Phils loss in series hurts

The Phillies were close to repeating as World Champs.

But to look at things honestly, they just flat-out got beat by a better, and more clutch team.

The New York Yankees got the big hits when they needed them and got the good pitching they needed to win their 27th championship.

The Phillies did not.

Overall, the former defending champs (hurts to say that) did not have a good series. Outside of Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, Cliff Lee, and Chan-Ho Park nobody was dependable.

Ryan Howard went into a terrible slump at the wrong time. You're not going to win many titles when your cleanup hitter sets a World Series record for strikeouts.

Jimmy Rollins and Victorino did next to nothing at the top of the lineup. Except for a game-tying homerun in game 4, Pedro Feliz was absolutely useless at the plate. Jayson Werth only had one good game, when he homered twice in a game three loss. Raul Ibanez struggled in the beginning of the series. Ben Francisco did nothing when he got the chance to play. Brad Lidge reverted to his old self in blowing game 4. Charlie Manual made some questionable moves, twice leaving Pedro Martinez in games too long, including last night.

You get the idea, just about everyone had a hand in the loss. Oh, and the Yankees are a good team.

Had the Phillies played their best they could have beaten them. If Lidge doesn't blow game 4 maybe they win the series. If they actually got some hits with guys on base, maybe they win the series.

A lot of what-ifs.

It's depressing now, but it was a very good season. Considering their number two starter, Brett Myers, missed most of the season and they had a wrath of bullpen injuries, including missing JC Romero down the stretch, it is amazing they even made it this far. Lidge had a terrible season, Cole Hamles was not at all dependable, and Rollins struggled most of the season.

Not too often can a team make it to the World Series when their leadoff hitter, ace pitcher, and closer don't have good seasons. That in itself is pretty amazing.

Their ugly problems decided to peek out in the World Series though and it cost them.

Looking at next season, the Phillies have a few major areas of concern.

First is the bullpen. Lidge will remain the closer, but he needs to turn things around. They need Romero to come back healthy. Scott Eyre is considering retirement, but it would be huge to have him back as well. Bringing Park back should be a priority. The Phillies need some depth there though, especially with the lefty relievers. Due to their lack of depth, the Phils had to use one of their best starters, J.A. Happ, out of the bullpen during the playoffs.

Next is the bench. They Phillies had nobody who was reliable this year. Matt Stairs only had fiver homeruns. Greg Dobbs, who was great last season, was terrible this year. Francisco will be back and needs to play better. Eric Bruntlett and Miguel Cairo are the pits. The Phillies need a better bench, someone who can actually do something when pinch hitting. Maybe they use John Mayberry Jr. there this season. Maybe Michael Taylor spends some time with the big leage club this year. Whatever it is, the Phillies need depth.

Speaking of depth, the Phillies need more in the infield. Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Ryan Howard play too much during the regular season. They wear down. I would love to see the Phillies sign Mark DeRosa, who can play anywhere in the infield. They need their big guns to be fresher come playoff time.

Another decision will come at third base as Feliz is a free agent. While his defense is superb, they need more pop there. The Phillies should look for a better option there.

Other than that, their starting lineup is pretty much set. It will come down to guys like Rollins having better years.

The Phillies could also use a jolt to their starting rotation. Martinez will not be back. but Jamie Moyer will be. With the guys they have now, the rotation would probably line up with Lee, Hamels, Happ, Blanton, and Moyer. I want to see another arm in here. Not sure what you would do with Moyer and/or Blanton but the Phillies need more. If not during the off-season, maybe stud prospect Kyle Drabek makes his major league debut this season.

I'm extremely disappointed with how this season ended. But the great thing about sports is that there is always next year. That has been a cliche for so long for the Phillies, but not anymore. They truely are built to win for a while and have a realistic shot to reclaim their title. This series showed that they need to get better though.

And that starts today.