Phillies have history on their side

By Bill McFarland

Charlie Manuel didn't make it official until Tuesday, but the Phillies have announced that they will go with the same four-man pitching rotation in the World Series as in the first two rounds of the playoffs. That means Jamie Moyer will start Saturday's game at Citizens Bank Park.

It was a decision that I anticipated and backed fully. Charlie might be a lot of things, but he is also very loyal. Moyer won 16 games during the regular season, and he waived his no-trade clause with Seattle and accepted a trade to the Phillies in 2006 because he thought that this club offered him the best chance to get to the fall classic in the twilight of his career.

The veteran lefty has never been to a World Series. To pull the rug out from under him now would have been cruel.




One of the familiar faces at batting practice during the NLCS series with Los Angeles was Jim Eisenreich. The outfielder batted for a .324 average in four seasons with the Phillies, including the 1993 team, which was the last one to play in the World Series. Signed as a free agent, Eisenreich had some trepidation about joining that club, due to his ongoing battle with Tourette's syndrome.

"At first, I thought that I was going to be the oddball," Eisenreich recalled. "I was worried about how I was going to fit in, but after I was around for a while, I saw how wacky all the other guys were, and I began to think that I was the only normal guy in the clubhouse."




Among the questions posed by reporters to Eisenreich was to compare the 1993 club to this year's team. He never really made any comparison and answered by talking about how crazy the '93 team was.

I thought a more appropriate comparison would have been to the Phillies of the 1970s who eventually captured the World Series championship in 1980.

"I would say that they are very similar," said Dodgers' third-base coach Larry Bowa.

Bowa was the shortstop on those teams and has spent most of his career as a player, coach and manager with Philadelphia.

"One big difference is (Citizens Bank Park)," he continued. "This park is tailor-made for this club. (The Phillies) are a good team. They've got good pitching, good speed, good defense and hitting. They're very similar to our (1970s) club."

The main similarity of the two clubs is that they were both built from within — that is, most of the core players were signed and developed by the Philadelphia farm system.

Four of the eight starting position players from the first Eastern Division title team in 1976 were home-grown talent and had been playing together since 1973 — Bowa, catcher Bob Boone, third baseman Mike Schmidt and left fielder Greg Luzinski. You could also argue first baseman Dick Allen, who was reacquired in 1975, as another because he began his career with the Phillies in 1964 and was traded to St. Louis after the 1969 season.

Also developed by the organization were starting pitchers Larry Christensen and Tom Underwood as were reserve outfielder Jerry Martin and infielder Terry Harmon.

In 1977, Underwood was in the bullpen until the June 15 trading deadline when he was sent to St. Louis for right fielder Bake McBride. Also, Randy Lerch was added to the starting rotation, and reliever Warren Brusstar made his debut that year.

The key acquisition in 1978 was pitcher Dick Ruthven, who was actually a reacquisition because he began his career with the 1973 Phillies. The team traded reliever Gene Garber to the Atlanta Braves for Ruthven on the June 15 trading deadline, and Ruthven went 13-5 in 20 starts for Philadelphia in 1978.

By 1979, when the Phillies stumbled and fell to fourth place, Martin had been traded and Harmon had retired. Catcher Keith Moreland and outfielder Lonnie Smith were September call-ups in 1978 and saw some more time in '79, but both were still officially rookies for the 1980 season.

Due to key injuries in the rotation, Dickie Noles made his debut in '79 and went 3-4 with a 3.80 ERA in 14 starts. Left-handed reliever Kevin Saucier pitched in 29 games in '79.

Smith joined the core four as a regular and played 100 games in the outfield in 1980, and Moreland saw significant time (62 games) as the backup backstop.

Off the bench were infielders Luis Aguayo, who was a 21-year-old rookie in 1980, and veteran third baseman John Vukovich, who was a first-round draft choice in 1966 and who began (1970) and finished ('81) his career with the Phillies. Outfielder George Vukovich (no relation) made the jump from AA Reading and played in 78 games in 1980.

Noles joined Saucier and Brusstar in the bullpen, and Ruthven, Lerch and Christensen were three-fifths of the starting rotation behind hall of famer Steve Carlton.

Bob Walk was the Kyle Kendrick of the 1980 team. When an emergency pitcher was needed, Walk was called up on May 26, and he went 11-7 in 27 starts. He also started the first World Series game that year. September call-up Marty Bystrom won all five of his starts that month (with a 1.50 ERA), and although he wasn't really eligible for the playoff roster, the Phillies found a way to include him.

During those years, the late Paul Owens, who was the general manager at the time, filled in the gaps with key trades, including the acquisitions of McBride, center fielder Garry Maddox ('75) and second baseman Manny Trillo ('79) and the free-agent signing of first baseman Pete Rose ('79).

The team that begins the World Series on Wednesday was formed the same way. Five of the starting eight — catcher Carlos Ruiz, infielders Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins and outfielder Pat Burrell — and four of the pitchers on the playoff roster — Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Ryan Madson and J.A. Happ — were signed during former GM Ed Wade's era.

Let's not forget that Kendrick and Adam Eaton also were part of the starting rotation for much of this season, but both have different roles in this fall classic. Eaton has been sent home, but Kendrick will most likely travel with the team and be ready to be activated in an emergency.

Among the key acquisitions of current general manager Pat Gillick were outfielder Jason Werth and third basemen Pedro Feliz and Gregg Dobbs. On the mound are veterans Moyer, Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero, and off the bench are Dobbs and outfielders Geoff Jenkins and Matt Stairs — all Gillick moves.

Shane Victorino is a holdover from the previous regime. Wade plucked the outfielder from the Dodgers' organization in the December 2004 Rule 5 draft, and he was the International League MVP while playing for AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2005. He was a September call-up that season, and he has remained with the Phillies since then.

Considering the above comparison, I say let's just let history repeat itself. What do you think?

Next post: Oct. 29.

© 2008 www.Bill-McFarland.com

This column was posted on Oct. 22, 2008. It may not be reproduced anywhere else without permission.

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