Philadelphia Phillies: 2007-2011 run of dominance was disappointing

The Philadelphia Phillies managed to capture five straight NL East titles from 2007 and 2011 (and haven’t been back to the postseason since!), but the fact that they only won a single World Series still stings a decade later.

Far be it from me look back on the first championship team that I saw in my lifetime, the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies, and ultimately feel unfulfilled in what they gave me as a fan. But the fact is, that particular group of core players was good enough that should have produced multiple championships, and I always find myself shaking my head that they didn’t.

More from Philadelphia Phillies

• The Real Reason Behind Trea Turner’s Recent Hot Streak
• VIDEO: Bryce Harper Hustles for Inside-the-Park Home Run vs. Giants
• Phillies Fans Let Ex-Manager Gabe Kapler Hear It in First Inning
• Andrew Knapp Finds New MLB Home With AL Contender
• VIDEO: Phillies Send Touching Message to Media Little League Team Before World Series

Don’t get me wrong; 2008 was great. That Phillies team looked like it was primed to take the next step after a quick playoff ouster in 2007, but I don’t think anyone had them realistically pegged as a World Series winner. A darkhorse contender, maybe, but winning when it wasn’t expected made it all the more sweet. The 2017 Eagles gave us further proof of this concept.

But once you’re the top dog, the pressure to stay there builds. And those subsequent Phillies teams, while better on paper, never could replicate October (or November) success. A quick reminder of how the Phillies fared in the postseasons following their five consecutive NL East regular season titles:

• 2007: Swept in first round (3-0) by Rockies
• 2008: Won World Series (11-3 playoff record)
• 2009: Defeated Rockies and Dodgers, lost World Series (4-2) to Yankees
• 2010: Swept Reds (3-0), lost NLCS (4-2) to Cody Ross Giants
• 2011: Lost first round (3-2) to Cardinals

The Phillies crested early with the ’08 championship, then finished with progressively worse results for three straight years, missing the playoffs in 2012 and failing to return for the rest of the decade. And let me tell you, these years of failure would be a lot easier to deal with if the Phillies had done what they should have. Namely, win it all in 2009 and 2011.

And I don’t even mean in addition to 2008. MLB could have that year back for all I care if the Phillies, who were actually the best team in baseball in 2009 and 2011, could have finished the job in those years. Let’s look at the two of them.

2009

The Phillies’ rotation again included Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton, but they had upgraded from Brett Myers/Jamie Moyer the previous year to Cliff Lee/Pedro Martinez for the 2009 playoffs. Even with Pedro on his last legs, it was a significantly better group overall. Raul Ibanez was also giving the Phillies more in left field at that point than Pat Burrell had been in 2008.

The whole offense, with maybe only the exception of Jimmy Rollins, had seasons that were as good or better than what they posted in 2008. They pasted L.A. in the NLCS for the second year in a row, although the Dodgers and their fans are such babies that they’re probably still filing lawsuits about it to overturn the result. That left only the Yankees to overcome.

That 2009 Yankees team had a loaded offense, but their pitching was running on fumes. They were down to a 3-man rotation, spearheaded by CC Sabathia, whom the Phillies had bested in the 2008 playoffs during his brief stint with Milwaukee. After him were the uninspiring (future Phil!) A.J. Burnett and the elderly, post-PED Andy Pettitte.

But they don’t play the games on paper, and the Phils’ offense (aside from Chase Utley, who tied the home run record for a single World Series with five bombs) went cold. They’d lose to the Joe Girardi-led Yanks, a result that might have informed their decision to hire the man a decade later.

2011

The Phillies comfortably had the best record in baseball, as they won 102 games even despite a meaningless 8-game losing streak late in the season while they were resting players. But they dumbly swept the playoff-hopeful Braves in the final series of the season, which opened the door for the Cardinals to make it.

St. Louis looked like a classic “lying in the weeds team”, and even though the Phillies took the initial game of the series, things turned around in Game 2. I was at the ballpark that night as the Phils went up 4-0 in the second inning. It looked like the whole series was going to be a rout. But they frittered that lead away, and the Cards came back to win the game 5-4.

The Phillies were victorious in a Game 3 that I remember nothing about but they lost Game 4, basically, because of a squirrel. That set the stage for an epic Game 5, winner-take-all showdown between former teammates Chris Carpenter and Roy Halladay.

But despite Doc pitching perhaps the game of his life (yes, even including his no-hitter and perfect game the previous season), they lost 1-0, the bitterest pill that Phillies fans have ever been forced to collectively swallow. Add Ryan Howard’s career-altering injury on top of that, and it was a game and a series from which the franchise still has not recovered.

2008 feels like nothing but a fun bit of nostalgia now, but imagine if those deserving Phillies teams in 2009 and 2011 had actually come out on top. It’s the kind of thing that I personally still obsess over, even more so at a time like this when I have no actual games to watch.