Today is part 13, originally published Oct. 16, 2008:
Links to the World Series
-A poem, or song, or something, from We Should Be GM's, with their photos.
-Go to The700Level today. They are, expectedly, all over this, especially with people going nuts!
-And definitely go to The Fightins, the best Phillies site on earth. Once again, they point out the doucheyness of T.J. (Terrible Journalist) Simers, but the man did have a great finish in his article:
TODAY’S LAST word comes from Norm Pangracs:
“After the fifth inning I called the number the Dodgers said to call if anyone is causing trouble during the game. I was surprised to get a recorded voice. I thought for sure a live person would answer. I left a message: ‘There’s a group from Philadelphia making me very uncomfortable. They’re the Philadelphia Phillies.’ “
-Hit up Deadspin today to get some cool links, the wakeup call and The Balls' joy.
-Bugs & Cranks offers support.
-More links from Big League Stew, and some thoughts from Dave Brown.
"After hearing about the '93 team over and over again, we finally have a chance to make our mark," said Jimmy Rollins, whose leadoff homer signaled another tough night ahead for Chad Billingsley.
-As always, great video from Awful Announcing.
-And finally, go to Philly.com and read everything. I mean everything. Like this David Murphy gem:
"This is awesome," Jamie Moyer said, a few tear tracks running down his face as he listened to the surprisingly healthy contingent of Phillies fans hailing the victors. "The support we've had - you just can't thank people enough. We're celebrating this with them, and to me that's the most important thing. And even though we're not in Philly, I'm thinking about the fans in Philly having a good time, and that's what it's all about."
And this:
The final out went like this: Nomar Garciaparra, popping up foul to catcher Carlos Ruiz. He was standing on the painted NLCS 2008 logo along the third-base line when he squeezed the ball. And with that, the Phillies are going to the World Series. It is a simple sentence that masks so many emotions, that cannot come close to untangling 15 years of frustrating tangents. Yet there is beauty in the simplicity.
The Phillies are going to the World Series.
…
"It will be absolutely madness from a Philadelphia standpoint," said Cole Hamels, so young, so good, the starter and winner last night in the Phillies' 5-1 victory over the Dodgers.
"The excitement, the energy level, it'll be something," he said. "Philly has missed this. I'm so happy to be a part of this. To get back to the World Series, they deserve it."
And this:
In the biggest game of his career, at just 24 years of age, Hamels worked his fastball-and-change-up magic once again last night, and he did nothing less than pitch the Phillies into the World Series. He was then named the series MVP.
He has now won three straight postseason games, the first Phillies pitcher in history to do that. On the list of accomplishments he hopes to add to his resume, this is just the first notable one. Look in his eyes, and you can tell he believes there are others to come.
"You know going out there in the big game, you want to be that guy that can dictate it," Hamels said. "I've had the opportunity this year, and I've been able to not only come through, but hopefully put us into more situations where I can do it again, and again, and again."
…
"They were trying everything they could. It just seemed like Cole was so in command, it didn't matter," said closer Brad Lidge. "He's a true ace."
…
When the seventh inning came around and Hamels walked two batters with two out and veteran Jeff Kent was coming to the plate, the stroll to the mound by manager Charlie Manuel didn't mean Hamels was finished for the night. Manuel gave his young pitcher a combination pep talk and lecture and left him in there.
"He wanted to give me some confidence, I guess," Hamels said. "He wanted to know if I thought I could do it, and I said I knew I could."
Hamels, in one of those moments he cherishes, got Kent looking at a 94-m.p.h. fastball for the third out. It was his last pitch of the night, and it was as nasty as his first.
And this:
The Phillies are going to the World Series.
Say it out loud. Shout it so William Penn can hear it atop City Hall.
…
"I think I'm going to have a heart attack," an ebullient Brett Myers said before leading a charge back onto the field. About a thousand red-clad Phillies fans had gathered behind the team's dugout. They chanted, "Four more wins," and, "Let's go, Phillies," and, finally, "We want beer."
"I don't know how they survived among all those Dodgers fans," Myers said. "Shows you how tough Phillies fans really are."
And this:
"This is going to be the year," Charlie Manuel said. "I can feel it, yeah."
-Jayson Stark:
They've spent their whole careers hearing about the Phillies of Carlton and Schmidt, the Phillies of Kruk and Dykstra, even the Phillies of Ashburn and Roberts.
But now it's their turn.
Now it's Jimmy Rollins' Phillies. And Chase Utley's Phillies. And Cole Hamels' Phillies.
Now it's Ryan Howard's Phillies. And Shane Victorino's Phillies. And even Matt Stairs' Phillies.
…
And as that baseball floated through the sky, a soft-spoken catcher from Panama settled under it, asking himself for what seemed like an hour: Is this thing EVER going to come down?
"I know that ball was not a tough play, but it took a long time," Carlos Ruiz said after history had finally settled in his glove. "I was saying, 'Come on, baby. Let's go. Come down already.' "
…
"I don't know if I understand what's really taken place here," said Jamie Moyer, the only member of this team who actually attended the parade of the one World Series championship in Phillies history. "I don't know if it's really sunk in. I know we're going to the World Series, but it hasn't sunk in."
With eyes watering, Moyer began to tell the story of what it was like to be a kid in high school in October 1980, skipping school to watch the champs parade down Broad Street.
"I remember people hanging from the street lights and the trees, and toilet paper all over," Moyer said. "And everybody was your friend. A half a million people were all friends."
And then somehow, in 2006, the world spun and brought him back to his hometown, to a team that was still trying to figure out how to win these kinds of games. And a couple of weeks later, he found himself in the middle of a team meeting, telling his new friends about that parade -- and laying out a dream for all of them, to reach a parade of their own someday.
"And now we're one series away from being on the floats in that parade," Moye said. "It's amazing."
…
"You know what? It hasn't hit me yet," Rollins said. "We still have a lot of work to do. We've got to find a way to win four more games. That's our goal. Our goal is to win the World Series. The goal was not just to win the National League. The goal was not just to get to the World Series. We qualified. That's all we did. So we've still got work to do.
"But when it's all said and done, and my career's over, and hopefully we win the World Series, then that legend of the Phillies in 2008 will be a great story. But until then, we've still got four games to win."
They might be the hardest four games they've ever tried to win. But even as they celebrated in the middle of a ball field 3,000 miles from home, the 2008 Phillies were still clinging as hard as ever to the sense of purpose that has made them what they are. "We've gone this far," Moyer said. "So why stop here?"
Why stop here, indeed.
LET'S GO PHILS!!!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment