There are only two National League teams that have bettered the Phils in the playoffs during the last four autumns. They swept the Rockies, who took them out in the opening round in 2007, and won three of four from the Giants, who upset them in the NLCS last year.
Then they capped it off by brooming the Dodgers, who were their final hurdle to the World Series in both 2008 and '09.
That's pretty heady stuff. And not because having some regular-season success against the ghosts of postseasons past is a big whoop. It's not. Because it's a reminder that they've sustained excellence for a while now . . . and how hard it is to do that.
Those '07 Rockies looked like an ascendant team. The lineup was anchored by stalwarts Todd Helton and Matt Holliday and augmented by up-and-coming prospects like Troy Tulowitzki, Garrett Atkins and Brad Hawpe. Jeff Francis, 26, and Ubaldo Jimenez, 23, formed the basis for a solid rotation. Talented prospects like Dexter Fowler, Jhoulys Chacin and Jorge de la Rosa were working their way through the farm system.
Colorado made it all the way to the World Series before being swept by the Red Sox. It has won just one playoff game since, after slipping into the postseason as a wild card in 2009.
The Giants' 2010 marketing campaign was "It's Magic Inside" and they rode that abracadabra all the way to the first world championship since the franchise moved to San Francisco in 1958.
They can't be counted out, not as long as Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum are in the rotation, but this year's club needs sorcery more than ever. Shortstop Jose Uribe left as a free agent. Catcher Buster Posey and second baseman Freddy Sanchez are out for the season with injuries. To this point, Andres Torres, Aubrey Huff, Cody Ross and Pat Burrell haven't had nearly the same impact. Even trading for Carlos Beltran at the deadline hasn't sparked the offense, at least not yet.
Just a year ago, they hit 162 home runs. So far this season: 75.
