NLCS ouster leaves Phillies stunned

PHILADELPHIA - The Phillies truly believed they would return to the World Series this year - all the way from the end of last year's loss to the Yankees through spring training and during a remarkable regular season in which they finished with the best record in the majors.

They were convinced right up to the very moment when Ryan Howard, with the tying run on second base in the ninth inning of NLCS Game 6, took Brian Wilson's 3-and-2 slider for a called third strike to end the series.

Just as Carlos Beltran did in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS, and just as Alex Rodriguez did in Game 6 of the ALCS a day earlier than Howard.

In the moments that followed, the Phillies appeared stunned at the finality of it. Even when they trailed the Giants 3-1 in the NLCS, it didn't seem like a big deal to them. After Philadelphia won Game 5, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel virtually guaranteed a victory Saturday before Game 6, going so far as to bring out Game 7 starter Cole Hamels to speak with the media about that hypothetical situation.

Privately, Shane Victorino had swapped text messages with former teammate Cliff Lee, now the Rangers' ace, about meeting him in the Fall Classic. The possibility of spending the last week of October at home, watching the World Series on TV, never crossed the Phillies' minds.

"I want to go out there right now and play again," Victorino said Saturday in the middle of a mostly silent Phillies clubhouse. "I know what it feels like to make the last out of the World Series. I also know what it feels like to jump on the pile when we win.

"Unfortunately, we didn't get there this time. But look at what this team has accomplished over the last four years. It's embedded in us and embedded in our fans that we play October baseball."

The difference this month is that the Phillies didn't play up to their offensive capabilities, leaving them short of the World Series for the first time since 2007. For a team with a slugging persona built on the shoulders of Howard, Chase Utley and Jayson Werth, it was surprising to see the Phillies end their playoff run batting .215 with a .309 on-base percentage and .304 slugging percentage.

Howard did not have an RBI in the entire postseason. Overall, the Phillies batted .188 (13-for-69) with runners in scoring position. In the NLCS, they hit .178 (8-for-45) in those situations.

"I know our guys and I know we can hit better than that," Manuel said. "And we definitely got to improve on it next year and actually come back and basically hit like we can. I think when you look back at our team, that would probably be the downside of our club this year. We were very inconsistent in our hitting."

The Phillies are expected to say goodbye to Werth, who is likely to leave as a free agent this offseason, so that's already one significant void to fill. Werth homered twice during the NLCS, including a ninth-inning solo shot that provided some breathing room in the Phillies' 4-2 win in Game 5.

Losing Werth, however, is much easier to absorb when the Phillies look at the front of their 2011 rotation. Roy Halladay, Hamels and Roy Oswalt immediately make them a favorite to get back to the NLCS - and this time the Phillies will have Oswalt for a full season, which should help them avoid their midyear stumbles of 2010.

"We've got a bright future for us," Manuel said. "I see a big future. I think we're right in the period of two or three years where we definitely should compete and like always have a chance to go where we want to go."