The 2009 World Series Post Mortem
It would be easy to think today is a bitch of a day in southeastern Pennsylvania, especially if you’re a Philadelphia Phillies fan.
We could analyze the Phillies performance in Game 6 of the World Series ad nauseum. We could point fingers at the inconsistent pitching and season end hitting slumps that plagued more than one member of the Philadelphia bench. That would be unfair; to put it bluntly, the Phils were out-pitched and out-batted last night in the Bronx.
Yet, it would be easy to offer a middle finger salute to every Yankees fan we encounter today.
No, that would be expressing our disappointment while taking the low road. You know the path I’m talking about, dear readers. It is that path shrouded in negativity, buffeted by the cold, harsh winds of bitter recriminations and strewn with sour grapes. Like making lemonade from the lemons life hands us, so too we can make something positive of these grapes. We can crush and ferment them so that we will one day bear the fruit of a wonderful vintage which may yield a full-bodied, perhaps heart-healthy elixir of hope.
Oh, the hell with it! Let’s get this out of our system and trample on those grapes!
It would be easy to photoshop the face of Rupert Murdoch onto the bikini-clad body of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, much like the hack jobs his beloved New York Post did to Phillies Shane Victorino and Pedro Martinez.
It would be easy to speculate how soon Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and catcher Jorge Posada will announce their engagement, given all the mound conferences they held in one of the World Series games in Philadelphia.
It would be easy to do all these things to release our pent up frustration at the disappointing end of the 2009 World Series...but we shouldn’t always go the easy route.
All right, time to take the high road because, theoretically, it is closer to heaven. Never mind that this path can take us into altitudes where the air is thinner and, therefore, more difficult to breathe. It is still the right thing to do.
To the Yankees: congratulations on winning your 27th World Series. You proved to be a worthy opponent of our Fightin’ Phillies.
To the Phillies: thank you for a wonderful, awesome season. Many of us are grateful that your efforts resulted in the first back-to-back World Series appearances in franchise history. While there will be no trophy or victory parade this year, you did nonetheless win a moral victory in standing up to the Yankees, the team with the best won-loss record for the 2009 season. You earned this season’s accomplishments through grit, determination, and hard work. Your victories were not bought. Okay, so maybe I took the road in the middle...
Hey Phillies, let’s do it again next year!
(Thank you for reading. Remember that a loss doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. We’ll always have 2008!)
We could analyze the Phillies performance in Game 6 of the World Series ad nauseum. We could point fingers at the inconsistent pitching and season end hitting slumps that plagued more than one member of the Philadelphia bench. That would be unfair; to put it bluntly, the Phils were out-pitched and out-batted last night in the Bronx.
Yet, it would be easy to offer a middle finger salute to every Yankees fan we encounter today.
No, that would be expressing our disappointment while taking the low road. You know the path I’m talking about, dear readers. It is that path shrouded in negativity, buffeted by the cold, harsh winds of bitter recriminations and strewn with sour grapes. Like making lemonade from the lemons life hands us, so too we can make something positive of these grapes. We can crush and ferment them so that we will one day bear the fruit of a wonderful vintage which may yield a full-bodied, perhaps heart-healthy elixir of hope.
Oh, the hell with it! Let’s get this out of our system and trample on those grapes!
It would be easy to photoshop the face of Rupert Murdoch onto the bikini-clad body of a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, much like the hack jobs his beloved New York Post did to Phillies Shane Victorino and Pedro Martinez.
It would be easy to speculate how soon Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and catcher Jorge Posada will announce their engagement, given all the mound conferences they held in one of the World Series games in Philadelphia.
It would be easy to do all these things to release our pent up frustration at the disappointing end of the 2009 World Series...but we shouldn’t always go the easy route.
All right, time to take the high road because, theoretically, it is closer to heaven. Never mind that this path can take us into altitudes where the air is thinner and, therefore, more difficult to breathe. It is still the right thing to do.
To the Yankees: congratulations on winning your 27th World Series. You proved to be a worthy opponent of our Fightin’ Phillies.
To the Phillies: thank you for a wonderful, awesome season. Many of us are grateful that your efforts resulted in the first back-to-back World Series appearances in franchise history. While there will be no trophy or victory parade this year, you did nonetheless win a moral victory in standing up to the Yankees, the team with the best won-loss record for the 2009 season. You earned this season’s accomplishments through grit, determination, and hard work. Your victories were not bought. Okay, so maybe I took the road in the middle...
Hey Phillies, let’s do it again next year!
(Thank you for reading. Remember that a loss doesn’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. We’ll always have 2008!)
posted by todd gunther | 6:40 PM
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