The Phillies with a Successful Season?

No, the the Fightin' Phils did not "phinally" put a merciful end to the sweltering 12+ year playoff drought. Yes, the Phils once again reached fans' expectations of coming up short in the playoff race. But this year was still different, and "phinally" in a good way.

Prior to the start of the season, I predicted that the Phils would not only miss the playoffs, but would be lucky if they won 75 games. I also predicted that ownership would change the name of the team to the Underachievers, so that nobody ever got the wrong idea. My prediction (about the record, not the name change) was based on a number of factors - hiring an incompetent (in my opinion) coach, not bringing in any marquee players that would help put them over the top - particularly an ace (my apologies to Lieber).

The 2004 team had many holes - an overpaid, underperforming catcher, a very inconsistent pitching staff, a third-basemen on his las wheels, a suspect bullpen, and too many strikeouts in the lineup. That, combined with the Phillies choosing to hire a very player friendly manager as opposed to one with a World Series ring, provoked me to send an e-mail to the Phillies informing them that I had no confidence in their organization, that I wasn't going to go to any games this season, and asking them to provide me with a suggestion for another professional baseball team to follow that actually gave a flying f**k about winning.

But, the Phitin's did prove me very wrong this season. Yes, the manager made some mistakes (probably more than a professional manager should have), but he did some good things too. Particularly, he got the players interested in playing ball again (something Bowa apparently took away from them - although I am still a Bowa fan). The Phils were also blessed with some luck - being able to survive a season-ending injury to Randy Wolf - their only left-handed starting pitcher - and being able to find some good young arms to replace him. Jim Thome's season-ending elbow injury, and the blossoming of Ryan Howard at first base. Chase Utley becoming the best clutch hitter on this team (Ryan Howard is probably a close second). Jimmy Rollins, no only learning how to hit correctly, but doing an incredible jog down the stretch.

This team kept me interested until the very last day. Now, they have to answer some questions in the offseason:
1. Who's on First? If they stick with Thome and get rid of Howard, they better get some major value in return - such as an ace-starting pitcher, and a very productive utility infielder (or a starting catcher). I sincerely hope that they get rid of Thome for many reasons - Howard is the future, Thome will be booed here and he doesn't deserve that, youth is important on this aging team.
2. Centerfield ? Lofton probably won't be back, and even though he is whiny, he was a helluva player. I'm hoping they either bring in somebody or platoon Jason Michaels and Shane Victorino (it's time to pull the plug on the Endy Chavez experiment).
3. 3rd base - catcher? Probably the weakest part of this team. Bell and Lieberthal played more than adequately down the stretch, but can we honestly expect another adequate season from these two dinosaurs?
4. Starting Pitching - Are you excited with Myers, Lidle, Lieber, Padilla, and Wolf-Brito-Tejeda? I'll take Lieber and Myers, no question. Even Lidle produces enough wins. But, Padilla was very inconsistent, and I'd love to replace him with a number 1 (which would make this team a playoff contender). I'm guesing the last spot will be open to Cole Hammills or Gavin Floyd, and I hope that one of these young studs (according to Wade) will step up.
5. Bullpen - Arron Fultz was a nice player. Obviously the 3-inning closers were awesome. Other than that, you can burn up the rest of them. Plus, rumor has it that Wagner will go to the Mets. If that happens, what now? Do we resign Urbina to big money and make him a closer again? It would be a step down from Wagner. Is Madsen good enough to close? Again, a step down. Can this team afford to take a step down?

Lots of questions, and these are only 5. But hey, at least I'm talkin' about the Phils in a "what-if" style instead of a "who cares" style.