It’s Over
8:26 pm October 9th. A mild early Autumn evening, a radio call was broadcast over the airways of the Delaware Valley. It was simple. It was somber and, in my opinion, it was telling. It was a reaffirmation of what we all knew but maybe did not want to believe, let alone hear. The radio voice of The Philadelphia Phillies, Scott Franzke, made the final call of the ‘24 season:
“Diaz looking in. Shoulders slumped as always, now brings his hands together. The kick. The pitch. Swing and miss. It’s over.”
It’s over. That was the final play call of the season. Franzke put into words not just the length of the season but as our collective heads hung down the feeling and fear of what those simple two words mean.
It’s over.
What does Scott know? What does he mean? Was this just a play call and it is simply at surface level? Does it just mean the baseball season has ended? Let's compare this to the final play call of the 2023 season:
“Here’s the pitch. Swung on. Hit in the air, right field. Carroll going over towards the line, nearing the foul line. He’s there he’s got it, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have beaten the Philadelphia Phillies in game seven. It is the end of their season.” ...
“It is the end of their season” not “it’s over”. To me it is foreboding. The contrast between the 2 season ending calls is noticeable. The season just didn't end. It's freaking over! Is the ride over?
I do not feel that this baseball team's window is closing. In fact in the media lead up to Red October, owner John Middelton was asked about the window closing if they were unable to get it done in a “World Series or Bust” year. He had an interesting answer. In so many words and reading between the lines there was an acknowledgment that maybe for some of this core it could be for them. He proceeded to say that the championship window for the franchise will remain open for seasons to come. He spoke about the young players and organizational prospects. I agree, how could you not feel that way? Wheeler, Nola and Sanchez are locked up. Harper is a Phillie for life. Love it or hate it Truner is around for a decade to come. Painter, Miller and Crawford are on the horizon. It’s very easy to get amped up. But with 95 wins and a division title for the first time in 13 years who wants to talk about top prospects? There was a large payroll with the names on the back that under performed in the postseason yet again.
It’s over. This core is over. The Daycare is over. Movement needs to be made, and breaking them up is one of the easiest avenues. CBP magic is over. They can lose in October at The Bank. I’ll be A-O A-O –ok, over. Dancing on my Own… that’s been over. Time for singing is over. It's time to hold this team accountable. I personally applauded the fans for the Bronx cheer directed at Casty in game 2. The “vibes over better lineup construction” mentality should be over. Last I looked they don't raise “Best Clubhouse in Baseball” pennants. But who knows? The organization did raise that baseball gods offending “We Beat the Braves” Powder Blue 2023 monstrosity in center this season. The good vibes/they can do no wrong love affair with this team is over. They're my boys run it back is over. Or at least if you are going to run it back make better moves at the deadline.
‘22 was a magical run and put a lot of good faith in this ball club. ‘23 left us wondering what happened. This season was different. Telegraphed even, since London. We are fans. Hope is the only thing we have and going into October we needed all of it. Hope that the pesky chase rate would stay down this time. It didn't. Hope that the bully would not kill us late in games. They did. Hope that a team playing essentially .500 baseball since the break could topple a hot team that had the best record in baseball since that same break. They couldn't. Hope will remain. That's what we do. We are Philadelphia sports fans. But this team's core and the blind faith we have in it is over. The team will be different next season. It should be. Faces will be different, some fan favorites will not return. We should embrace the change because this... whatever this was, is over.
-Danny Gerb / Quit Chasin’