As the Phillies ascended up to Baseball Heaven for four days, the rest of the baseball world was chatting about the Phillies. For the first time in a long while.
So, in the midst of this hype, the Phillies did as the recent Phillies have done: lose more than win.
In fact the four-game series – in which the Cardinals took three of four from the Phillies – played out as a miniature version of what you should probably expect this season. There was a pitching gem they rode out to victory (1-0 on Tuesday), a few decent pitching performances, very little offense and some tough finishes that showed the team isn’t quite ready for the limelight.