<p>Yeah, the Phillies went to the World Series and had the lead in the 9th inning of Game 6 before the Blue Jays hit a walk-off homer to win the series without having to go back to Philly for Game 7.</p>
<p>Of course I want the Phils to get all the way to the Promised Land this year, but if their fate is the same as in '93 I can look forward to a whole lot of joy over the next few weeks. I’ll take that, in a pinch.</p>
<p>(Says someone who grew up as a Buffalo Bills fan . . . lots of practice.)</p>
<p>JHS, I know! I was at that game, and was very conflicted because I grew up in South Jersey and had gone to Phillies games since I was very young, but have lived most of my adult life in Toronto. It was a fun night of baseball, that’s for sure.</p>
<p>I don’t know a lot about this year’s Phillies but from what I’ve read in the past few days, they’re a much better team than they were in '93. Maybe it’s their year.</p>
<p>I don’t know that this year’s Phillies are a better team than the '93 team. This year’s bunch are a lot nicer, and much more polite, and a good deal less vivid. I doubt they drink or smoke anywhere near as much. They are probably better offensively from top to bottom of the order. But their pitching is questionable to say the least. The '93 Phils actually had very good pitching (something that was obscured by the fact that the Atlanta Braves of that era may have had the best pitching rotation in history). And, unlike this year’s Phils who won their division thanks to a historic collapse by the Mets, the '93 Phils won early and often, and led the division wire-to-wire.</p>
<p>(I just looked up the ‘93 Phillies’ stats. I hadn’t remembered that they, like this year’s team, led the NL in most important offensive categories. The key offensive statistics for both teams are actually remarkably similar, although if you just looked at the stats for the second half of the season I’m sure this year’s team would be significantly better. The pitching wasn’t quite as good as I remembered, although the team ERA was 6th in the NL, vs. 13th for this year’s team. They had a stable rotation throughout the year – there were only ten games all year with a starter who started less than 28 games (vs. 72 this year) – and only a handful of saves by anyone other than the #1 closer (vs. 50% of them). This year was very, very different: Only one starting pitcher made it through the year without missing a significant number of starts, two of the projected playoff starters (and a key reliever) weren’t even with the team at the All-Star break (one was in AA then), and there have been so many closers I lost count. 1993: 24 complete games by pitchers, three starters had 7 apiece. 2007: 5 complete games, only one pitcher had as many as 2.)</p>
<p>The ‘93 Jays were a stronger team than today’s. I don’t think they’ve had seven All-Stars on the team since that year. The pitching staff today is one which, if healthy and kept intact, should be a good one for the future. Halladay had a great season even with inconsistent support and a month off for an emergency appendectomy. His seven complete games beats the record for many entire teams’ pitching staffs. </p>
<p>I hope the Phillies do well. I remember the excitement in the city during the Flyers Stanley Cup years and the Philly fans would certainly enjoy a World Series win. If I’m not mistaken, it’s been a long time since any of the major sports teams has won a title. Off to watch the game!</p>
<p>Phils are down…hope they can turn it around…especially given that they have their ace on the mound.
So, when I have time, I also follow the Eagles and Penn State football…not much fun these days!
GO PHILLIES!!<br>
BTW, Aaron Rowand kinda reminds of a guy who would be on the 93 team. Gritty, blue-collar type who LOVES a dirty helmet. More polite that any of those 93 guys though.</p>
<p>Galway - NY and Philly - hmmm<br>
I actually have two teams in my long history - the 69 Mets and the 93 Phillies (wow - how old am I?) Only difference is that the Phillies couldn’t pull it out. Hopefully, they can figure it out this time.
I can’t believe I actually root for the Phillies over the Mets now - but lots of years in this town changes things…</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m from Philly, H is from NY, we live in Red Sox/Patriots country and are diehard UCONN basketball fans.
My s is a real sports fan mongrel.</p>
<p>Yep - (its about the same kind of curse as getting the Heismann trophy). So sorry for the pain though - sure sign though that Baseball is NOT Dead.</p>
<p>Oh…this is no fun. We taped the game because my H is traveling on business and he wanted to watch it when he came home. The pilot blurted out the Phillies score…saves us a couple hours of pain I guess. Mesa?? Are you kidding me?</p>
<p>I think I learned something new tonight. Third dropped strike rule… in Pro’s is this a “do-over?” I thought the batter can run and still be put out. </p>
<p>Edit: Nevermind. Maybe it was a foul tip that got dropped and my eyes were confusing me. I’ll ask someone tomorrow. It was the Red Sox game. Nevermind (it’s getting late for me).</p>
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