Philadelphia Phillies Continue Their Quiet Journey

The Philadelphia Phillies have very quietly made their way to the NLCS for the first time since 1993. Just how did the Fightin' Phils accomplish this stealth mission? They basically stayed out of the headline's for most of the season and played ball.

Some of the top stories coming out of Spring Training this year were: Joe Torre's departure from the Bronx and what effect would he have as skipper of the Dodgers. Would Barry Bonds find a home? East Coasters were still baffled by the Mets' '07 meltdown. Were the Detroit Tigers capable of scoring 1,000 runs with their new lineup? And finally, the final 81 games at Yankee Stadium.

By midseason, some things had changed and some stayed the same. Were the Rays for real? Could the Cubbies finally exorcise 100 years of misery? Barry still hadn't found a place to play. Julio Franco, who was playing for the Phillies' class-A Peninsula Pilots in 1980 (the year that the Phillies won their only pennant), was not on a major-league roster for the fist time since 1982.

Maybe the most touching midseason story was Josh Hamilton's remarkable comeback from the depths of hell. Meanwhile, the Phillies were hanging in there, with a record of 52-44 at the break.

As the 2008 regular season wound down, some of the stories became: When would the Rays finally self-destruct? Man-Ram's bum knee suddenly heals in the California sun. The Detroit Tigers squeaked out 821 runs and were shut out 13 times.

While all of this was going on, the Phillies were in a seesaw battle with the Mets for first place in the N.L. East and were bouncing between first and second place in the wild-card race. All of this was done without making any major player moves.

On July 1, pitcher Brett Myers was sent to the minor leagues for 22 days to work on his mechanics. Closer Brad Lidge was given a three-year contract extension on July 7, and Matt Stairs was signed on Aug. 30 as a power boost.

In some cases, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In this case, the Phils won 13 out of their last 16 games while the Mets drew all the media attention for having yet another meltdown. (Sorry Mets fan.)

Along the way, the Phillies hit 214 homers, had a .255 team batting average, and a team era of .388. Ryan Howard led the majors in home runs (48) and RBI.

Can this be the year that the Phillies crush the demons of 1993 and finally forget about Mitch Williams' pitch to Joe Carter? Is this the year that Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell, and Cole Hamels walk side-by-side with the heroes of 1980: Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, and Steve Carlton? 

Look up 1980 NLCS and you will find arguably the greatest playoff series of all time, the Phillies and Astros put on a week-long show, not short on extra-inning game. Let's all hope that the Dodgers and Phillies can treat us to some more of that "old time classic playoff baseball."