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Phillies Baseball...what a Great Phillies World Series Win

The Phillies Baseball Club took home the prize of 2008 World Series Baseball Champions and the pitching of Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer was for me the difference maker of the World Series. Going into the series I thought that the Tampa Bay Rays pitching would be too strong. On paper most felt that the Rays would win the match ups of Matt Garza vs. Jamie Moyer and Andy Sonnanstine vs. Joe Blanton, with Kazmir and Shields winning a game each, but it didn't pan out that way.

Both Moyer and Blanton are not renowned for throwing strikeouts yet combined they managed to strike out twelve Tampa Bay rays batters over 12 innings of pitching. When you couple that with the fact they only walked three batters between the two of them it was no wonder the Phillies where able to win both games. Not just against Blanton and Moyer but through out the series the Rays top order seemed to be rushing too much and not waiting for the ideal pitch. The allowed Blanton and Moyer to get ahead, and you just can't afford to do that against those two as their off speed pitches become more powerful.

Unfortunately for the Rays the bats got cold during the World Series. This was a surprise after they where able to overpower the White sox and the Red Sox in the previous two match ups with their bats. During the World Series the Phillies hit nine home runs to the Rays four. Luckily for the Phillies this helped overcome their poor hitting with runners in scoring position.

I thought Cole Hamles was a worthy MVP recipient after his awesome pitching performances in Games 1 and 5 against Rays ace Scott Kazmir. The fact that Kazmir was unable to win either of those two match ups was another key reason for the Phillies winning it all. Moyer and Blanton clearly required recognition as they, for me, where the two players that stood up during the key middle stages of the series.

Questions will always be asked did the Rays choke on the big stage or where they simply just out played. When a team doesn't lose a post season game at home they are going to be pretty tough to beat and when you look back at all three opponents for the Phillies their pitching was dominant.

So now the question gets asked can the Phillies Baseball Club repeat? Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge are staying put and with Ryan Howard , Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins also coming back you would have to raise a case that the Phillies have enough pieces in place to be more than a one season wonder. Statistically the Phillies will be up against it as only the Blue Jays and Yankees have repeated in the last thirty years.

Only Pat Burrell and Jamie Moyer will be free agents in the off season. Both will probably get bigger offers to play somewhere else but the lure of Moyer finishing hise career in the town he grew up in may give him a reason to stay for less.

The Phillies will have a tough job of keeping their payroll at $104.5 million with players such as Howard, Hamels, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Ryan Madsen and Chad Durbin all eligible for arbitration.

At the beginning of 2008 the players made a statement by walking around the clubhouse during spring training wearing t shirts that stated “Winning Starts Now”. The mindset was clearly where it needed to be for the Phillies from start until finish in 2008. The question will now be asked.

Can they do it again in 09?

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