The end is here
They dressed mostly in silence, shoving their belongings into duffle bags and slipping out to the waiting buses, en route to Penn Station, and then Philadelphia, and then wherever their offseason homes lie.
The end is here
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
They dressed mostly in silence, shoving their belongings into duffle bags and slipping out to the waiting buses, en route to Penn Station, and then Philadelphia, and then wherever their offseason homes lie.
The end of the Phillies' reign as world champions came just before midnight in the Bronx, in the form of a convincing 7-3 loss at the hands of the Yankees. Most of them will be back. Several will not. Righthander Brett Myers is a free agent, as are Matt Stairs, Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park, Paul Bako, Pedro Martinez, Tyler Walker and Miguel Cairo.
Pedro Feliz has a $5.5 million club option that might be exercised. Cliff Lee has a $9 million club option that will definitely be exercised.
In many ways, the Phillies final game of the 2009 season offered a case study on how they can improve before their next attempted title run. They will need to address the bullpen, where two of the most reliable arms in an inconsistent unit -- Eyre and righthander Chan Ho Park -- are headed toward retirement or free agency. They will need to find a right-handed bat or two who can provide balance on the bench (reserve outfielder Ben Francisco went 0-for-3 last night and finished the postseason 0-for-11, while Eric Bruntlett and Miguel Cairo combined to go 0-for-6).
They will need to decide whether Feliz, who went 0-for-4 last night and 3-for-26 in the postseason, has earned a $5.5 million club option with his defense, or if the free agent market holds a compelling-enough right-handed-hitting offensive upgrade at third base that might better balance the line-up without sacrificing too much in the field.
And they must find a reliable fifth starter, provided: A) They decide to offer righthander Joe Blanton arbitration and keep him in the fold with lefties Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and J.A. Happ, B) They are not married to veteran lefty Jamie Moyer, who lost his spot in the rotation in August and is currently recovering from lower ab/groin surgery, but who is due to make an estimated $8 million next season thanks to escalators he reached based on starts and innings pitched, and C) That they have seen enough out of Martinez, who will be a free agent, to know that he is not that guy.
There will be other sub-plots, other developments, that will shape this team in the next few months. Might Myers, who after eight seasons with the Phillies will become a free agent, be the guy who completes the rotation? Is Ibanez, who went 13-for-52 with 13 RBI this postseason, headed for surgery on his injured groin and lower abdomen?
One thing is for sure: the 25 players who walked off the field amidst the mayhem at Yankee Stadium last night will never play together again.
Even in defeat, they made history, becoming the first team in franchise history to reach back-to-back World Series. They won 93 games during the regular season, nine games during the postseason, and came two wins away from becoming the first National League team to repeat as World Champions since the 1975-76 Reds.
This weekend, however, Broad Street will be silent, save for the people and cars bustling through the onset of winter.
There will still be Thanksgiving, and there will still be Christmas, but there will be no parade, no title, no World Bleepin’ Champs.
“When two teams are playing like that, one of them is going home,” manager Charlie Manuel said, his eyes red and his voice at times shaky. “Last year it was Tampa. This year it’s us. But we’re going to be back.”
^
I'd like to thank all of you readers out there for following along throughout this season. I appreciate the feedback, both positive and negative, and I hope you all will continue to check in to the blog throughout the offseason, when we'll attempt to keep things running on all cylinders.
On Sunday, I'm off to Chicago, where the general manager's will be holding their annual meeting. Free agency begins 15 days after the last game of the World Series, which by my calculation is Nov. 20.
In other words, there will be plenty of moving and shaking going on -- probably not as much as last year, when the Phillies hired a new general manager, said goodbye to Pat Burrell, signed Raul Ibanez, and hired an entire new front office, as well as a new bench coach and third base coach. But there will be plenty to delve into once the World Series hangover wears off.
Again, thanks for checking in.
And as Fonzie would say: Ayyyyyyyyyyyyy
Feliz is fine but nothing special...Adrian Beltre (although massively overpaid the last 5 years or so) would be an upgrade offensively and is just as good defensively. Figgins would be nice, but there's little chance of him coming to the Phils. They really need Hamels to round back into form, or else they have to get a #2 starter to slot behind Lee. You know your rotation's in rough shape when 38 year old Pedro Martinez is your #2 starter in the World Series and your regular season Most Valuable Pitcher can't even get a start after the NLDS. The Phils do have a lot of money coming off the books this year (no more Thome contract, Myers, etc.), and hopefully Moyer retires so that money's freed up as well. Blanton's status depends on what he wants in arbitration...if he's looking for 12 mil or so (which is what Myers has been earning, and he has a bunch of comparable pitchers in that salary range) I don't think he's worth it. It should be an interesting offseason...Amaro's going to have his work cut out for him, but next season really hinges on whether Hamels and Lidge can bounce back.— ChrisInVT- One thing is certain -- the Phillies are the class of the National League. Anything done in the offseason is to bolster the chances at another WS win. People tend to forget that Feliz pumped in 82 RBI's this season even with everyone hitting homers in front of him. He hits with RISP and is a huge plus with his glove. He isnt going anywhere. The keys to next year will be Rollins, Hamels, and Lidge returning to 2008 form. Those 3 are probably the biggest factors keeping the Phils from winning 100 games this year.— Master Dreamz
- Jeff - I hope you are talking about your fantasy team because none of that is remotely plausible.— reddog027
- Thanks for the blogs, Murph, you've had a lot of great stuff this year. Wish we could have had one more day to talk about. Ayyyyyyyy!— dave-tx
- Murph, thanks for your great blog all year, keep it coming during the offseason! More importantly, big thanks to the 2009 NL Champs, I am gonna miss you guys!!!!!!!— efrye13
- Sad turn of events, but I am so proud of our team. They gave us plenty of hope and delivered almost everything we asked; very commendable effort. For my own 2 cents worth, I agree with many to keep Blanton unless some stellar upgrade presents itself. Feliz is a fine 3rd baseman and before I would try to resign him as well, again unless there is a real financially viable upgrade, but his defense is very solid and that should not be overlooked. He can also deliver a hit or two when needed although he needs to be serious with himself and realize he has plenty of improvement to make. ChanHo was very good and if Eyre and Myers are leaving, I would definetly want him to stay..... Lidge ..lidge ..lidge.. well we all know he can be very effective, as can Hamels, but they need to find their confidence and command or we can expect a similar fate or lesser next season. Please sign Matsui as our DH. That woudl really make my day. ......... :-)— Pantaphobia
- We definitely need a middle infielder to give Utley and Rollins a day off once in a while. Utley was awesome after the whole week off following the NLCS. Is Alex Cora available? He’ll fit right in with this team. Signing Myers to a one-year incentive-laden contract would be a good idea. He still relatively young and could be used either as a starter or reliever. Park should be back. I agree with someone who said we need some young lively arms in the pen also. Charlie should give Scott Mathieson a long look in Spring Training. As for Feliz, he’s pretty good defensively and a good guy, but if there is third baseman outhere that is a more fundamentally sound hitter than him, Amaro should explore the possibility of upgrading. The Phillies are like a basketball team that relies too much on the outside shot and struggles when the shot is not falling in. We need more contact hitters in the lineup to win those close games when our power guys are in a collective slump. I’ll also explore trading Ibañez for a good reliever if there are takers and give Taylor a shot, as crazy as that might sound. We need to extent Lee, and Ibañez’s money could be used for that purpose. Also, he is 37-years old and he kind of broke down a little this year after a terrific start.— EL Zorro
- extend Lee, should said.— EL Zorro
Comment removed.- Extending Lee should definitely be a priority. Adrian Beltre's a FA, and if he's not looking for a huge contract then he would be an upgrade over Feliz. If anyone's willing to take Ibanez's contract (which I doubt given the economic landscape of baseball currently), then I would look to trade him to free up the money and give Tayler a shot at LF. The bench obviously needs to be strengthened, that goes without saying. Pitching is the main priority, though. They need another starter and the bullpen has some major issues. Hopefully Romero comes back strong, but I agree they need some lively young arms in relief. Too much patching there to get through a full post-season. As for the rotation, it's definitely Lee, Hamels, and Happ. Other than that, who knows? I'd love to bring Blanton back, but not if he's looking to maximize his arbitration earnings. Myers would be nice on a 1 year deal with incentives and an option, or something like that. I hope Moyer retires...there's no way he should be one of the five starters for this team next year. If the team can't trust Hamels to bounce back to '08 form, they need a #2 starter as well.— ChrisInVT
- Comment removed.
- i'd like the Phils to pick up an experienced bull pen pitcher that can also be used as a closer. A real lead off hitter wouldn't be bad either.— crseloc
- Comment removed.
- Great job this year with this blog - good stuff as always. The 2 Pedro's killed us last night - their services will not be required next year.— kse
- chipper jones is a free agent....i dont care how old he is...i want him— dennis14
