UPDATED: Nattytood
OK, I used to hate people who say "I told you so." But because I started doing this blog, I have been changed...for bad. Now that I get so much...um, er, grief for all the (many) times that I'm wrong about stuff, you've forced me to blog about the rare times I'm right about stuff. Even when it's stuff that I hate being right about.
The Phillies haven't played yet tonight as I write this, but the Washington Nationals have already taken the weekend series, and now they're going for the sweep. The pesky Gnats from D.C. have a sizable lead over the 4th place Philadelphians in early May. Who saw this coming?
Ahem. From Dec. 5. 2010, entitled "A Werth-y Division Rival...in 2012?"
The Nationals have truly stunk their entire existence in Washington (not that Montreal was much better) and I have to believe they'll still be pretty stinky in 2011. But that could change in 2012. I think Phillies fans should be concerned about what's happening in the nation's capital, and not just because of the corrupt and inept people running the government there.
It didn't seem as if any of the Philly.com commenters have heard of Bryce Harper... Shame on them. The future National is nothing less than the Tiger Woods (hold the jokes, alright) of baseball, groomed to be a superstar at a young age and putting up ridiculous numbers at every level he's played, most recently the Arizona Fall League. He should arrive in D.C. in 2012 -- the same year that we learn whether the Nationals' other phenom, Stephen Strasburg -- remember him? -- recovers from Tommy John surgery. Adding those two players into an everyday lineup with Werth and Ryan Zimmerman won't only make the Nats competitive, but will make the team attractive to other free agents.
The 2012 Phillies will hopefully have some new blood but certainly could be older and may be without Roy Oswalt or even, unlikely as it sounds, Jimmy Rollins. That said. I still think the Phillies will put themselves in a position to win in 2012 and beyond, but it won't be by standing pat.
Well, they didn't exactly stand pat, but...I wonder how the thousands of fans who jumped on the bandwagon in 2008 are going feel about this new bumpy ride? No one ever told them the Phillies could actually lose. Will they take to the streets with torches and pitchforks? And ask people in Cleveland, Colorado, Toronto or Atlanta what happens when the sellout streak ends. It never comes back.
Anyway...I told you so.
UPDATE: See what I did there! Come back Tuesday when I blog about how hopeless things are for the Flyers!