What was 2006...

Phillies Phans were excited for the 2006 season. Hoping the momentum from the disappointing 2005 season would carry over. It seemed like this would be a good season...Hell even the Phanatic was red to celebrate. Plus Jimmy was looking to continue his hitting streak.










Red means Go.

Disappointment
The Phillies didn't wait long to disappoint. Getting swept by the Cardinals in the Home Opener. They started of the season terribly. Being under .500 for about 3 weeks.



























SF In Philly
Barry Bonds and the Giants rolled into Philadelphia. Philly fans are creative.























Winning?
By Golly the Phillies ended up winning 7 straight & 13 of 14. In the midst of all this mayhem, there came "The Catch." Aaron Rowand who came over from the WhiteSox in the Thome deal..made probably one of the greatest catch in Phillies history.

Failure & Emergence
They were that close to taking the lead in the NL East...only to show why they haven't made the playoffs in 13 years. After sweeping the Reds, they got swept by the Brewers & it was downhill from there. They lost series to the Nationals, RedSox, Mets, Tampa Bay, and Yankees. Again there was some good in all of this. Ryan Howard started emerging as a beast. Hitting a monster shot off of Mike Mussina in the 2nd game of the Phillies-Yankees series. In that same game, he hit another HR...and had 7 RBI's. Leave it to the Phillies to blow it and lose the game 7-9 as well as the series. He also hit 2 HR''s in Cinncinati in a 2-1 Phillies win.

























Diamond in the Rough
Soon the Phillies brought up Cole Hamels after realizing Gavin Floyd is terrible and emotionally unstable. Cole started well and then things got a bit bumpy. Throughout the season though phans saw a star emerging. He was young but had great poise and would only get better. He is better known for his wonderful change-up and sexiness.














Bye Fu Manchu
When Sal Fasano got injured, the Phillies needed to bring up a catcher. They brought up 33 yr. old rookie Chris Coste. He hit a stellar .350 after starting 0-14 & when Sal came back they decided to designate him for assignment...later traded to the Yankees. Chris Coste was a great story because he spent so much time in the minor leagues and finally got a shot. He definitely made an impression...Sadly though with the departure of Sal, we had to say goodbye to Sal's pals.

Departure of Bobby & Corey...the Ice Cream Eating, Plane Flying Fatty
The Phillies were pretty terrible. Then on July 30th right before the All-Star break the rumors were put to rest and Bobby Abreu as well as Corey Lidle were traded to the Yankees for minor league prospects. At this point everyone wrote off the Phillies...considering their best player had just been traded. Funniest thing were Arthur Rhode's comments on Corey Lidle's comments.

So, Cory Lidle has left the Phillies and is heading to the Yankees. In an interview, he said he was excited about pitching in the Bronx because "over the last few years I haven't had a clubhouse that expected to win with me."

"He is a scab," Rhodes said. "When he started, he would go 51/3 innings and (the bullpen) would have to win the game for him. The only thing Cory Lidle wants to do is fly around in his airplane and gamble. He doesn't have a work ethic. After every start, he didn't run or lift weights. He would sit in the clubhouse and eat ice cream. ... He shouldn't say that, he shouldn't say anything like that because he is a scab. He crossed the line when guys like me, Flash (Tom Gordon) and (Mike) Lieberthal were playing. He is a replacement player."

CHAMP
The All-Star break was exciting because Ryan Howard was in the HR Derby. He started off a little shaky but ended up hitting 4 HR's with only one out and advanced to the second round. He cruised in the second round & easily beat out David Wright of the Mets in the Final Round. The only concern was that his power wouldn't drop off like Bobby Abreu's did after he won the HR Derby last year in Detroit. He was so beastly, he had a NY Yankee wiping the sweat off of his forehead in between HR's. & Chase was also an All-Star...starting at 2nd base.

Best Quote: "Give the people in Philly something to cheer about.." -Ryan Howard.




















Chasing History
With all the All-Star excitement, it was never noticed that Chase Utley left off with a 14-game hit streak. He continued the hit streak for 35 straight games & would not answer any questions about it during it. That plus Ryan Howard powering the Phillies, they vaulted the Phillies to at least be in the WC Race. It ended in NY, where Mets fans were ignorant as hell. Chase did earn NL player of the month for July in which he hit .425, had a .475 OBP, and in the 17 of 25 games the Phillies played...Chase had a multi-hit game. The Phillies were 13-12 in this month.


















Beast
As Chase's streak came to an end, Ryan Howard got incredibly hot. In the month of August Ryan hit 14 HR's and had 41 RBI's. 2 of his homeruns came in Washington in which he tied Mike Schmidt's single season HR record with 48. & than shattered it with a bomb in the upper deck. He also had his first 3-HR game against the Braves. All 3 coming off of Tim Hudson. It helped to push in the Phillies in the midst of the WC race. Ryan Howard was named NL Player of the month for August and September. He wasn't terrible in September either...9 HR''s and 20 RBI's: keeping in mind he less opportunites to get both.

-Ryan Howard broke Mike Schmidt's single season record (48).
-Broke he single season HR record for a 2nd year player previously held by Ralph Kiner (52).
-First player since Albert Pujols in 2003 to win back to back Player of the Month. (Aug. & Sept.)
-Tied Jimmie Foxx for most HR's by a Philadelphia player (58).
-He had 37 intentional walks...most coming toward the end of the season...thus Ryan not reaching 60 HR's. Most notably was by Phil Garner of the Astros, walking Ryan Howard in a 2-2 game in the 9th inning. [leading off]. He became a beast.

Resurrection
Somehow the Phillies got above .500 and stayed in the top 2 for the WC Race. They played crucial series, especially against the Marlins in which the atmosphere was crazy. People started to believe in the Phillies. Hell, I actually thought they were going to get in. The Phils were actually winning important games. They did so great Andre Iguodala actually threw out the ceremonial first pitch in the game against the Astros. They made it exciting to watch the games...it was all fine and dandy until the Astros came into Philadelphia for a make-up game and the bullpen failed the Phillies again. After that, they lost 2 of 3 from the Nationals and they lost their playoff hopes as well. They failed to hit with RISP and Howard became a non-factor because he always got walked and of course he had no protection 95% of the time. It's disappointing but as always, there's next year. There is some hope for this offseason, Pat Gillick is the GM and hopefully he'll put the right players around Chase, Howard, Cole, and Jimmy.

Most Valuable Player
Deciding between Ryan Howard & Albert Pujols for MVP is a no-brainer. Ryan Howard became a spark plug and he helped propel the Phils into the playoff race. Even though they failed to make it, Ryan impacted every game and the Phillies even had a better record than the slumping Cardinals who barely got in. It's plain and simple...the beast deserves it the most. Don't forget that Ryan Howard is only in his second year and 1st full year. The Sophmore sensation was so great that he even got MVP Chants at the Eagles game...he brought warmth to the hearts of all phans. Everyone wanted to and still wants to have his babies.












End Notes: Jimmy should win a gold glove. A lot of things were accomplished this season. Chase and Jimmy became the first DP Duo to each hit at least 25 HR's. Ryan Howard emerged as a young and feared superstar. Cole is going to be an ace. Brett Myers shouldn't be allowed near women.

Notable Mentions:
-Ryan Franklin did end up helping the Phillies...getting traded to the Reds and blowing games for them.
-Arthur Rhodes shouldn't be allowed near a ballpark.
-Geoff Geary: MVP...most valuable pitcher. way overused but still went out and did a solid job.
-Charlie Manuel is a dumbass and should not be allowed to manage a baseball team.
-Mike Lieberthal should've gotten a better departure...they should bring him back to help the young catchers...He'll be missed.