And here at the end, High Hopes

It isn’t a year to the day that the Philadelphia Phillies became the champions of baseball but it is close. It isn’t a celebration this year. It is the inevitable march into the barren recess of the offseason that 27 teams face ever year but one team faces it in the worst way possible. They face the offseason as runners up, as losers, as the team that came close but ultimately was defeated. This year, it is the Phillies. The Evil Empire has won, and the redemptive phrase “There is always next year” is stinging a little harder.

Next year is full of question marks. The team is going to be different. They have glaring needs but despite what the Phillies sorely lack, they still made it to the World Series. I am not a General Manager, and I certainly have no idea what options are on the table but in the coming weeks and months we will all find out as our 2010 roster slowly takes shape.

For now, a teary eyed Charlie Manuel said goodbye to 2009 with a few extra wrinkles and a weight of disappointment. Ryan Howard ended the season telling reporters that his World Series record 13 strikeouts, “Weren’t a big deal” and Shane Victorino, the last batter of the year, ended his season optimistically, proud, defiant, and ready to win again come spring.

It’s hard to watch your team lose, harder still when your team loses to the New York Yankees. The analogies are endless. It’s like rooting for –insert evil entity- to win. In truth, last night and for the first team in nine years big money corporate baseball won the championship. The Phillies let them do it. They played like crap. They played like a team that did not deserve a championship.

We’re still the Phillies. We can win. If nothing else, we forever have high hopes. We have next year.

I have two offseason wishes:
1. If Jamie Moyer can no longer pitch, he should be made pitching coach. Dubee is a bum and the team needs a real pitching coach.
2. Tom McCarthy is fired. How I hate his shrill voice… I will not miss that this winter.

So, my fellow sullen fans, do not waste time in despair. Look forward to next year, they still have a shot at another title and at the very least, remain the best team in Philadelphia. About that, let’s hope the Eagles destroy Dallas this weekend. That’ll help. The Sixers are flat out terrible. Who really cares about hockey until the postseason and even then? Eh.

Spring Training can’t come soon enough. 94 days.

High Hopes.