Pat Burrell. Jayson Werth. Pedro Feliz. Jamie Moyer. Brett Myers. Brad Lidge. Ryan Madson. J.C. Romero. J.A. Happ. Chad Durbin. Scott Eyre. Clay Condrey. Chris Coste. Eric Bruntlett. Greg Dobbs. So Taguchi. Geoff Jenkins. Matt Stairs.
Save for the familiar infield, the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies really don't resemble the WFC's of 2008. Still, there's been enough continuity that 2007 through July 2012 has all felt like part of the same run. And that's why this trade deadline has looked so ominous for so many weeks.
In reality, the Phillies are a much different team now as compared to then and many of the speculated moves they could make involve players who weren't parading in the first place, with the exception of one very notable individual. But there's just something about this weekend, a feeling, even if its misguided, that these Phils as we know them are about to change in spite of the fact that they already have.
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For the next three days, they control their own fate. If they want to stay together through next Tuesday, now is the time to show it.
John Finger did a great job yesterday providing a brief refresher on just how the Phillies have stuck it to the Atlanta Braves the past two Septembers in a row. Now, of course, the Braves have the chance to return the favor a good month and a half to two months ahead of schedule.
The general narrative surrounding this three-game set at Turner Field, and the narrative Finger spelled out in that same article above, goes something like this:
-- If the Phillies can win the series, especially in decisive fashion, it could be enough to convince Ruben Amaro, Jr. to keep the team together over the next two months or even buy at the deadline in the hope of winning the second wild card, earning a one-game play-in opportunity, and hoping to scare everyone in October.
-- And if they lose, especially in decisive fashion, then it's time to sit down, pick up the phone and begin the 2013 baseball season.
There is certainly an argument to be made, an argument I rather like, an argument that makes sense in my head, that this weekend really shouldn't matter in the grand scheme of things. The centerfielder really should be traded regardless of what happens. The rightfielder and the other lefthanded ace really should be on the block and available for the right price.
But then there's this group that managed to recapture this city's love affair with baseball for the first time since the mid-to-early '90s. There's this thing they can do when they're behind in games, and it generates a genuinely unmatchable level of excitement and joy and pride and fun.
It's irrational to make an honest argument that this team should hold steady through next Tuesday out of the belief that they really can get hot, that they really can make the run, that they really will steamroll everyone when the weather gets cold and we're left with Buck and McCarver and, briefly, Sager. They can't. They won't. They really shouldn't try.
But if there's any group who can do it -- look at Chooch's intensity after ripping a bases-clearing double, watch Ryan talk up everyone in the dugout before putting his head down on his bat, see the smile on Jimmy's face when they somehow pull it off -- it's this group.
Take a good look at the 2012 Phillies you really haven't had a chance to watch this season. Come Wednesday Aug. 1, you might not be able to see them like you used to. Somebody else's name could be added to the list in italics.
Tonight's Pitching Matchup
Well, if it isn't Mr. Moneybags -- Cole Hamels, the man who definitely isn't going anywhere, makes his first start since signing his extension and will get the weekend going for the Phils. Hamels is 11-4 this year with a 3.23 ERA, 1.122 WHIP and $144 million contract. In three starts in the month of July, two have been not so good and one has been really good. Here's to hoping the new deal settles and refocuses him, because it has to be hard not to think about all he probably has on the mound since mid-June. Against the Braves lifetime, Cole is 11-6 with a 3.69 and and 1.204, but those numbers rise (4.06, 1.311) at Turner.
He'll be opposed by 34-year-old Ben Sheets, who has spent two of the past three seasons out of baseball because of injury. Sheets is 2-0 in two six-inning starts with a 0.00 ERA. The Phils have not seen him since a four-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers in Sept. 2008, shortly before the two clubs' NLDS series. He'll kick things off at 7:35 p.m.
Roster Moves
Placido Polanco placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday (retroactive to July 23) with lower back inflammation.
Kevin Frandsen has had his contract selected to fill Polanco's spot on the roster.
Charlie's 7/27 Lineup
1. Rollins, SS
2. Victorino, CF
3. Utley, 2B
4. Howard, 1B
5. Ruiz, C
6. Pence, RF
7. Pierre, LF
8. Fontenot, 3B
9. Hamels, P
We'll see you postgame.