It's so damn hard to complain. But it still hurts. And it's gonna hurt till February 13th, 2011, when pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater, FL, and we start this whole damn thing over.
I can vividly remember watching Roy Halladay tear apart the Nats on opening day, feasting on some za with Timmy and Jorgen, and just feeling the hype for this season, pretty much the most anticipated team we've had in a long time. Yeah we lost to the Yanks, but it seemed like we only got better after that. And we did.
Then of course, harsh reality set in just like every season. J-roll went down early, people not named Roy Halladay had to start games, etc etc. Flash forward to after the all-star game. Oswalt signs, things start turning around. They still weren't doing well enough in July and August, and it was pretty fucking frustrating. There was even talk of us not making the playoffs. I think that's when this team realized they needed to stop messing around and get it together. And they did.
Howard killed it. H2O killed it. The bullpen was chillin. J-Roll was eyeing his return, Utley was back, and as usual, we BURNED through September. Sorry Braves, but you can't have this division.
Cincinnati didn't really slow us down, nor should they have. Then we had to face these orange motherfuckers. God it was frustrating. From dropping the first game 1 in seven series, at home no less, to Howard's 0 RBIs all postseason, to Utley forgetting how to play baseball at times. This was by far the hardest thing to watch since Colorado in '07.
But goddamnit, WE WENT TO THREE STRAIGHT NLCS. You can't argue that. They built this team for a long run of success, and that's what they've done. And they'll continue to do that. This team is gonna be back, and you know they're gonna be pissed the fuck off. Of course we're gonna have to deal with Wolfman's bullshit, all I can say is obviously I want him back. But if not, I have phaith in Dom Brown, and just so long as JayWerth doesn't go to the Junkees.
What a great season though. What an entertaining ass team. As far as I'm concerned, we've hit for the postseason cycle in the last four years. Lost NLDS in 07, won WS in 08, lost WS in 09, and lost NLCS in 10. And we'll be back next year, you know this team is upset about how it just ended.
By the way, that last at-bat. I was on the edge of my seat, shaking, knees buckling, hands jittery. It's pretty interesting actually that a sports team can affect my (and an entire city's) nervous system so much. And that called third strike... A) I would've liked to go down swinging at least B) There were 2 balls, and I'm not sure the ump would've been criticized so much if he called it a ball, making it bottom of the ninth, full count 2 outs. But that was pretty much the perfect 2-strike pitch to Howard, as much as I hate that fake bearded fuckhead. If he swings, he's likely gonna miss it or foul it. And maybe it did catch the bottom of the strikezone. I don't wanna get hung up on it though, cause it's NOT the reason we dropped this series.
Maybe it's all our faults too. Who can honestly say they didn't expect us to at least go to the Series after that last month of baseball? It was almost like, after the last 2 years, we were just waiting for the WS, cause everything else was just a lead up to the big one. We forgot you gotta win seven games before you get there.
I'll stop rambling, it's not really helping at all. A big thank you to the Flyers for fucking up the Leafs this afternoon, Briere is playing like a god right now. I'm glad I can wear orange and black again without feeling guilty. Our attention can now shift to them a little more, and of course the Birds (who as I write are down by a point with 7 minutes left in Tennessee).
Can't wait for Opening Day (April 1st)
Can't wait for July 26th-28th (First series against the San Francisco Beards)
Can't wait for the saga of Jayson Werth, and to see what improvements this team makes during the offseason.
Please argue and refute me in the comment area below.
PHUCK BRIAN WILSON, CHODY ROSS, TIM LINCECUM, AND JUAN URIBE, LOVE PHILLY
-Bawn Chilliam Scott