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Only one team is happy at the end of every season and unfortunately the New York Yankees are that team after defeating an often out of sorts 2009 NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies team in game six to take the World Series 4-2. Hats off to them. Today you will see snide comments about the Yankees buying the championship, none of those sour grapes here. The Phillies are consistently have one of the top 10 baseball payrolls and are one of these big market teams that supports the salary cap-less MLB system and from what I can remember are fine with the status quo. I think the real turning point was Alicia Keys’ hips. I know I couldn’t concentrate.

Our 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels and our perfect 2008 closer Brad Lidge were shadows of their championship selves in 2009, and our prolific lineup and scrappy bullpen weren’t able to compensate for that on MLB’s biggest stage.

We couldn’t do it for Harry Kalas. If you turn on WIP 610 AM or ESPN 950 AM, I am sure you will hear Phillies fans who are ready to hate both of them forever. Not Me. As a fan of the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and to a lesser extent the Flyers, I refuse to forget any of the guys that brought us that drought ending championship parade down Broad Street on Halloween 2008. At 32, it was the only championship I actually remember.

Thanks to the Philadelphia Phillies for an exciting 2009 season. When do pitchers and catchers report?

This is stuff of Movies right here. The NL East Champion Philadelphia Phillies go into the 9th down two to the Colorado Rockies, Ryan Howard drives in the tying runs and scores the winning run. Cliff Lee recounts what went down in the Phillies dugout right before the 9th.

“That hit by Howard was the biggest and most impressive hit I’ve seen in my career. The only thing that might have made it better was if it woulda went out of the yard. He came down to the end of the bench and said, ‘Get me to the plate, boys.’ He wasn’t lying. He got up there and drilled those runs in. That was huge. That was the game right there.” -Cliff Lee on Ryan Howard’s performance

via The700Level.com – Philly Sports & Minutiae: Quotable: ‘Get me to the plate, boys’.

You have got to love that, unless you are from Colorado.

Apparently Ryan Howard has been dubbed “The Big Piece” by Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel. Could be it.

Howard and Lee lead way for Phils | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/24/2009.