Major League Baseball

Phillies face real urgency now

Published Oct. 22, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

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These are the golden years of the Philadelphia Phillies.

And that’s why there is a sense of urgency in the Phillies' effort to rally against San Francisco in the NLCS, which returns to Philadelphia for its conclusion this weekend.

Roy Halladay helped force the best-of-7 series back to Citizens Bank Park, ignoring a second-inning groin pull to turn in a yeoman-like effort in the Phillies’ 4-2 Game 5 win at AT&T Park on Thursday night, allowing the Phillies to avoid elimination.

Now the Phillies turn to Roy Oswalt for Game 6 on Saturday. Lefty Cole Hamels is waiting for a chance to pitch a Game 7 on Sunday, if possible.

Time is running out on the Phillies -- in the postseason and in the big picture, as well.

The Phillies are in the most successful stretch of the franchise’s 128-season history, advancing to the postseason for the fourth consecutive year, two wins shy of a third consecutive World Series appearance and still having a shot at winning a second world championship in three years after celebrating only one in their previous 125 seasons.

The reality, however, is that the Phillies are nearing the end of their successful stretch.

There is no youth movement in Philly. With a roster that averages 31.3 years of age, the Phillies are not only the oldest team in the big leagues, but the only team with an average age that has reached 30 years. And it’s not like there are a couple elder statesmen who have skewed the average.

The Phillies have only five players on their 25-man NLCS roster who are younger than 30, and only one younger than 25 -- outfield prospect Domonic Brown, who turned 23 on Sept. 3. There isn’t a player in the starting lineup younger than 30.

Hamels, who turns 27 on Dec. 27, is the only key player on the roster who isn’t on the backside of 30.

It’s not like the Phillies are poised to undergo a major makeover, either. They will lose right fielder Jayson Werth to free agency this offseason -- which is where Brown will enter the picture in 2011 -- but have 16 other members of their postseason roster under contract for 2011.

Counting the option for shortstop Jimmy Rollins, which they assuredly will exercise, and a $4.5 million option for lefty reliever J.C. Romero that figures to be a subject of debate, the Phillies have more than $89 million already committed for next season, which is more than every big-league team except the New York Yankees ($118.1 million) and Chicago Cubs ($96.3 million).

That doesn’t leave a lot of room for financial freedom in trying to address needs in the rotation behind the Big Three of Hamels and recent additions Halladay and Oswalt, both of whom are 33; in the bullpen or on the bench.

And the farm system may have promise at the lower levels, but is patchwork at the Double-A and Triple-A levels.

The Phillies sold their future for the present, giving up promising packages of players to add both Halladay last winter, and Oswalt in July, and their attempt to recoup their losses for the acquisition of Cliff Lee from Cleveland during the 2009 season by trading him last winter to Seattle was a bust -- at least in the short-term.

The Phillies are quickly restocking the system, and have top quality prospects at the Single-A level and lower, but Brown, who ranked No. 1 among Double-A Eastern League prospects, was the only player in the Phillies organization ranked among the top 20 prospects at the Double-A and Triple-A level.

Not that the Phillies are complaining.

And not that they've done anything wrong.

The Phillies front office saw an opportunity to win and didn’t hesitate to risk some future pieces to make sure they have success in the present.

This is a franchise which has had only spotty success since its incarnation as the Philadelphia Quakers in 1893.

This is a franchise that in 2007 became the first in baseball to lose 10,000 games all-time.

Long-suffering fans?

In the 125 years prior to 2008, the Phillies had only five World Series appearances in their history, losing in 1915, 1950 and 1983 and 1993. Their only world championship prior to 2008 came in 1980.

The Phillies would like to add another banner to the display at Citizens Bank Park.

But they need to do it quickly.

They sure aren’t getting any younger.

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