69 in the Loss Column, Get Ready for a Sexy Season

I have been wanting to do this post for a very long time now and couldn't think of the best time to write it. I thought the eve of opening day would be fitting or possibly when the positions on the team are settled. But I have no patience and was antsy to make my prediction on the season so here it is...

I feel extremely optimistic about this season, but unlike some of the years in the past, I have good reason. We don't know who will be filling out our bench and our bullpen still is extremely shotty, however, I am going out on a limb here to predict 93 wins for this team. Even though this team may not seem like a 90+ win team at this exact moment, I have faith that Gillick will address our needs in the upcoming month and a half. Some may call this blind faith.

My initial reasoning for saying 93 was a half-hearted joke because of the 1993 season. I feel this team has an incredible similarity to that team and 93 wins would be a cool way to link the two clubs. I also think the Phillies will overtake the East and that 93 wins is good enough to win the division.

I eventually became more and more convinced, however, that the 2007 Phillies have a very good shot at 93 IF they put some key pieces together. So for the remainder of this post, let's pretend that Gillick WILL fix the minor holes this club has. This is how the wins will break down this season for the Phillies. How do I know? Uhmm, I called Miss Cleo.

As listed to the right:
16 wins for Garcia
14 for Hamels
15 for Myers
12 for Moyer
10 for Eaton
Total: 67

*Note, this is all contingent on all starters remaining healthy for the entire season

Last season, if I counted correctly, our bullpen amassed 24 wins. The bullpen for the upcoming season, however, can't possibly be as poor as it was in 2006. Once again I am saying this based on sheer optimism and faith in Gillick that he will improve it before the season begins. And even though wins don't entirely tell the story on a bullpen's overall performance, let us assume that this season we will add a couple of W's to that number. The total we have now is 93.

So what did we learn? Did I break down key stats, match-ups and projections to add up the wins for the Phillies? Not even a little. I merely just sat at my computer and wrote what I felt from the standpoint of what I truly am: a die-hard Phillies fan. Which after all, at the end of the day is all I can call myself. I have no real statistical evidence behind my 93-69 prediction. I'm not a stathead and rarely run off numbers to prove a point or make predictions. Does this make me unintelligent? Very possible.

But what I do positively know is the last time the Phillies made the playoffs. In 1993, this town was painted red. Still, to this day, every time you hear the number 93 you immediately think of that team, that year, that fat ass at first, that mound of tobacco in center, that ladies man behind the plate, the song 'wild thing', and of course that bitch Joe Carter. The 2007 club has not even set foot on a field together and already the city is in love with them. Fourteen years later, we are on the verge of experiencing a, what seems to be, amazing team with an amazing cast. All I want to get across is the next time the Phillies will make the playoffs is in 2007. So why can't that magical number, 93, be the link between greatness?



The Law of Attraction states that positive thoughts determine your reality. "You get what you think about; your thoughts determine your destiny." I'm not sold on this metaphysical idea of life, however, for this season I am willing to give it a serious shot. Join me in the pursuit of...

93