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Here at Philly Skyline, we're doing what we've always done, just with greater frequency and with a higher volume of content. As it says on the about page, which has remained more or less unchanged since the current version of the site launched in February 2005,
I have no mission statement or goal with this site . . .
But here on Philly Skyline, my friends and I are just sharing my experience right here in Philadelphia with our fellow humans.
I'm wearing a Phillies shirt on that page. That's not intentional, but it's also no coincidence, as a large part of my experience in Philadelphia has involved the
Phillies. Sometimes, when the 25.4% (according to our September survey) of Skyline visitors who generally visit for development news and The Skinny come across Phillies
posts (or reports from let's say Washington DC or across the river in Camden, where you can enjoy a great view of the Philly Skyline), I get emails telling me I suck or
that the site has lost its focus or something else along those lines.
No.
Philly Skyline is, again, about nothing and it's about everything. That includes the Phillies. In fact, in one of the older incarnations of the site, the "this web site is under construction"
graphic was that of Citizens Bank Park under construction.
Something else I wrote to a reader nearly two years ago (surely in response to a Fire Charlie Manuel post) still holds true: Baseball is at its heart an urban
game, particularly in Philadelphia, where we once had two Major League teams competing within four blocks of each other on Lehigh Avenue, and then at the same ballpark,
before moving to South Philly in the urban renewal era. Nearly every Major League Baseball team plays in a downtown ballpark (Baltimore, Seattle, St Louis) or in an urban
neighborhood (Chicago, Boston, San Francisco), so it's quite natural for someone living in a city to have a fanaticism about a local team that plays 162 days a year, more
so during the playoffs when games are even more exciting).
So, with this (probably unnecessary) qualification out of the way, the 2007 Philadelphia Phillies, the point of view taken from the front row of the Arcade level.
It was the best of times, it was the . . . blurst of times!
When the Phillies landed Freddy Garcia in the offseason, it propelled Jimmy Rollins to make his famous "team to beat" statement, which propelled me to make my first season
ticket purchase since 2004, the inaugural season at Citizens Bank Park. I believed him, and though it took literally the entire season, down to the last out of the last
day, he was right.
Along the way, the derision of Mets fans, appalled by J-Roll's statement so soon after their 2006 division title (after which they watched the St Louis Cardinals win the
pennant on their home grass of Shea Stadium), was louder than even their most obnoxious LET'S GO METS chant. And along the way, he hit .346 with six homeruns and 8 stolen
bases against the Mets. The Phillies took 12 of 18 games against them, including two sweeps at Shea and the most exciting four game sweep I have ever seen, at Citizens
Bank Park in late August.
That record against the Mets proved vital in their run up to the end of the season, as the Mets collapsed at the end and the Phillies seized the moment, taking the
division title. It's too bad they ran into the Colorado Rockies steamroller, but considering all the injuries (Gordon, Myers, Howard, Utley, Victorino, Garcia, Lieber,
Hamels, Barajas . . . just kidding), they were well accomplished for 2007. Better, considering the team's nucleus -- Rollins, Utley, Howard, Victorino, Ruiz, Hamels,
Myers, Kendrick -- has an average age of 26 and a quarter years, things finally look pretty optimistic down on Pattison Ave.
Aaron Rowand endeared himself to Phillies faithful for two full seasons, but it seems pretty unlikely the Phillies will match raise (from a current salary of $4.35M) his
agent is able to get him. From the Daily News:
"There are many things to consider,'' [Rowand's agent Craig] Landis said in a phone interview last night. "Aaron enjoyed his time in Philadelphia. Yes, he's a
fan favorite in Philadelphia, but he was a fan favorite in Chicago as well and they let him go."
. . .
"If he's a fan favorite and a player favorite, then there is only one thing left - how much does the front office appreciate him?" Landis said.
It would certainly be nice to keep Rowand around, but Shane Victorino covers plenty of ground in center (he was a great fill-in last year when Rowand was hurt), and
between Michael Bourn and Jayson Werth, they should be able to spell rightfield (and the late innings after Pat Burrell has been pulled).
Besides, never mind Aaron Rowand's raise -- Ryan Howard finally stands to earn the money he's long been due with a renegotiation coming.
It's too bad the Phillies didn't try Tadahito Iguchi at third after his excellent fill-in during Chase Utley's month out. If it had worked out, he could have led the
charge to take third base next year. Iguchi won't be back, nor does it seem likely that Abraham Nuñez will, so unless the Phils somehow land Mike Lowell or A-Rod
(HA HA), Greg Dobbs and Wes Helms will resume sharing duties.
Most important for 2008, though, is obviously pitching. The Freddy Garcia acquisition was unfortunately a bust, and the Adam Eaton one was predictably a bust. We passed on Joe Borowski in the offseason, and he ended up leading the American League in saves
(but with an ERA over 5). There's not a whole lot of A-grade talent in this season's free agent pool, but
as it's been said a million times, Pat Gillick has built a number of winners, and it seems unlikely that he'll want to head into retirement next year following little more
than just being swept out of the first round of the playoffs.
And then there's Charlie. So many times over the past three years, I've shaken my head in disgust and hoped that team management would have the sensibility to fire him,
but making the playoffs after all of the obstacles this year seems like a good enough pass to re-sign him for two more years. When Joe Girardi is waiting for a job. And
Joe Torre could be looking for one.
Welp . . . the players like him and have rallied for him, so they got what they wished for. Charlie's back in 2008 for the Phillies, and hopefully the playoffs will be
too. In looking to the future, Philly Skyline salutes the present, or most recent past. This latest photo essay is of the National League East champion Philadelphia
Phillies and their 2007 season, taken over the course of 23 games and arranged in chronological order, from opening day to the playoffs.
–B Love
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