It Was Ten Years Ago Today

[EastFallowfield]

Another presumably disappointing Phillies season started...

Game Thread 4/2/07

[BostonRoss]

The Phillies lineup was better eight years ago. Then again, so was the Braves.

[bkeich]

That year our "prospects" were mostly in the majors. Now, most of the guys that we think are the future are in AAA. Almost no one talks about Galvis, Hernandez, Rupp and even Joseph as the future, they are guys that have the job now and if you look on this board many/most of the posters think that all or most of them will be replaced in the starting lineup in the next 2 years. 2 other starting spots are held by guys that we know are just wasting development at bats. Really, only Franco and Herrera are guys that we expect to be starting in 2019/2020.

The lineup in 2007 was very different, while certainly they could have fallen, most of us were very excited by the potential or by the fact that those guys were coming into their primes (at least 5 of the 8). Ruiz would soon join them to form a very solid core. 3B amusingly enough was simply never solved and we lived with what we had for the best years.

It is funny to see Howard hitting 3rd and Utley in cleanup, with Burrell hitting 5th. Sure seems that Burrell should have been between them, but of course it did work out OK to have Utley and Howard hitting back to back for a few years there.

And if there was pessimism, I was innocent. I didnt join the board until August of that year

[Austinfan]

A young player starting in the majors IS the future.
Either:
1) he gets better
2) he gets beat out and becomes primo trade bait
3) he flops.

In the past decade, we were so talent deficient once the fossils started dropping that our hopes were built around guys like D Brown, Asche, Ruf, etc.
2012 team - young players
Galvis (22), Ruf (25), Worley (24), Bastardo (26), Schwimer (26), Horst (26)
Cloyd (25), Aumont (23), Diekman (24) got cameos.

2007 team - young players
Victorino (26), Bourn (24), Hamels (23), Kendrick (22), Myers (26), Madson (26)
Zagurski (24), Castro (22) had cameos, Happ (24), Segovia (24) each got a "show me" start
[Howard (27), Rollins, Utley, Lohse (28)]

This year
Knapp (25), Joseph (25), Franco (24), Herrera (25), Altherr (26)
Nola (24), Velasquez (25), Eickhoff (26), E Ramos (24), J Rodriquez (25)
[Stassi, Hernandez, Galvis, Morgan are 27, Rupp & Neris 28]

[EastFallowfield]

April 3, 2007. Off day for the Phils. Both Mets and Marlins win to go to 2-0, so Phils already a game and a half out of first.

[EastFallowfield]

4/4/07:

Say no to 0-2 - Game Thread 4/4: Hudson vs. Hamels

Spoiler alert, by end of this thread, there is a call for Charlie Manuel to be fired...

[BostonRoss]

Not to mention "Tank the season. Go for Pedro Alvarez."

Actually, we could probably get Alvarez now.

[allentown]

Squire obviously was joking.

[Philsmania]

Up to 2007, the Phillies had teased us pretty much the whole decade since 2001. Good teams but just kept coming up short in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006 with turmoil-plagued seasons of non-contention in 2002 and 2004. Supposedly, Freddie Garcia was going to get them a #1 starter that they desperately needed. When things didn't start well for that team, things got ugly. Manuel was roasted by both the peasants with pitchforks and the sabermetricians alike on a daily basis.

One of my enduring memories of that opening week was the roller coaster weather. Opening Day was a gloriously warm spring day. I attended the game in short sleeve shirt. The next day or the day after, a cold front came through and the mercury dropped through the floor. On Thursday, game three of the series, I had my first season ticket game of the season. A partly sunny but cold and blustery day at the Ballpark which featured a snow flurry in the late innings. That was Holy Week. I went up to Vermont to visit my parents for Easter and since I heard they got a lot of snow when the front came through, I threw my skiis in the car before leaving and ended up enjoying one of my best ski days ever...just six days after I attended a ballgame in short sleeves!

Man, that made how that season turned out all the more special! I hope this thread goes on all season long!

[EastFallowfield]

4/5/07:

Phillies trying to avoid getting swept to start the season. If they lose they'll be 3 back of the Mets and Braves. And Adam Eaton is on the hill...

Third time a charm? Game thread 4/5 - James vs. Eaton

[Patchmk88]

I forgot how brutal those first 3 games were.

[BtownFan]

our hopes were built around guys like D Brown, Asche, Ruf, etc.

Asche??? Really? And I think management was always more realistic about Ruf, although at least at the time I'd hoped he'd have been given a better chance immediately after his tremendous start in the bigs.

[zambonir]

Optimistic people did think Asche would play 3B for a long time. On this board (and in the media) I can remember dreamy comparisons to Utley (though he never even showed the same defensive ability), and talk of having to move Franco to 1B (which might have even happened if not for Howard).

[EastFallowfield]

I know once you start a thread you can't control its direction, but I''m wondering if there's a place for Cody Asche discussion that's not a nostalgia thread?

[zambonir]

Just wait until Abreu somehow comes up.

[EastFallowfield]

4/6/07

After that gosh awful sweep, Phils head to Miami to play the Florida Marlins, still looking for their first win.

They took a flier on a pitcher to maybe help out in the pen, Francisco Rosario

And supposedly scouting a switch pitcher, he'll probably end up elsewhere though.

Maybe the old guy can help us pick up a win, Game Thread 4/06 - Moyer vs Mitre. Greg Dobbs Starts

[EastFallowfield]

4/7/07 Well, after finally picking up a win, the Phils look to make it 2 in a row, but have to face Dontrelle Willis.

Game Thread 4/7 - Phils (Myers) vs. Fish (Willis)

For what it's worth, Playboy picked the Phils as the Team To Beat in the NL East...It's Good Enough For Me

[EastFallowfield]

4/8/07 The disappointing 1-4 Phils look to win the rubber game against Florida. However, they're starting Zack Segovia.

Find a way to win! Game Thread 4/8 - Segovia vs. Olsen

[EastFallowfield]

4/9/07

The 1-5 Phils get their first matchup with the defending NL East Champ Mets. But first, some transactions! Zack Segovia (who lost yesterday) and reliever Joe Bisenius were optioned to Triple-A Ottawa to make room for Jon Lieber and new acquisition Francisco Rosario.

It's Cole Hamels vs John Maine, Getting Worried? game thread

[EastFallowfield]

4/10/07 Off day, Phils are 1-6 for second straight season. Sites like Beerleaguer are really getting sick of Cholly.

Same Old Problems haunt Phillies

Here are some threads from our site from that stretch of time..

Organizational Sickness

What Happened to Good Start?

If I Were GM (Always a popular topic)

Time For Gillick to Overreact

Ryan Howard stopped by the Letterman show on the day off...Late Show