THEY WERE happy to get to the playoffs. They overcame so much. So, how to get back?
In the aftermath of a three-game playoff sweep at the hands of the Rockies, the Phillies reflected and projected that they needed to do the following:
1. Get better starting pitching
2. Fix third base (finally)
3. Figure out Aaron Rowand's situation
4. Shore up the bullpen
5. Give Charlie Manuel security
Over the next four pages, we'll dissect how the team did in fulfilling its five offseason goals to improve its chances on the field, and follow that with a look at how the team's first trip to the playoffs since 1993 has translated into a likability among its fans.
Right now, the Manuel task appears to be the only concrete success on their laundry list. The rest remain rather large questions.
SAME OLD SITUATION.
Listen carefully to the rampant qualifiers in general manager Pat Gillick's assessment of moving Brett Myers from the closer role back to the rotation:
"We didn't want to move Brett back into the rotation. The quality of the starting pitching that was available in the free-agent market, we didn't think we were going to be able to fill our needs . . .
"We moved Brett; we thought Brett was a better starting pitcher than any of the options that were presented to us."
That doesn't necessarily mean that Myers was better than any other starter on the market; it means Myers was better than any other pitcher the Phillies could have acquired via trade or free agency.
It means that, with Johan Santana, Eric Bedard, Tom Glavine, Kenny Rogers and Andy Pettitte uninterested, unacquirable or overpriced, the Phillies ranked Myers ahead of say, Biggest Loser poster child Jon Lieber, second-half savior Kyle Lohse (Scott Boras' latest overpricing casualty) and Carlos Silva, whom the Mariners believe will become a winner after two straight seasons of proving the opposite.
Myers was 25-15 with a 3.81 earned-run average in 65 starts in 2005 and 2006.
However, his admitted inability to focus on every pitch in every start, combined with an inability to control his weight through a full season, kept Myers from achieving that No. 1 starter potential the Phillies counted on.
