Gonzo: Phillies good (but not great) year ends with loss

NEW YORK - When the last out was recorded, Yankee Stadium shook from the energy. A deep, primal howl reverberated from the stands. It was the sound of victory, of ultimate triumph - sweet music to the locals, pure pain to Philadelphians.

The Yankees won their 27th championship last night and celebrated in full view of thousands of sickeningly happy New Yorkers. It was a difficult thing to watch.

Back in Philly, after the Fightin's won Game 5, I had a conversation with a stadium worker at Citizen's Bank Park. The guy is a loyal Phils fan, and he hoped they would pull off the two-game sweep in the Bronx. But he also knew it would be difficult, and he acknowledged the possibility of failure. In so doing, he summed up how a lot of people probably feel today.

"It would be tough - not calling them 'the World Champs' anymore," he whispered.

Like the Roots famously said, "It don't feel right."

The Phils were the best team in all of baseball last year, and this season only one club was better. That's an astounding feat.

But as good as the Phils were - and they were truly terrific, even though things didn't ultimately work out the way any of us wanted - this season didn't carry quite the same vibe that saturated the city last year. Something was just . . . off.

Forget about the regular season record - 2009 wasn't nearly as smooth as 2008. Brad Lidge struggled, and so did much of the bullpen. Cole Hamels wasn't the same dominant pitcher that crushed the Dodgers in the National League Championship Series and dismissed the Rays in the World Series. Charlie had to tinker more. And Harry Kalas, may he rest in peace, left us.

It felt as though almost everything went right a year ago - while, this season, it was more like the Phils kept pushing toward their final destination even though the road they traveled was lousy with potholes. When the series was tied at a game apiece in Tampa last year, there was a sense of inevitability. When the series was tied at a game apiece in the Bronx, the outcome seemed less certain.