Well, the World Series is over and the San Francisco Giants topped the Rangers in the Fall Classic. Dominant pitching and timely hitting brought them their first championship since 1954. It makes the feeling of the Phillies loss a little better now knowing that we lost to the but the goal of a World Series or bust ended the way no one wanted it to with a loss in the NLCS.

 

In April, the Phillies were seen in everyones eyes (fans, experts, etc) as the favorite to win the World Series with Roy Halladay and a potent lineup. Six months later, this World Series or bust concept has taken the side of bust, shattering the belief of Phillies fans everywhere. This season had plenty of memorable moments but the only thought in my mind after the loss is the disappointment of all of this. You can blame Ryan Howard for looking at the final strike...you can blame Charlie Manuel for going with Oswalt instead of Lidge in the bottom of the ninth in game four. Blame whoever you want but when it comes down to it, the entire offense was a letdown. They lost three games by one run and hit just .175 (8-for-45) with runners in scoring position in the NLCS. They were 13-for-70 (.186) in the 2010 postseason. Take that into consideration for a minute. In 2008, the Phillies held a .201 average with RISP but managed to bring a championship home. In the critical game six, they were 2-11 with RISP and stranded the bases loaded.

 

Ryan Howard, by far, was the biggest disappointment of the postseason. He got hits but seemed to struggle with runners on base. He failed to tally a single RBI in the nine games played against the Reds and Giants. In previous series' and regular seasons, Howard's production had fans ignore the strikeout numbers as much. This October, it was magnified because of his lack of production. The final at-bat of last night's game made me feel like I had aged fifty years in one plate appearance. The fact that he looked at a called strike three made it the worst. The umpire had be calling the outside corner all night and there is no way that you can let such a borderling pitch like that float by you. Howard is getting paid the big bucks and when you hear him say that he wants to be up in that situation, you figure he will be agressive. He needs to take this offseason to adjust because pitchers have adjusted to him. He produces so much during the year and hopefully this is just a fluke. Maybe he never was 100% after he got hurt but he has to find a way to improve on his hitting in the offseason.

 

The 2010 season was a very impressive one for the Fightin's. Despite their normal slump in the middle of the year, they stormed back to win the division for the fourth consecutive time. They also had major leagues best record for the first time in franchise history. When I look back on 2010, I think the player/moment that stands out is Roy Halladay. Getting rid of Cliff Lee was not a popular decision but you could not ask for much more out of Halladay. 21 wins, a perfect game, a postseason no-hitter and that workhorse ace at the top of the staff. His work ethic and his performance this year was dazzling and having a full year of him, Hamels and Oswalt gives the Phillies a huge advantage when it comes to starting pitching. Another player who deserves a starting spot on a team is Wilson Valdez. He filled in for Rollins, Polanco and Utley during their DL stints and picked up the slack defensively. His offensive numbers were nothing to ride home about but his performance filling in for three crucial areas of the offense was amazing.

 

The offseason holds a lot of questions for the Phillies. They may make an attempt to resign Jayson Werth but all signs are pointing to him signing with a different club this winter. That leaves a big void in right field and as a right handed power bat. The first person that comes to mind in these discussions are Domonic Brown. He is a lefty but has a cannon for an arm in the outfield and can definitely fill in Werth's shoes defensively. Until Brown develops and starts to hit lefty pitching, he may find himself in a platoon role with Ben Francisco or another free-agent pickup that the Phils get.

 

There are other voids to fill as Chad Durbin and Jose Contreras are both free agents. Ruben Amaro will have to decide whether or not they bring these two back. Durbin and Contreras hav been very solid as a 6th or 7th inning guys and I would thing that Ruben would bring back one of the two. If they decline to bring either of them back, they may look to pickup a veteran reliever in free agency or use some of their younger arms such as Scott Mathieson and Vance Worley. The Phillies also have a void to fill in left relievers. They declined the option on JC Romero and have just Antonio Bastardo in the pen as the lone lefty. They will need to decide if they want to pick up a veteran in the offseason or find players within the system, like Mike Zagurski.

 

The starting rotation seems in tact for the most part but the fifth starter role is up in the air. Kyle Kendrick did what most fifth starters do. All you can ask for is a winning record and the ability to keep the team in the game. Kendrick seemed to have a better first half than second but still did an ok job as a fifth guy posting a record of 11-10 with a 4.73 ERA in 180.2 innings pitched. Vance Worley started two games for the team and posted a 1.38 ERA in five appearances. Worley will definitely be a candidate for the fifth starter job going into spring training. He will more than likely compete with Kendrick for the job, with the loser ending up as a long man in the bullpen.

 

This is going to be a long offseason for Phillies fans after the loss in the NLCS but right now all I am looking forward to is when pitches & catchers report, February 17th. With the Braves threatening this year, it will be even tougher to win next year, but you gotta believe! Until then it is all eyes on Eagles, Flyers and Sixers.