Philadelphia Phillies: 7 Reasons Why They Didn't Win the Ring in 2011

Just as the 2008 World Series image of Brad Lidge on his knees after he struck out Eric Hinske for the Championship is one we will never forget, so is this year's NLDS image of Ryan Howard on the ground in pain as Chris Carpenter and his Cardinal teammates celebrated in front of 40,000+ absolutely stunned Phillies fans.

It didn't seem right that the best season in Phillies history would end so unceremoniously, but it did.

As Howard tried to run down the line his Achilles tendon snapped and left him on the ground in pain. His pain was the physical manifestation of the pain hundreds of thousands of Phillies fans felt when they saw that their World Series caliber team could not even make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

For the Phillies, and their fans, this loss meant more than just going another year without a ring. It marked disappointment, one of the most if not thee most disappointing seasons in Phillies history. The perfect team was believed to be assembled and with the four aces, considered by some to be the best staff ever put together, odds were not only on the Phillies making the Fall Classic but winning it as well.

With high expectations and even greater aspirations, the Phillies failure will be one that won't soon be forgotten. Time to ask the question "why." Why, if the perfect team was assembled did the Phillies lose? Why if they had four of the best pitchers in baseball could they not even make it past the NLDS? 

7. Shane Victorino's Misplay in Game Four

The Phillies have have been helped in the past few years by their excellent defensive plays. As one of the best fielding teams in baseball, the Phillies lack of errors in the regular season minimized the chances of the other teams getting extras outs to work with. Although the defense played very well for the most part in the NLDS, it was the miscues that ended up costing them in the end.

It wasn't considered an error because he never made contact with the ball. Whether he lost it in the shadows or that he tripped trying to go back is unsure but what is sure is that with two outs in the top of the first, if Victorino makes that play, the Cardinals do not score and the Phillies and Roy Oswalt still have a 2-0 lead going into the second inning.

It is no guarantee that this run scored would end up costing the Phillies the game but we will never know. What we do know however is that without this error, the Phillies are up 2-0 instead of 2-1 and that could have made all the difference.

6. Pitching Oswalt over Worley. Could It Have Been a Costly Mistake?

This might be a what if question that Charlie Manuel has in the back of his mind right now.

What if Vance Worley had pitched Game 4 and not Roy Oswalt?

Normally I hate what ifs because you can't quantify if there would have been a different outcome. However, this what if is very simple. Because the Phillies lost Oswalt's start in which he gave up five runs the outcome of the series could have been different if Worley, and not Oswalt, had the ball for Game 4.

It is a what if worth asking because the outcome could have only gotten better for the Phils. Sure Worley could have pitched three innings and gave up seven runs if he pitched, but even if this did happen the Phillies would have lost anyway because Oswalt lost his actual start.

However, if Worley managed to pitch eight innings and only give up one run, well if that was the case, the Phillies would have led and most likely won game four and instead of going home they would have been moving on to face the Brewers.

5. Chase Utley's Baserunning Overaggressiveness in Game Four

Chase Utley has always been known for his aggressive style of play and his work ethic. He has one of the best base stealing percentages in baseball and at one point went 16-16 without being caught. He has this intelligence that makes up for the fact that he isn't super fast on the base paths. It is this same aggressiveness however that could have cost the Phillies an opportunity to score runs in game four.

Utley had reached base at the top of the 6th inning with a walk. Hunter Pence followed that at bat with a fielder's choice. The ball was hit to the shortstop Rafael Furcal and because it was hard hit, there was only one play and that was at first. Utley who was safe at second and in scoring position for the Phils with what would have been one out.

Instead, Utley saw an opportunity to perhaps make more out of what was there. After briefly pausing at second he continued to try to advance to third. Unfortunately for the Phils, Albert Pujols was aware that he was doing this and managed to throw him out at third.

If Utley does not stop at second for even a second, he may have been safe at third. If that is the case, the Phillies have first and third nobody out and have a great chance to score more runs. If Utley doesn't try for third, then the Phillies have a runner on second with no outs and again would have had an opportunity to score runs. 

4. Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez's Almost Home Runs in Game Five

A little less topspin and a little more wind and Raul Ibanez would have put the Phillies up 3-1 in the do-or-die game five. Ibanez's at bat came at a pivotal time in the game. Carpenter was dealing but the Phillies had runners on base and were threatening to score. Ibanez came up and hit the ball as best he could. It looked like it might go out for a minute but it happened to stay in the air just long enough for it to die short of the seats and land only feet away on the warning tract. A sigh of relief for the Cardinals was a devastating third out for the Phillies.

Chase Utley came up to bat in the 9th inning. He knew he would get a first pitch strike thrown so he swung and he swung well. Utley's balls always leave the park quickly when they do and this one was flying. Just like Ibanez's, it looked good off the bat. It would have been the run that tied that game but just like Ibanez's it landed on the warning tract just shy of the seats. Two outs later and this almost HR would have given the Phils a shot in extra innings.

3. Roy Halladay's First Inning Struggles in Game Five

If you take away the first inning of both of Roy Halladay's starts in the NLDS, he pitched 16 scoreless innings. Unfortunately the first inning can't be forgotten. In Game 1, the Phillies managed to score 11 runs to make up for Halladay's first inning hiccup but in game five, Carpenter held them scoreless.

Halladay did not pitch badly by any stretch of the word.

It was just unfortunate that he gave up the one run that the Cardinals needed to win. Behind Halladay, the Phillies offense was still in the game all the way up until the final out in the 9th inning. He kept the Phillies in the game and if he hadn't given up the early run, Game 5 may have had a different outcome.

2. Cliff Lee's Pitching Performance in Game Two

The script was playing out exactly how the Phillies wanted it to.

Roy Halladay had pitched the team to a game one win and with Lee on the mound, it felt safe to say that the Phillies would be taking a 2-0 lead going into their first game in St. Louis.

Game 2 even started as planned for the Phils. They put up runs early against Chris Carpenter, the Cardinals best pitcher and got him out of the game with a 3-0 lead.

A few innings later however the Cardinals flipped the script. They got to Lee who didn't look like he had his best stuff at all that night. He put the Phillies into a hole that they just couldn't climb out of.

It was a lack of poetic justice for the Phillies, who acquired Lee for the main purpose of getting them back to the World Series. His postseason successes early on made him the most coveted pitcher on the market this year but his recent failures have people questioning his ability to perform in the big game.

Game 2 ended up being a pivotal one for the Phils. If Lee had pitched more of how he did in June or August, well then the Phillies might have advanced to the NLCS and may have done so in a sweep.

1. Ryan Howard's Offensive Disappearance After Game Two

Ryan Howard's ability to still perform at a high level had been questioned going into the 2011 postseason. He had a solid season, but, for the Phils, who just inked the superstar to a blockbuster deal, solid isn't good enough. Howard needed to prove to the Phillies that he could be the guy and for games one and two, that is exactly what he was.

Seen in his typical position in the dugout before at-bats, Howard was so focused and it showed. He was locked on in his at-bats in game one when he blasted a three-run HR to help the Phillies take the lead and eventually win the game. He also contributed two RBIS in the game two loss.

After Game 2 however, Howard really was MIA. His two hits, one HR and six RBIS in the first two games were all that Howard finished with as, at-bat after at-bat, he couldn't muster anything in the Phils final three games.

The lack of production from the superstar directly led to the Phillies loss in the NLDS. In 2008, they needed his production to win, but in 2009, 2010 and now 2011, his postseason numbers dipped and without the power and production from the Phils clean-up hitter, their offense suffered.