The Rotation (42 page)

Costas agreed.

“The mere fact that the Phillies bear comparison—and this is not a comprehensive list—to the '54 Indians, the great Orioles staffs of the late '60s and early '70s, to the Atlanta staffs of the '90s, right there that makes them among the all-time best,” he said. “There's statistically good and then there's a good-chance-of-winning-the-game good. These guys were both of those things.”

The Rotation could really cement its legacy with a World Series championship parade down Broad Street.

“[Sandy] Koufax and [Don] Drysdale are locked in people's minds because the Dodgers won the World Series in '59, '63 and '65 and went to the World Series in '66,” Costas said. “No knock on Claude Osteen or Johnny Podres, who were very good pitchers, but that Number Three isn't as good as Cole Hamels. But it's still more locked in people's minds because it's that ultimate idea of walking off with the title. Or unless you just go there so often like the Braves did, even though they only won it once, they were on the big stage so often as a group, whereas this group has only been together a short period of time.”

That is where James issued a caution.

“All-time great pitching rotations don't have a great record in postseason play,” he said.

James recalled the 1954 Indians, who boasted Hall of Fame pitchers Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, and Bob Feller, and All-Star Mike Garcia. The Indians finished the regular season 111-43 for the best winning percentage (.721) in American League history, but the New York Giants swept them in the World Series.

The 1971 Orioles finished 101-57 for the best record in baseball, but lost in seven games to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. The 1966 Dodgers finished 95-67, but the Orioles swept them in the World Series. The Braves won 14 consecutive division championships from 1991 to 2005, but
made the World Series just four times and won just one of them.

“I don't think there's something about great pitching staffs that makes them doomed in the postseason,” James said. “But I also don't think having a great pitching staff means you're going to roll through the postseason. Sometimes people convince themselves that this team can't be beaten in the postseason because the pitching is good. History has shown that's not the way it works.You've still got to have some good things happen.”

Would good things happen to The Rotation in October?

Would it find postseason success?

That's what it was looking for from Day One of spring training, back when Cliff Lee admitted that, sure, The Rotation had a chance to make history, but a World Series title was what it was really thirsting for.

T
he late-night flight home from Atlanta was a happy one. The Phillies had set a club record with their 102
^nd
win and lifted a toast to Charlie Manuel for becoming the team's all-time leader in managerial wins. The skipper rewarded his players with a well-deserved day off.

Their long regular-season journey had produced the most wins in the majors and now it was time to start the validation process, a month-long quest for the 11 postseason wins that would make them World Series champions. Anything short of that would be a disappointment that made those 102 wins a conversation piece, and not much more.

The Phillies entered the eight-team postseason tournament as favorites to win it all, but in the days leading up to the playoffs, more than a few folks had pointed out that being the favorite doesn't guarantee a parade.

“They're the best team around,” Washington Manager Davey Johnson said as his club was beating the Phils four straight times during the final week of the season. “Their pitching is dominant. But in a short series, anything can happen.”

Slowed by injury, the Phils' offense sputtered in the final weeks of the regular season. Johnson's Nationals held the Phils to just nine runs in sweeping that four-game series. People around baseball were starting to notice the offensive problems and wonder if this club would be a quick out in October.

“If Philadelphia's bats don't wake up, then they are not going to win,” said David Wells, the former big-league pitcher who was part of the TBS postseason broadcast team. “It's as simple as that. I don't care how good their pitching is.You can't win if you don't score.”

The Phillies learned that—painfully—when they were knocked out of the NLCS by San Francisco a year earlier. The Phils were denied the chance to become the first NL team since the 1942–44 Cardinals to make three straight World Series, largely because they hit just .178 (8 for 45) with runners in scoring position in the NLCS.

Shane Victorino was leaving nothing to chance.

After that day off, September 29, he showed up at Citizens Bank Park for the team's workout the day before Game 1 of the NLDS. The day before the postseason opener feels like the first day of the season all over again, and this was no exception. Stadium workers hung red, white, and blue bunting from the second deck and painted the NLDS logo on the grass in front of each dugout. Players wore crisp, new, red sweatshirts—postseason merchandise is big business and the players are human mannequins—emblazoned with the postseason logo. As the Phillies came out of the clubhouse to stretch and begin batting practice on this cool autumn day, a representative from the famed Louisville Slugger bat company took orders from players. A trip to the World Series isn't complete without a dozen new bats, right? But what happens if you fail to make the World Series?

“Put some extra hits in them,” Victorino shouted good-naturedly to the Louisville Slugger man.

Oh, that it were that easy.

Charlie Manuel heard that question several times in the days that followed the Phillies' clinching of the NL East.

For reporters, the question represented due diligence.

But they knew it was a dumb question. Having Roy Halladay in your starting rotation is like having John Wayne in your movie. He would get the ball in Game 1.

“Everything about him,” Manuel said. “He's the most prepared guy I've ever seen. He works harder than anyone I've ever seen. He's more determined than anyone I've ever seen. He's got four pitches, maybe five, and he commands them all. I've seen him load the bases with no outs and work right out of it. He's got a tremendous feel for pitching.”

Halladay had also earned the ball for Game 1 of the 2010 NLDS and, in
the first postseason start of his life, became the first pitcher in 54 years to pitch a postseason no-hitter.

What would he have up his red sleeve this time?

Halladay wasn't sure, but as he sat at the dais for a news conference the day before Game 1 of the 2011 NLDS, he echoed some familiar personal sentiments. He said he intended to enjoy the ride, the process, the journey. For as much as he wanted that World Series ring, a decade of missing the postseason in Toronto had taught him that this was a special time and it had to be embraced.

“You really have to put things into perspective and understand what this game ultimately means,” Halladay said. “You play this game because you love it and you play it because you enjoy the competition. I think that's what, at this point, is most important. I think if you go in with a mentality of this being the end-all and be-all, you're putting a lot of extra things on your plate that you really don't need.”

Did Halladay's philosophical view of the situation mean his competitive furnace had lost some heat?

Hardly.

“Believe me,” he said, looking at a pack of reporters. “We want to win bad.”

To illustrate that, he quoted Shakespeare—even though he probably didn't know the Bard from Josh Bard.

“I heard a quote a long time ago, ‘I came here to bury Caesar not praise him,' ” Halladay said.

As Halladay was speaking, the St. Louis Cardinals' charter flight was approaching Philadelphia International Airport. It was a flight few anticipated on August 25, when the Cards were 10½ games out of the wild-card race. The trip might have seemed far-fetched even back in February, when the Cardinals suffered a devastating blow, as their ace right-hander, Adam Wainwright, grabbed his right elbow in pain and walked off the field to season-ending Tommy John surgery.

But the Cardinals, led by veterans Chris Carpenter, Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, and Lance Berkman, proved to be baseball's most resilient club. Even without Wainwright, the always resolute Tony La Russa kept his personal GPS locked on the postseason and stressed that his players compete every game, every pitch, every at-bat. General Manager John Mozeliak rebuilt a leaky bullpen and fortified the infield with the acquisition of shortstop Rafael Furcal before the July 31 trade deadline.

All of this, coupled with some help from the stumbling Atlanta Braves, put the Cardinals in position for a late surge that saw them go 23-9 down the stretch to win the NL wild card in Houston on the final day of the season.

While oddsmakers liked the Phillies to reach the World Series, the Cardinals didn't plan on stopping at the wild card. During their champagne celebration in Houston, catcher Yadier Molina stood up and made a proclamation to his teammates.

“We're happy to make it,” he told them, “but our job is not done.”

Game 1 pitcher Kyle Lohse concurred as he related the anecdote.

“That's the mentality of our team,” he said. “We're thrilled to be here, but the work is not done yet.”

For some Phillies fans the Cardinals represented a less than desirable matchup. The Cardinals went 6-3 against the Phillies during the regular season, including 3-1 in September, and were the hot team. But the Phillies players were undaunted.

“We're all well aware of how good they are,” Halladay said. “We obviously have respect for what they've done and how they've played, but you have to be confident going in that you're going to be able to beat them.You have to be confident the guys around you feel the same way. We don't take them lightly. But at the same time, I feel like, without an arrogant tone to it, we believe we have a team that can go out and get the job done.”

Charlie Manuel also believed he had a team that could get the job done. His faith could be traced to the pitcher's mound, where Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Roy Oswalt were hungry to lift the World Series trophy, just as Cole Hamels had done in 2008.

“I like that we have three guys this good who have never won a World Series,” Manuel said. “I think they're really looking forward to it and really want to win. They love to pitch—and when they get beat, they're not very happy campers. We're here because of our pitching. I don't think they get enough credit. Every night this season they gave us a chance to win. We had a hard time scoring runs at times, but they usually took us to a point in the game where we could win if we scored, and they pitched over mistakes when our defense was not good. They did a hell of a job for us and I'm excited.”

Citizens Bank Park pulsated with enough electricity before Game 1 to light up the Philadelphia skyline for a month.

This was the Phillies' time.

This was why they spent those seven weeks in spring training, why they won those 102 games. This was why fans sold out every game, why they made those March pilgrimages to Clearwater. It was all for the postseason, the 11 October wins that would lead to confetti flying. This was the most talented, most expensive, and most hyped team in franchise history. Anything short of those 11 wins would result in an emptiness never felt in Philadelphia sports.