Disappointment:  The feeling of dissatisfaction that follows the failure of expectations to manifest.  It is a source of psychological stress.  Synonyms: failure, defeat, frustration (courtesy of Wikipedia).

And disappointment is what Philadelphia is left with after their failure to repeat as World Champions.  Instead, with a 3-7 Phillies loss tonight, the Yankees brought home their 27th World Series title.  The Phillies are left with the consolation prize as National League Champs.

After winning Game 1, the Phillies looked poised for a repeat.  Game 2 went to the Yankees in a relatively fair battle.  Game 3 was the real turning point as Cole Hamels did not perform well and the offense could not bail him out.  But things got much worse in Game 4 where Brad Lidge gave up 3 runs in the 9th after the Phillies had battled to tie up the game prior to that.  The Hamels and Lidge killer combo made for two gut-wrenching losses and a serious turn in the tide.

Cliff Lee won his second game of the series in Game 5 and kept the Phillies alive for one more day, along with the bat of Chase Utley which appeared unstoppable.  But back in New York for Game 6, Utley and the Phillies were stopped.

 

Pitching wins ball games and the Yankees had better pitching.  Andy Pettitte was spectacular on only 3 days rest.  Pedro Martinez, on the other hand, had a full 5 days rest and still gave up 4 runs in 4 innings.  All 4 of those runs, plus 2 more later in the game, came off the bat of Hideki Matsui.  After hitting a homer off Martinez in Game 2 and then again tonight in the 2nd inning, why Martinez was left in the game to pitch to Matsui again in the 3rd is a mystery.  JA Happ was up and ready in the bullpen, but Charlie Manuel left Martinez in to pitch to a guy who clearly had his number.  That mistake was the back-breaker as Matsui  hit a 2-run single.

The bullpen gave up 3 more runs and the 7-1 deficit looked to be near impossible to erase for the Phillies.  The offense attempted to battle back; Ryan Howard knocked a 2-run homer in the 6th but then Pedro Feliz left his 5th base runner of the night stranded as he grounded out to third base.  In the 7th, the previously clutch Chase Utley struck out with 2 outs and 2 men on base.  That put the nail in the coffin.

So the Phillies came up short, which just plain sucks.  But they put up a good fight and overall, the season was a great success.  To have made it back to the World Series two years in a row is quite an accomplishment.  And while that does not make us feel any better right now, remember you will not be suffering alone.  It’s me, you, a bottle of Vodka and a tiny dancing bear wearing a pink tutu…oh sorry, I digress…  Just find your happy place, go there and do not come out until Spring Training.  At least that is what the voices in my head keep telling me…

Congratulations to the Yankees and their fans, especially my Yankee friends here in the MLBlogs community.  Enjoy the moment.

By the way, as luck would have it, there was an article printed about me in the local newspaper today about my Phillies-fandom.  So, not only do the Phillies lose today, but the reporter totally spelt my name wrong.  What does this mean?  Tomorrow, total strangers who recognize me from the paper will either console or harass me over this loss.  If you see me wandering about with that target on my back, please be kind ;O)  Thank you in advance…