Phillies Fans Put 'Lost Season' In Perspective, Have Eyes On 2013
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The Phillies had their final home game Thursday night and many of the fans in attendance say they have their hopeful eyes set on next season.
A lot of the Phillies faithful have called it a "lost season" with the injury bug largely to blame.
"Anytime you replace Chase Utley and Ryan Howard with Ty Wigginton and Laynce Nix the odds are not going to be in your favor," said Drew, a season ticket holder from Abington.
"You can't lose your three and four hole hitters and you can't lose your ace for a significant amount of time and expect to stay in first place," said John, a partial-season ticket holder from South Philadelphia.
However, many said the fact that the team had been winning consistently since 2007, highlighted by the 2008 World Series, helped take the sting out of the 2012 campaign.
"You can't be too disappointed because of what they did the past five or six years," said Steve from Maple Shade, New Jersey. "They spoiled us and we'll back strong next year."
"Next year" was a common phrase among those at the ballpark with their 2013 magnetic calendar giveaways in hand. Many cited the team's better play after the all-star break, especially after the trade deadline deals that sent away fan favorites Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence. And life long fans, like Drew, know better than most about putting losing seasons in perspective.
"I still have my World Series tickets from 1964," he said. "And I've been around for a lot of the 10,000 losses. So what's bad is 1961 when they lost 23 in a row. This is not so bad."
