I'll be the first to admit that I think the Phillies are the best team in the NL, and probably all of major league baseball. However, the best team doesn't always win, or even make it to, the World Series. A lot of things need to go right for that to happen. Injuries need to be minimized and key players need to step up.
Is anyone else concerned about the lofty expectations placed on this team and the kind of affect it could have on their season? What about the fan base? How will they react to anything less than a World Series appearance or title?
I can't remember a Philly team going into a season with so much hype. I can't even come up with a close second. This team has garnered so much attention (nationally and locally) because it's a team filled with proven offensive talent and one of the best pitching staffs ever assembled, at least on paper.
Jimmy Rollins recently predicted that this team would win 100 games and contend for the all time record in games won by a team in a single season. While I love when Jimmy comes out with his annual predictions/trash talk in spring training, I think this just shows how high expectations really are this year. I'm not saying this team isn't capable of winning 100 games, they certainly are. Most fans are expecting 100 wins and a World Series title. When expectations are that high the disappointment can be huge.
This has never been a team that looks ahead or coasts through the regular season, but with the media and all the fans already looking forward to October, could this team be looking ahead? I don't know the answer to that, but I know it is a concern. Charlie Manuel addressed the team before full squad spring training began, a main point he wanted to get across to his team was to take this season one game at a time. He said that this team can't look to October, no team can. They need to look at April 1st and then April 2nd and so on. With the talent that they have on the roster, Charlie knows it will be easy to look forward to October. Can thay avoid that trap? Ultimately I think they can and will, but that doesn't mean it doesn't concern me.
Tony!! You have a blog!! :o)
ReplyDeleteI think that those are valid points...but honestly, short of injuries, I don't think there's much that can stop this team. If they come out with their bats warmed up, they'll crush April 1, April 2, July 12, August 23 and October!!
I'm a blogger now!
ReplyDeleteYeah I'm with you, I'm just tempering expectations for myself. Ultimately I think they're winning the division. I just feel expectations are so high that anything less than a World Series victory will be a huge dissapointment. I don't think this team will fall into that trap of looking ahead though, but I think the fans already have. I guess that's what fans do and it's part of the fun of being a fan. Luckily we're not playing the games or running the team.
I don't think the players worry about that kind of stuff, but you're right the fans and especially the media have and it's already driving me nuts. Just enjoy the ride! The one thing to be prepared for is the complete over-reaction when this team might lose 3 or 4 in a row or Lee gives up 7 runs or this minor Utley knee thing going on right now. I'm not worried, I'm just enjoying the ride, but I hear ya. Adding fuel to the fire here, Werth needs to stop talking....
ReplyDeletehttp://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies_zone/Werth_I_hate_the_Phillies.html