Living in New York City and listening to the countless New York Mets and Yankees talk on the radio and on TV, I probably don’t appreciate the Philadelphia Phillies as much as I should. This group or core of Philly players is a very, very special group.
The Phillies clinched the National League East division title with an 8-0 win over the Washington Nationals on Monday night. It’s their fourth division title in a row.
The Phillies have clearly established themselves as the class of the National League and have something really special going on. Yes, the Phillies have stars in Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jayson Werth, but these guys are also winners.
It’s very rare in sports to have players who are stars and also winners. The Yankees had them in the late ’90s, the Boston Red Sox had them in 2004 and in 2007, and the Phillies have them now. Even their role players are winners.
If the game is on the line and Carlos Ruiz is coming to the plate, I would bet a large sum of money that he comes through. Same can be said for Shane Victorino.
Now, the Phillies will go into the postseason with some questions. How is Jimmy Rollins‘ hamstring? Has Brad Lidge fully turned things around? Will J.C. Romero be able to get out a tough lefty late in the game like Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez, or Brian McCann?
All legitimate questions, but if you are a Phillies fan, you have to feel very good about your team heading into the playoffs. They have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs and in the first round have opted for the eight-day schedule, which means that they will only have to use a three-man rotation in the first round.
Good luck to whoever is facing Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels in the NLDS.
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