Almost nobody would argue that Ryan Howard hasn't eclipsed all his predecessors as the best first baseman in team history, that Chase Utley has done the same at second, ditto Jimmy Rollins at shortstop. Sorry about that, Pete Rose, Manny Trillo and Larry Bowa.
Robin Roberts was the consensus as the best righthanded starter. Fair enough. But Roy Halladay, in just his second year with the team, is every bit as dominant now as Roberts was in his heyday. The lefty starter was Lefty, of course. But while Cole Hamels might never win four Cy Youngs like Steve Carlton did, he might already be right behind the first-ballot Hall of Famer in Phillies history. And Cliff Lee lacks only tenure in red pinstripes to be included in that discussion.
Carlos Ruiz could easily push Bob Boone's spot as the best catcher before it's all over, too.
This is both good and bad news, of course.
It's a tribute that the Phillies have managed to construct a roster full of All-Stars and that even includes their all-time elite at a handful of positions.
The worry is that almost all these players are 30 or older. They're closer to the end than the beginning. And if putting a nucleus like this together was easy, well, ya gotta believe it wouldn't have taken them 129 years to figure it out.
So the question of how much longer the Phillies can extend their magic carpet ride is inevitable. Dynasties ain't what they used to be in professional sports. Parity rules and even baseball, with no formal salary cap, has made strides toward leveling the playing field.
