In World Series or bust year, Philadelphia Phillies come up short

In World Series or bust year, Philadelphia Phillies come up short

Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins steals second base in
the seventh inning of Game 5, despite the efforts of
Giants shortstop Juan Uribe.

PHILADELPHIA — Having the best record in baseball meant little in October for the Philadelphia Phillies.

The two-time defending NL champions came up short in a year where nothing less than a World Series title would be considered success. Heavy favourites to win their third straight pennant, the Phillies were eliminated in six games by the San Francisco Giants.

Their trio of aces each lost a game, their sluggers slumped and their defence was shaky.

All that added up to an early exit.

"I think shocked is pretty appropriate," closer Brad Lidge said after Saturday night's finale. "I just don't think any of us saw this happening. I felt like we had the best team in baseball this year. It doesn't always work out. Unfortunately, we just caught a team that seems to be doing everything right."

The Phillies captured their fourth consecutive NL East title, led the majors in wins for the first time in franchise history and swept Cincinnati in the first round.

But a star-studded pitching staff couldn't overcome silent bats against the surprising Giants.

Roy Halladay's loss in Game 1 set the tone for the series, and the Phillies never recovered. Cole Hamels pitched well in a shutout loss and Roy Oswalt suffered a loss in a rare relief appearances after a dominant win in Game 2.

The blame falls on the offence, which was inconsistent throughout the season and almost nonexistent in the playoffs.

Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Co. didn't do much against the pitching-rich Giants. Considering how poorly Philadelphia's offence performed in various stretches during the year, it shouldn't be that much of a surprise.

Each regular except for catcher Carlos Ruiz had a decline in production. Some of that was due to injuries — six of the eight starting position players spent time on the disabled list. But even when healthy, the hitters didn't match their usual output.

The Phillies relied too much on the long ball and had trouble scoring runs when they didn't go deep. They're poor at situational hitting and the inability to get runners in from third base with less than two outs cost them against San Francisco, particularly in Game 6. Strikeouts are a major problem, too.

"I know our guys, and I know we can hit better than that, and we definitely got to improve on it next year, and actually come back and basically hit like we can," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We're capable of putting up more runs and having higher on-base percentage and the whole works. Our numbers are down.

"We had injuries and things like that, but excuses in this game don't hold up. We've got to do it, we've got to do what we're capable of doing. And I think when you look back at our team, that would probably be the downside of our club this year. We were very inconsistent in our hitting, and at times we didn't score enough runs."

Scoring more runs might be even tougher next year if right fielder Jayson Werth doesn't return. Werth is set to test free agency, and it's likely that the Phillies won't meet his asking price.

They have more than $143 million committed to 18 players. That's more than the entire payroll for this season.

Relievers Jose Contreras and Chad Durbin also can be free agents along with 47-year-old lefty Jamie Moyer and late-season addition Mike Sweeney. Outfielder Ben Francisco, No. 5 starter Kyle Kendrick and pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs are arbitration eligible.

So the nucleus will be back, and the Phillies should be favourites to win another division title. But winning the World Series is all that matters for this group. A second title in three years would've justified talk of a dynasty. Now they'll have to try for two championships in four years.

With Halladay, Oswalt and Hamels leading the rotation, and Ryan Madson and Lidge in the back of the bullpen, the Phillies appear set with their pitching.

But losing Werth, the only right-handed power hitter in a lefty-heavy lineup, will hurt. Promising youngster Domonic Brown, another left-handed bat, could replace Werth or at least be part of a platoon with Francisco or someone else.

The Phillies are going to need Utley and Jimmy Rollins to rebound from down seasons. Howard had a solid all-around year, but his power numbers were way down. Raul Ibanez, Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino also have to step up.

Howard, the NLCS MVP a year ago, didn't have an RBI against the Giants. He ended the series by taking a called third strike with the tying run on second.

"It's humbling," Howard said. "It's a little disappointing and a little embarrassing. I'm not going to lie. I've just got to do better next year."

Philadelphia certainly will use its frustrating finish as motivation throughout the off-season and into next year.

"I know every guy in there, they were disappointed," Manuel said. "But at the same time, too, like that can also work for you sometimes. Like we come back with the idea that you'll be more determined and work harder and improve and I think we're capable for the next two or three years of reaching our goal and definitely accomplishing what I think we can do."