Too old to win?

Are the Phillies really too old? When the calendar changed from 2011, a year when they won a franchise record 102 games before losing to a buzzsaw of a team in the St. Louis Cardinals, to 2012, did Father Time really take a punishing toll on them? Or is something else the root cause for the disappointing first half of the 2012 season.

You might say, “It doesn’t matter why the stink, they stink, this year’s over, when do the Birds report to Lehigh?” But you’d be wrong, very wrong. Because deciding whether or not the Phillies are truly old decides what happens next with the franchise.

I find it hard to believe that suddenly the Phillies rolled out of bed, and all of a sudden were too old to play the game of baseball effectively.  Imagine for a moment if you will the following scenario.  One night your wife goes to bed looking like Scarlett Johannson. You wake up the next day to Betty White serving you a breakfast of muesilix and a hand full of pills to take. Hard to imagine, right? Well so is the best team in baseball one year turning into a group more suited for the Senior Games the next year.

As a competitive runner about to turn 36, I know firsthand what aging feels like. I wake up and muscles and joints hurt in places that I didn’t know existed before. But I also know, that-without the benefit of the world’s best trainers and equipment-I’ve been able to stay relatively close to the top of my game. So yes Chase Utley is 33, and Ryan Howard 31, and Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay are each closer to retirement than they are to their rookie year. And each of these four key figures have played large roles in the Phillies lack of success. Or more accurately, their lack of playing large roles has been a key component of their downfall.  Claiming that the Phillies are too old, however, is saying that these four, and others like Victorino, Rollins, Ruiz, etc won’t be effective ballplayers in 2013 and beyond. Personally, I don’t believe that’s true. Will they be as good as they ever were? Probably not. Will they still be capable of churning out the type of performances necessary for playoff runs. I think so.

Why then have the 2012 Phillies taken the 2011 Eagles place as most disappointing team in a loooooong time?  A myriad of answers would have to include injuries, untimely hitting, poor bullpen, and poor planning.

Utley, Howard, Halladay, Cliff Lee  have all spent time on the DL. While Utley’s injury is an age-related one, Howard should be full strength in 2013, Cliff Lee will most likely pitch like, well Cliff Lee in 2013, and bet against Roy Halladay at your own risk, and don’t ask me for any money.

The Phillies bullpen has been historically bad. Bad like the Eagles pass defense. Bad like the Flyers goaltending since Ron Hextall left. Bad like the Sixers scoring ability last year. Bad, bad, bad. This fact goes hand-in-hand with the poor planning. Ruben Amaro went into 2012 counting on a 40-year old Jose Contreras coming off an injury, Michael Stutes, who lost effectiveness as 2011 continued, Antonio Bastardo, who went from great to awful last year, and Chad Qualls, who hadn’t pitched well outside of San Diego in years.  Maybe the $1.5 million given to Jim Thome could have been used on another proven bullpen arm. Maybe Amaro didn’t need to overspend on Papelbon? Perhaps a cheaper closer and two setup men would have been more effective?

Hunter Pence has been the poster child for untimely hitting this year. He also is one of the few Phillies still looking up at thirty, though just barely. Untimely hitting is a malady that can strike any age ballplayer, and this year seems to have struck any Phillie without a nickname that rhymes with smooch.

How Ruben Amaro answers the question “Are the Phillies too old to win?” will determine the direction of the franchise. Yes, some retooling is necessary to avoid a repeat of this year. But a complete firesale and we could be looking at a return to another dark age of Phillies baseball. Are we really ready to say goodbye to the most successful run in franchise history? Add a young, offensively gifted third baseman, a quality outfielder and a few competent bullpen arms and the Phillies can challenge for NL East supremacy again. Remember the 2008 Yankees missed the playoffs, and came back to win the World Series in 2009. With the oldest team in baseball.