The Last Waltz: An Aging Team's Quest For One Last Shot At Glory

[PhillieFever]

Est. 1883

World Series Champions: 1980, 2008

N.L. Champions: 1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008, 2009

N.L. East Division Champions: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

[PhillieFever]

The team that introduced me to baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies of the late 70's and early 80's gave the city their first World Series title since the old Athletics won back to back titles in 1929 and 30, and for that they will always be loved here in Philly. After their run ended however following the 1983 World Series loss to Baltimore, the team quickly bottomed out, and save for one band of roughnecks in 1993, they didn't come near the top of the NL East for a long long time.
Beginning in the late 90's however a series of good drafts netted the Phillies the players that would become the nucleus of the 2008 world champions, players like Brett Myers, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Ryan Madson, Carlos Ruiz, Pat Burrell, and of course our heart and soul, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins.
Now five years on from that championship season, just Jimmy, Cole, Ryan, Chooch, and Chase remain, complemented now by veteran stars such as Roy Halladay, Cliff, Lee, Michael Young, and Jonathan Papelbon and young up and comers Domonic Brown and Freddy Galvis. They are no longer the powerhouse they once were, in fact the national perception is that they're too old, washed up, no match for the younger, hungrier team like the Braves and Nationals, and maybe that's true, or maybe...just maybe this grizzled group of all-star veterans, some of which have never won a World Series title have it in them to make one more run!

[PhillieFever]

Considering the fact that I'm about to play out the real 2013 MLB season, I figured there's no reason for me to preview what has already been done, and much better than I could have ever done it LOL. Instead my season preview will merely provide links to sites I feel did a good job previewing the now underway season. Hope no one minds.

[PhillieFever]

2013 MLB Season Preview

SI's League Wide Preview

SI's 2013 Baseball Preview - MLB - SI.com


SI's Philadelphia Phillies Preview


Phillies looking for another playoff push from aging core - MLB - Ted Keith - SI.com

MLB Top 25 Prospects


2013 Top 100 Prospects: 1-25 | insidethemlb

Top Prospects In The Phils Organization

Crashburn Alley » Blog Archive » Philadelphia Phillies Top 10 Prospects

[edm]

Good luck! I plan on posting my Phillies franchise soon.

Looking forward to following your progress and seeing the fightin's bring home another ring!

[PhillieFever]

Up next: Opening Day! The format I follow will be simple, series by series recaps for the Phils, a weekly news report from around the league, and of course an MLB game of the week, featuring two clubs other than the Phillies.

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by edm

Good luck! I plan on posting my Phillies franchise soon.

Looking forward to following your progress and seeing the fightin's bring home another ring!

Awesome, the more Phillies threads the better. This is going to be a bittersweet thread for me, because on one hand, I've grown to love this team like no other, but on the other I don't want to try to prolong the run and then suddenly have the Astros circa 2007, that's a hole I'd rather not have to climb out of LOL.

[PhillieFever]

Before I got started I wanted to run some tests on player aging and financials just so that I didn't get screwed up years down the line, I'm now satisfied that everything is cool so it's time to roll!

[progen]

Good luck, and I'll be following. As an old guy, I've been following the Fightins since the early 60's. Good thing you weren't around then, as they were "God awful", but as a kid, and even now, you still love the team! And of course, who can ever, if you were around, forget that historic collapse in 1964!

My father and I were leaving Connie Mack one day after a game, and I met and got Richie Ashburn's autograph. He was walking towards his Corvair! lol

Will take some good managing to get these "old farts" to win the division. Realistically, I see 86 wins, and no playoffs. Hope I'm wrong though!

Randy
Northeast Baseball League Dynasty

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by progen

Good luck, and I'll be following. As an old guy, I've been following the Fightins since the early 60's. Good thing you weren't around then, as they were "God awful", but as a kid, and even now, you still love the team! And of course, who can ever, if you were around, forget that historic collapse in 1964!

My father and I were leaving Connie Mack one day after a game, and I met and got Richie Ashburn's autograph. He was walking towards his Corvair! lol

Will take some good managing to get these "old farts" to win the division. Realistically, I see 86 wins, and no playoffs. Hope I'm wrong though!

Randy
Northeast Baseball League Dynasty

I was born in 71', the year The Vet opened, so luckily I was spared 64' I was not however spared Black Friday, the worst day in franchise history(besides of course the day Phenom Ron Jones tore up his knee in the tarp I know I kid). I grew up in South Philly and still live there, close enough to CBP that I can hear the crowd sometimes on a sold out night from my porch, so as kids we went to just about every day game throughout the 80's .50 cents to get in, you just couldn't beat it LOL. I liked The Vet in the early days with The Bull Ring, the dancing waters, Phil & Phyillis.

[PhillieFever]

Rangers Power Their Way To 6-2 Victory Over New Look Astros


Ian Kinsler finishes off Houston with a 2 run shot in the 8th

Houston- Making their American League debut, the Houston Astros trotted out new uniform and a new manager, the result however was more of the same for the struggling franchise as they were pounded by new in-state rival Texas by the score of 6-2.
Lenoys Martin's three run third inning homer off of Bud Norris set the tone for the Rangers who never looked back, adding to their lead with homers from Adrian Beltre in the 4th and Ian Kinsler in the 8th while on the hill, SP Yu Darvish was wild but still effective, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and 6 walks while fanning 4 over seven inning pitched.
WP: Yu Darvish(1-0) LP: Bud Norris(0-1) HR: Tex, Leonys Martin(1), Adrian Beltre(1), Ian Kinsler(1)

[PhillieFever]

Rollins Sinks Braves With Two Run Shot In The 8th

Atlanta- On a chilly night here in Atlanta, the Phils and Braves opened the season to a packed house here at Turner Field, but unfortunately for Braves fans it was the Phillies who came out on top, winning by the score of 3-1, thanks to an 8th inning two run homer by SS Jimmy Rollins.
Held without a baserunner through three, the Phils got to Braves starter Kris Medlen in the 4th, taking the 1-0 lead on a Ryan Howard RBI single to right. Two innings later it was the Braves turn, with Justin Upton knocking in B.J. with an RBI ground out to tie it at 1-1. They would remain deadlocked until the 8th when a leadoff walk by Ben Revere was followed by Rollins' homer, on a 1-2 Medlen fastball that got too much of the plate. Back in front, the Phils turned to new setup man Mike Adams in the bottom of the 8th, and despite loading the bases with nobody out, Adams worked his way through, getting Chris Johnson to line out to Utley before inducing an inning ending double play ball by Justin Upton. In the 9th, closer Jonathan Papelbon made quick work of the Braves, striking out two of the four batters he faced, including Andrelton Simmons looking to end the game.
WP: Phillippe Aumont(1-0) LP: Kris Medlen(0-1) S: Jonathan Papelbon(1) HR: Phi, Jimmy Rollins(1)


Around The League On Opening Day

-In Washington, the visiting Marlins surprisingly took it to Nats ace Stephen Strasburg, tagging him for 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk over 5 innings as Miami trounced Washington by the score of 10-2.

-Beset by injuries, the Yankees got a dominating performance out of CC Sabathia, who went the route allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 in a 2-0 shutout of Boston.

-On the south side of Chicago, Sox catcher Tyler Flowers went 3 for 4 with 2 homers, a double, and 4 RBI to lead his club to a 7-1 victory over Kansas City

-Leading 3-1 and cruising, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was hammered in the sixth, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits including three homers as the Giants went on to defeat the Dodgers by the score of 5-4.

Today's MLB Scoreboard

[progen]

Nice start. Always good to get that first win out of the way quickly!

[Hendu Style]

Great start. I'll be following. Good idea linking the real world previews... nice touch.

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by Hendu Style

Great start. I'll be following. Good idea linking the real world previews... nice touch.

Thanks. As for the previews, I wanted to do them but for me to just rehash someone else's work just seemed silly when I could link the likes of Verducci LOL. I'm really looking forward to this, and although I'm not overly optimistic about our chances, I really do think this team can challenge if everything breaks right.

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by progen

Nice start. Always good to get that first win out of the way quickly!

Ha, the highlight of the series. The losses came quickly as well!

[PhillieFever]

at
April 3rd and 4th, 2013
Turner Field, Atlanta


The Phils had no answers for Hudson who left after 8 shutout innings

Wednesday April 3rd, 2013: Braves 4 Phillies 0
In complete control throughout, Braves starter Tim Hudson scattered six hits, walked 2 and struck out 3 over 8 shutout innings while on the offensive end, the Upton brothers combined to go 4 for 8 with a double, a walk, an RBI, three runs scored and three stolen bases as Atlanta defeated the visiting Phillies by the score of 4-0. Phils starter Roy Halladay was solid in defeat, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits with 0 walks and 6 K's over 7 innings pitched.
WP: Tim Hudson(1-0) LP: Roy Halladay(0-1) HR: None

Thursday April 4th, 2013: Braves 4 Phillies 3
Jason Heyward and Dan Uggla each hit homers, SP Paul Maholm allowed a run on six hits through eight, and reliever Eric O'Flaherty rescued a subpar Craig Kimbrel in the 9th as Atlanta held on to defeat the Phillies by the score of 4-3. Trailing 4-1 in the 9th and facing one of the game's best closers, the Phillies drew within one when following a four pitch walk to Ryan Howard, Michael Young deposited a Craig Kimbrel 2-0 fastball into the seats in left center. Not liking what he was seeing from Kimbrel, Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez made the change, bringing in 28 year old Eric O'Flaherty, and the move paid off as O'Flaherty easily retired the next two batters to earn the save, the first of his 8 year big league career.
WP: Paul Maholm(1-0) LP: Cliff Lee(0-1) S: Eric O'Flaherty(1) HR: Atl, Dan Uggla(1), Jason Heyward(1) Phi, Michael Young(1), Freddy Galvis(1)

Phillies Notes

-2B Chase Utley will miss the next few games with a bruised foot, he was injured on a HBP in the final game of the series.

[Questdog]

Long time, no see!

Glad you're back....I'll be following this, but I really can't wait for you to fire up a old timer league with OOTP 14!.....

[PhillieFever]

Originally Posted by Questdog

Long time, no see!

Glad you're back....I'll be following this, but I really can't wait for you to fire up a old timer league with OOTP 14!.....

Yeah man, been gone for a good year and a half, just needed a break I guess! Anyway I'm not too impressed with the historical end of the game, I think it stinks actually but I'm loving the current MLB setup, I plan on going long term with this league. How have the results been for you historically? Every test sim I run there's like 120+ 50 homer seasons, that just kills it for me.

[Questdog]

Well, I always keep my own hand to the tiller of the stats, so my results are always good to me......I think historical leagues in OOTP 14 are lots better than 13.....one of the little things, but also a favorite, is that pre-1930 managers (or anyone else if you want) use starting pitchers in relief!....