One Down, Ninety-Nine to Go

Mid-game rally and late gift lift Phils to first win

Well, they gave it a good try, didn't they? Despite their best efforts, the Phillies failed to start the season 0-3, eking out a one-run, 10-inning win against the Nationals this afternoon. Many of their flaws of recent years were on painful display: a horrible outing from the starter, in this case Jamie Moyer; a shaky performance from the closer, in this case Tom Gordon; awful fielding, in this case four errors; and an unacceptable number of men left on base, in this case 22. If not for the Nats' own perpetual haplessness catching up to them after a blessed 3-0 start to their season, the Phils would be winging to Cincinnati with nary a victory in their pocket.

My worry about the good vibes of last September is that they will obscure the team's obvious shortcomings. Am I the only one who worries that the Phillies only barely made it into the playoffs last season? Or that they were escorted meekly out the door by the Rockies? Swagger is all well and good, but Philadelphia is strutting around as if it owns the National League. Pat Gillick didn't do nearly enough last winter to make a 2008 playoff spot a foregone conclusion. Best for Jimmy Rollins & Co. to remember that. S|C