Gosh I remember 2006 and Mathieson, that was such a fun year and I recall with mixed feelings Mathieson's last start. 2006 was the year of the massive mid-season deals of Abreu, Lidle, and several others. This was Gillick's first year and with the team playing poorly he made wholesale changes and basically turned the team over to Rollins, Utley, Howard, Hamels and Mathieson.
Incredibly, the team turned it around under the solid play of the aforementioned group and found themselves vying for a playoff berth as they entered a crucial 4 game , 2 double header series with the Braves at CBP in early September.
What a 4 game series it was, one that saw the teams split the 4 games but with a clear feeling that the Phils should have swept the series. In game 1, the Phils lead 3-0 late but lost on a home run in the 9th inning, 4-3. Game 2 saw Mathieson's last start, he faced one batter and was gone with his elbow injury.
He missed an offensive onslaught as the Phils won 16-4. The next day in another doubleheader, Howard went 4-4 and hit 3 home runs in an incredibly exciting 8-7 comeback win. The second game saw the Phils blow several chances to score and lose in 11 innings, 3-1.
The team continued to play well for the rest of the season and actually went in the last week with the wildcard lead before blowing a tough home to Houston late 5-4. Still, it was obvious that this team was going places and of course they were...the 2007-2011 years were arguably the best years in Phillie history.
Sadly, Mathieson never got to be a part of it but those of us who were around then remember him fondly. Good for him!
