"They outplayed us," said lefthander Cliff Lee. "They deserved it. It's hard to take, but they were better than us this year. It is what it is. You have to tip your cap to them."
Said righthander Brett Myers: "Why did they win? I really couldn't tell you. Maybe the ball was just rolling their way. It's tough to swallow but there's not very much we can do. They played well. They beat us."
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. has talked openly about the role that luck can play in being the last team standing, especially in avoiding injuries.
The Phillies were able to sidestep crippling injuries in 2008. This year, they lost No. 2 starter Myers early to hip surgery. He made what seemed like a miraculous recovery and appeared poised to help the team out of the bullpen, when he was sidelined again with a sore shoulder.
Cole Hamels had elbow issues in spring training and never found his stride. J.C. Romero was absent for the first 50 games for violating baseball's steroids policy, came back, then was lost for the season with a strained forearm.
Not having Romero in the postseason meant that Rookie of the Year J.A. Happ had to be used out of the bullpen in the playoffs.
Jamie Moyer pitched his way out of the rotation and then required surgery to repair torn groin muscles that ended his season. And, of course, Brad Lidge had more knee problems in spring training and went on to blow 11 saves once the season started.
Adding Lee and Pedro Martinez helped them paper over some of those issues. They survived the first two rounds of the playoffs. But the rotation was still thin and the bullpen discombobulated.
"At one time, around the All-Star break, I thought we had the best starting pitching we've had since I've been here," said manager Charlie Manuel. "But we ended up having to patch it together.
