PHILADELPHIA — As the Mets sit staring at a winter of difficult decisions, the Phillies sit one win away from their second straight World Series, in the middle of what could be a long run of dominance in the NL East.
The Phils have won the last three NL East crowns and there is no indication their stranglehold over the division is going to fade anytime soon.
Consider this: All of the Phillies’ core players are locked up through next year, and most of them have contracts through at least 2011. Everyday players Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino are all 30 years old or younger. So are pitchers Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, J.A. Happ and Ryan Madson.
The unexpected can always happen in baseball — just ask the 2009 Mets — but if their players can stay healthy and continue to perform as they have in recent years, the Phillies could be the new Braves of the NL East, winners of 14 straight division titles.
“I think how you win for many years, you keep a lot of your core players together and you try to keep the chemistry and attitude,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “I am definitely a chemistry guy . . . I think that there’s got to be some turnover at times and you’ve always got to be working on strengthening your weaknesses. As long as you do that and you keep your core players, I think that’s how you have a [good] team for a long time.”
The Phillies seem to have a bit of every ingredient necessary to win in their clubhouse. They have the power of Howard and Utley, the speed of Rollins and Victorino, the pitching of Hamels and Lee and role players like Carlos Ruiz and Werth. Throw in an effective Madson and Brad Lidge in the bullpen and it’s hard to find a weakness.
No team has repeated as World Series champions since the 2000 Yankees, and no team has been back to the World Series the year after winning since the 2001 Yanks. Dodgers skipper Joe Torre saw those teams up close as their manager and sees some similar traits in these Phillies.
“The main thing about Philadelphia is how resilient they’ve been,” Torre said. “Early in the year this year they didn’t win any games at home. It didn’t seem to bother them. They just kept plugging away. I think that’s why they’re so good. Not to mention the talent they have.
“When you look down that lineup, a couple of switch hitters at the top and then a couple of left-handers and then Werth who’s that blue-collar guy, you may compare him a little bit to Casey Blake type of individual, they’re going to fight you every step of the way. They’re a ballclub that has a purpose — they have a purpose out there, and we certainly are aware of it.”