pivotal week for the Phillies.
It’s not often we say that in May, but with everything that
is going on around the NL East, the Phillies have to come out firing with a
pair of two-game sets against the Astros and Cubs and a three-game series
against the Red Sox.
These are games that the Phillies, on paper, shouldn’t lose;
and they’re seven games that the Phillies can’t struggle in. They need to go
5-2 this week for things to start looking brighter in Philly. Anything less,
especially a losing record, could really make things difficult for the rest of
the season.
Sitting 6 games out of first (at the start of the day on Monday) isn’t that big of a deal right
now because they can easily cut that in half early next week with a three-game
set against the Nationals.
It’s not just the Nationals next week. The Phillies head to
St. Louis for a four-game set, so that is an extremely tough stretch, and if
they do not go into those two series with some wins, they’ll be in a dire
situation next week.
It’s also big because they need to get back to .500. My
personal key for having the Phillies survive the Ryan Howard DL-stint was going
.500 or better until he comes back. He’ll be back in June and they need to make
that move for .500 now.
When he returns, they can start worrying about playing above-.500 ball, which will help ease the pain for all those fans who just
don’t remember what it was like to sit in Veterans Stadium watching this club
lose game after game.
Trust me, we have it good.
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