Phillies Celebrate Annual Tradition of Being Already Considered World Series Contenders

Fans bask in glory of team’s future success

It was a tight race to the 2013 playoffs, but we can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the Phillies have made it.  With the expanded playoffs, they aren’t even clawing in as the eighth most likely World Series contender, according to Pregame.com.  

Some would argue that “most likely” to “eighth most likely” is a large space to fall.  When I entered my “troubled youth” phase, I fell from “Most Likely to Succeed” to “Eighth Most Likely to Secretly Live in the School Somewhere a Decade After Graduation.”  And now I run a baseball web site from a boiler room.   So.  It’s not insurmountable.

Also, having been the most likely team to win the World Series in 2012, one might point out that the “odds” being formulated are “flawed” in some way, or are at least meaningless from a fan’s standpoint.  The numbers will of course shift as teams make blockbuster moves or shrivel up and die, but as they are now, it is tough, even for someone whose opinions are heavily influenced by a freon leak, to see the Phillies hoisting a trophy in 2013.

But that’s what makes the numbers so nice!  According to experts, “the numbers don’t lie.”  So unless the Phillies somehow start making deals that make them less likely to do well, they’ve got nowhere to go but up!  And since when do teams get worse by adding to their depth?

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE