In 2007, the Phillies were about to begin a string of playoff appearances the likes of which the world had never seen.  The Phillies do.

A core of slick infielders was becoming a powerful force in the league, and…. well, you remember.  I talk about it in almost every post.  I basically live in 2007; there’s a poster of the Phoenix spacecraft above my bed, another poster of a bunch of writers on strike behind my bed, and a post of Person of the Year Vladimir Putin under my bed because I’m not sure how I feel about that one.

A ravenous J-Roll stalks his prey. Evan Habeeb-US PRESSWIRE

2007 was the first year of Jimmy Rollins walking out with a Gold Glove.  He also hit 20 triples and walked out with the MVP and Silver Slugger.  But we’re focusing on defense here, no matter how fun and explosive offensive things are.  Mmm.  Triples!  They are hard to hit.

Anyway, it was the first of a Gold Glove dynasty for Jimmy, as the award would once again be his in 2008 and 2009 (when he committed only six errors).  He his routine backhands and quick darts to Chase’s waiting glove kept both the league in awe and slumping hitters who thought they’d finally caught a break on a grounder to the left side slamming their helmets into the ground.

Jimmy was there; our team leader, setting the example that any replacements consistently failed to duplicate.  He was there in 2010 and 2011, too.  But he didn’t win any Gold Gloves those years.  No one knows why.  Well, he played in, like half the games in 2010.  That didn’t help.

But now it’s 2012, and Jimmy is winning Gold Gloves again.  The Phillies didn’t receive many awards this year, after being eliminated from the playoffs in lower positions each year until missing them entirely.  Is J-Roll’s Gold Glove a reset button for the team; a sign that they are once again healthy and productive and young forever?

No.  But it is nice to see gold again.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

It’s easy to dwell on the things that went wrong this year.  Pitching died off early.  Offense went pretty sideways.  Bullpen management wasn’t superb.  Injuries were everywhere.  Base stealing was okay I guess.  But defense!  That was the real show.

Nah, it wasn’t great either.  Lot of Ty Wigginton out there.  Freddy Galvis was fun to watch.  Remember when he won that foot race to first that saved Cliff Lee’s 10-inning shutout?  We lost, but in that moment, it was like, “We’re gonna win!  And we’re gonna get to the playoffs!”  We did either.  And the team we lost to went on to win the World Series.

So apparently they give out awards for Best Defense Guy, and they even narrow it down to each league so that teams like us, without a ton of good players anymore, could have a shot at walking out of this season with their dignity.  The Phillies have two nominees this year, down from three last year, two of which don’t play for the team anymore.  Shane Victorino has gone on to be crammed into that crowded Dodgers outfield while making ends meet as a part time TBS sports analyst and Placido Polanco was still being collected so the scientists can sew him back together, unfortunately on the one year anniversary of his initial exploding, meaning that when they bring him back to life he’ll probably be fueled by bloodthirsty vengeance or whatever.

But now it’s 2012, and our top defenders are Carlos Ruiz, who returns to the ballot, and Jimmy Rollins, who has been here before, but wandered off last year.  In celebration of this joyful defensive news, the Phillies officially dropped Ty Wigginton from the roster.

Maybe it’s the Giants’ second World Series win of our golden era; maybe it’s the disorienting nature of a baseball-less October, but it seems as though all of the Phillies 2012 season has boiled down to this.  And maybe, just maybe, they can make the last few months of our lives mean something.  Some could argue that giving our lives meaning is our own responsibility, and that Chooch can’t be expected to get me out of bed in the morning, or it isn’t J-Roll’s job to “fix” my drinking “problem.”  But those are merely the ignorant utterings of those who can’t taste the gold.

Its just nice to know that he’d be in the top ten of “Players Who Send Hitters Back to the Dugout About to Hurl Their Helmet in Disgust.” (more…)