Photo Credit: BJ Wilson

Dear Philadelphia Phillies,

Let me start off by saying that you have been playing great lately.  This is the kind of play that we (the fanbase) expected from you all year.  The excitement and the belief that you can actually do this builds up just a little more everyday.

I have to admit, about 3 weeks ago, I finally resigned myself to the fact that there will not be any October baseball in Philadelphia and that September baseball would be meaningless.  I have been actively rooting for you to at least have a winning season.

Thank you for not giving up and going quietly.  Only 3 games behind with 3 weeks to play, I fully believe!

But we have a very important matter to discuss: the Houston Astros.

I know that you guys do NOT like playing at Minute Maid Park.  I know that the Astros have been giving you fits for years.  But please remember that this is the 2012 version of the Astros, not the 2005.

Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Roy Oswalt are not in their starting rotation anymore.  One is pitching in indy ball, one is back in New York and the latter pitched for you for 1.5 years.  He’s now with the Rangers.

Hunter Pence is in the City by the Bay, via you.  Michael Bourn is in Atlanta.  You just got done pitching to Carlos Lee.  THERE IS NO ONE LEFT TO MAKE THE GAME INTERESTING!

Most of the players on the Astros’ roster would be in the minors on most teams.  The average age of the teams seems to be about 12!  A few of them truly belong in the majors (Jose Altuve specifically,) but for the most part, they don’t.  These aren’t just September call-ups either.

They have the worst record in baseball.  In a few years, after their voices change, they will probably be very good.  Tons of young talent down there.

But that is in a few years.  Sweep them NOW.  You need to win NOW!  You cannot control what the Brewers, Cardinals, Dodgers and Pirates do, but you can control how you play.

So play like you have been the last six weeks.  Play like the team that has given the city of Philadelphia hope again.  Play like the postseason is on the line, because it is.

Play every inning, every at bat, every pitch.  Because if you don’t, then you will be golfing in October and Philly will be heartbroken.

Yours Truly,

Karilee Jeantet

Karilee Jeantet is Lead Contributor for A View From Section 116.  Follow her on Twitter @kjeantet and @viewfromsec116 and e-mail her AViewFromSection116@gmail.com.

That’s right folks, the Phillies have clawed and fought their way back to the .500 mark.   They have done this with stellar pitching, good defense and timely hitting.

Photo Credit: BJ Wilson

You know, all the fundamental ways to win ballgames.

When the Phillies traded away Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence on July 31st, they were conceding that this year was not their year and they needed to build for the future.  And that was absolutely the right decision.

The thing is, no one told the Phillies players that the season was over.

After being 14 games below .500 at the trade deadline, the Phillies are finally even again.  They have gone 25-13 in that time-span.

Last night, on a night where Roy Halladay did not have his best stuff, everyone contributed.

Photo Credit: BJ Wilson

Jimmy Rollins hit a huge 2-run homerun after he was given an extra out.  He actually popped the previous pitch up behind homeplate, but the Marlins catcher dropped the ball.

Juan Pierre went 3-4 with an RBI.

Chase Utley was 3-3 with an RBI and two walks.  His batting average is sneaking it’s way back up.

Carlos Ruiz returned to the starting line-up for the first time since August 2.  He also went 1-3 with an RBI.

Domonic Brown, the Phillies big enigma, went 2-5 with an RBI.

John Mayberry Jr, Michael Martinez, Ryan Howard and even Roy Halladay all contributed with hits.

The bullpen tried to blow it, but they managed to keep it together.

This was a team that played together.  This is a team that has never truly believed that they were out of it and now, this is a team that is in the thick of it.

Will it continue?  I think so.

The Phillies have been playing great ball lately.   They look like the team that they were suppose to be all along.  A team that has dominated the NL East for the last 4 years and won the NL East title for the last 5.

Most importantly, the Phillies are playing with a mindset of nothing to lose and everything to gain.  And that is what is making them so dangerous right now.

Karilee Jeantet is Lead Contributor for A View From Section 116.  Follow her on Twitter @kjeantet and @viewfromsec116 and e-mail her AViewFromSection116@gmail.com.

I, like most of Philadelphia, grew up with a history of losing.  As a child, I would sit in the 700 level of Veterans Stadium reading a book.  I couldn’t care less about the game, for many reasons, but one was because I knew they were going to lose.  They were the Phillies, that’s what they did.  There was Mike Schmidt and everyone else.  Not exactly a lot to root for.

Then there was the ’93 season.  I was in 6^th grade and loved playing softball, so I decided to watch the game that was on the TV every night that there was broadcast.  While I watched the game, my dad, mom and brothers introduced me to the mental side of the game. And I started paying attention.  I no longer fought with my parents or grumbled when we would go to the game as a family.

I also experienced my first taste of agonizing defeat as Joe Carter sent one deep to end the World Series.

However, the downside of that team, was that there was really no one that would attract a young fan.  Mitch “Wild Thing” Williams scared me.  John Kruk claimed not to be an athlete.  Darren Daulton lived on another planet.  No one in the outfield would help with the cause. And, outside of the Curt Schilling, no one on the pitching staff stands out.

After the 1994 lockout, the Phillies were right back to where they belonged, in the cellar of the National League.

Scott Rolen of the Reds playing 3B

Strangely enough, it was 1996 that I started falling in love with baseball.  Not surprisingly, the interest that I had in baseball grew to a full blown fandom when Scott Rolen became the 3^rd baseman.  He was that young, talented, likeable player that a lot of young fans were waiting to show.

I started paying more and more attention to the team then anyone in my family.  By the time I was 16, I was the one that my family and friends went to if they wanted a Phillies stat.  I spent most Sunday’s afternoons hanging out at the Vet, going to the game, and then waiting around for autographs.

Oh yeah, and the Phillies did exactly what was expected of them. They lost.  Time and time again.   I would sit in the stands and root and cheer and know that it was going to end the same way that most of the games that I have attended would end.  I was ok with that.  I loved being there and I loved watching the game.  I just knew the outcome.

» Continue reading “What this season meant to me: A Reflection on the 2011 Phillies”

I love this pic. Philly.com

Last year, on Roy Halladay’s first ever postseason start, he threw the second postseason no-hitter in baseball history.  This year:

Doc became to the first pitcher to retire 21 straight batters in a postseason game since Don Larson’s perfect game.

(This fact comes curtesy of Elias Sports Bureau and every single Phillies beat writer on Twitter.)

So yeah, Halladay has tightened his name in postseason lure.  Yeah, he’s good.  Now the only thing missing is a World Series ring…

You can read Heather’s wonderful full recap of last night’s game here.

I have seen it all over twitter.  People  complaining about how they are playing; how they aren’t playing fundamentally sound baseball, how they aren’t driving in runs and how they are beating themselves.  It is all true.

They have committed plenty of errors in the last week.  They have left runners on base at an alarming rate and they aren’t running out the balls.  I can’t disagree.  Not even a little bit, however there are a couple things at work here.

1) Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs

Over the last year, I have fallen in love with minor league baseball.  I don’t know why, but I started to truly enjoy it and I now follow them pretty closely.  However, there is definitely a different level of play in the minors and in the majors.  Since the Pigs season ended in the 3-1 Championship season, and since the Phillies clinched the NL East, most of the players have been people that have spent majority of the season in AAA.

That’s not a bad thing at all, but they aren’t used to preforming at this level, and when you have a whole team of AAA players, well, that’s not going to help you win.  These kids are auditioning for next season.  Not so much to help out this one.

2) Health

Why are the Pigs playing so much?  Well, because the health of the main players.  Ryan Howard received  a cortisone shot in his foot.  Chase Utley is trying to come back from a concussion.  Jimmy Rollins is still nursing the groin.  Hunter Pence has palletar tendinitis. Placido Polanco is nursing his ailments.  And Raul Ibanez, well, he’s just old.

Most of the regulars play for 5 innings and then are replaced.  Charlie wants to win the games, but he knows that these games are truly meaningless.

3) Schedule

When the schedule came out last year, I commented to my mom that September is going to be rough.  There was only 1 scheduled day off in the entire month, September 15th.

I was right.  Except it was a whole lot harder than I could imagine.  Thanks to Hurricane Irene and other storms, they are not in a stretch of 30 games in 31 days, which would have been a lot.  Nope, they are in a stretch of 33 games in 31 days.  They have not had an off day since August 28th, when the Hurricane came through and will not have one until after the season concludes next week.

Charlie is trying to give his regulars off.  I have already commented that most of the players are Iron Pigs, but the players still come to the park, suit up, stretch, warm-up and prepare as if they are starting the game.  They haven’t had a chance to sit and relax at home.  They haven’t had a chance to sleep in or wander Philly.  They’ve been at the ballpark all day, every day for almost a month now.  I’m tired just thinking of it, I just can’t imagine how they feel without that break.

This is why I am not worried about how they are playing.  I wish they would play better, but seriously, I don’t care until October 1st right now.  On October 1st, they better be playing their hearts out.  On October 1st, I will cut them no slack.  On October 1st, it’s a do or die situation.

Until then, I’m going to enjoy watching the Phillies/Iron Pigs play and smile when I remember how far the team has come in just one decade.

So what’s wrong with the Phillies?  Exhaustion, rookies and health.  So really, nothing.

(Did I mention that all bets are off on October 1st?)