Philadelphia Phillies

Admit it, even though you were kind of giddy when Ruben Amaro picked Roy Oswalt from Ed Wade’s pocket at the trade deadline, you still weren’t sure that the Phillies new No. 2 starter belonged in any discussions of the league’s top pitchers. After all, discussions of baseball’s top arms usually includes names like Sabathia, Halladay, Wainwright, and of course, Lee.

I am happy to say that I may have been wrong in writing off the Phillies.

Many fans have given up on the Phillies.  It's just the truth.  But there are reasons why we shouldn't give up on them.  And I'm going to tell you about them.

They say around 90 percent of the things we get anxious about, are things we never have to experience. The majority of what's left of that 10 percent, doesn't kill us.

So why are we so jumpy Philly?

The reason we panic, as Phillies fans, may have to do with a lot of things. Our nerves may be jumpy from previous trauma involved with our other teams.

Man, Ruben Amaro blew it.

He had Cliff Lee in his possession, and threw him away for nothing so that he could acquire Roy Halladay.

And now? The Philadelphia Phillies are screwed. Sure, they picked up Roy Oswalt, but he's not Cliff Lee, and they had to give up J.A. Happ to get him.

Amaro could have had the best pitching staff in baseball, and he threw it all away.

He sucks.

Except...

It isn't true. It is a myth. It is a Phillies' myth, one that Phillies fans have latched onto, and one which they need to let go of.

Yes, I know it is way too early for a 2011 MLB season preview.

The Phillies are making a colossal playoff push and are looking to become the first National League team since the St. Louis Cardinals of the early 1940s to reach the World Series three consecutive years.

With this in mind, I still couldn't wait. So, here, sports fans, is your extremely premature Philadelphia Phillies preview for the 2011 season. 

Now, Cole Hamels can be considered the best 8-10 pitcher on the planet. 

After completing a masterful six-hit, no walk shutout on the road against his hometown Padres, the lanky lefty snapped his improbable eight-game winless streak to lead the Phillies to a 5-0 win.

Update: The results of Strasburg’s MRI were not good. Strasburg was diagnosed with a tear in his ulner collateral ligament in his right elbow. Strasburg will most likely need Tommy John surgery and miss the 2011 season.

A couple of thoughts about this:

After watching the Phillies' embarrassing Bad News Bears impersonation earlier this week—resulting in a four-game sweep at the hands of the 58-70 Houston Astros—fans and analysts alike were quick to dispense advice on how to save the season going forward.

It turns out the best plan of attack moving forward might be to look at recent history, specifically 2007.

Although it may seem strange, this year the Phillies feet have played a big role in their season.  Whether it be injuries, or balks, or just plain mess-ups, the Phillies have had some eventful things happen to them that involved feet.  Here is a list of some of them:

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