Getting Ready for Spring Training

I like to say that as big as a Phillies fan as I am, I'm an even bigger fan of baseball. That's just how I feel about the sport, and is a huge statement as to how I feel about the game, given my intense love of all things Phillies. It emanates from my childhood, growing up around the sights and sounds of baseball. The crack of the bat, the smell of the freshly cut grass and leather glove, the beautiful lines created by a hit or pitched ball and the infield diamond. The symmetry of it; the excitement of it. Plus, back in the day, I was pretty good at it.

So perhaps you'll understand why I was somewhat disappointed with myself when I just couldn't bear to watch the final innings of last year's World Series Game 6. It was just too painful. In fact, other than catching a snippet from the news of Shane Victorino's weak groundout to clinch the WS for the Yankees, I still hadn't watched those final three outs, in the top of the 9th.

Until this morning.

Forget about pitchers and catchers --- MY spring training reporting date is 20 days away. I'm eager to get this season started, and I wanted to put a final endnote on last year's wild ride. So well before dawn today, I slid the WS DVD into my BlueRay, and finally accepted what occurred.

I know that if I had watched the final 3 outs live, I would not have had the perspective to truly notice what I realized this morning: we were THAT close.

Took the first Game AT Yankee stadium.

Lost the second game to take a split back to Philly. Although Milt Thompson will say that the Phils really, really wanted that Game 2, the fact remained, we now had home field advantage.

Lost the next two games in Philly to go down 3-1 and to relinquish home field advantage. But, refused to go quietly and stole one back after another monstrous game from Chase Utley. Momentum slowly began shifting back to the Phils as the Yankees realized they will not win this series 4-1, it will go to a Game 6. And I always said, whoever won Game 6 was going to win the Series. (which is obvious if the Yankees won it, but perhaps not quite as obvious if the Phils won it).

And so here we were for Game 6. Watching those final 3 outs, down 7-3, I realized that we were just inches or feet away from taking that one.

First up in the top of the 9th was Matt Stairs. Before this morning I thought he had struck out, because one of the clips that keeps airing is of Stairs taking one of his monstrous swings and missing. But what actually occured was a good at bad where, facing the best closer in baseball, he fouled some pitches off, including a monstrous jack to right which, while clearly foul by 50 feet, was home run distance. It was the kind of swing and launch we had gotten Stairs for in the first place. Unfortunately, he made the first out, but it was on a strong infield line drive. Considering the situation, the stage: impressive.

Next up was Carlos Ruiz, who had the plate discipline to work a walk against Rivera with pitches that were mere inches off the plate, if that. Ruiz's clutch playoff performance was continuing.

Third up was Rollins. This and the next at-bat are what really struck me. Remember, we're down only 7-3, and this Phillies team has come back from larger deficits multiple times. Plus we've proven that we can rise to the occasion and get hot when necessary. This was clearly the most necessary of times to do just that, with Ruiz on base in the 9th and one swing away from cutting our deficit to just 2 runs. Rollins jacked a moon shot to right which, while caught by Swisher, landed deep on the warning track just a few feet from the short porch. Close!

Last up was Victorino, whose at-bat, like Stairs', I had misconstrued throughout the long winter. After seeing highlight after highlight of this last World Series out, you would have thought that his weak grounder was all there was to that at-bat. But prior to that, Shane fouled off a number of pitches, even prompting Phils' Manager Charlie Manuel to mouth to his assistant, "Good at-bat". One of Shane's last foul balls was a liner into the right-field stands. Remember, this is against the best closer in baseball, at the most pressure-packed time.

Of course it was not meant to be for the Phils last year. But far from choking, we have the Yankees their money's worth. Giving the Yankees a great run, going to the World Series 2 years in a row, poised to do that and more this year: What an exciting time to be a baseball fan, a Phillies fan.