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For the Phillies and their fans, the brittle Bronx skies suddenly bore the hazy shade of winter.
From the on-deck circle inside Yankee Stadium, Chase Utley had a front-row seat for the ending of the Phils' reign as world champions, an up-close and personal view of the electric, New Year's Eve-style celebration that followed on the floor of the Palazzo Steinbrenner.
"It was hard to watch," Utley said quietly in the post-mortem early Thursday morning.
Inside the Fightin's subdued clubhouse, the feeling was that they had not played poorly in this Fall Classic. The Yankees, they said, had simply played better.
Jimmy Rollins, shortstop and self-proclaimed seer, had predicted on the eve of the Series a Phillies' victory. "In five games," he declared. He hardly backed off following Game 6, insisting that the Phils were still the better team. The Yankees won, he said, because they got hot at the right time.
"So," he added, "you tip your hat to them."
In defeat, the Phils afforded themselves the opportunity to look both back and ahead. They have that luxury, since the core of their club is set to return. The starting eight — Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Werth, Ibanez, Feliz, Ruiz — is the best in the National League. Three straight East Division titles and back-to-back pennants are proof of that.
Former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee demonstrated again that he ranks among the top pitchers in baseball. Joe Blanton is a solid No. 3 or No. 4 starter. And J.A. Happ will likely return to the front line following a postseason spent in the bullpen. Cole Hamels, last year's World Series MVP and this year's mystery man, is expected by skipper Charlie Manuel to return to form.
Jamie Moyer, slowed at season's end by advancing age and injuries, may likely retire. Pedro Martinez is a future Hall of Famer. He's also 38 years old and surviving on guts and guile. He danced around questions this week of whether or not he'll return or retire.
Question marks surround the bullpen, where closer Brad Lidge was as much an enigma as Hamels. The return of reliever J.C. Romero, sorely missed against the Yankees, will deepen the pen. Ryan Madson remains a solid set-up man and may yet mature into a closer.
If there is one area of this club in need of upgrading, it's the bench. Expect GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to address the question of depth, since the need to spell Utley, Rollins and the rest of the regulars becomes more apparent, and more pressing, with each passing year.
The worth of the Phils' run to repeat, to become the first NL squad since the 1976 Reds to win consecutive World Series titles, was given voice by their conquerors amid their champagne-soaked celebration. Fitting, since no one better understood the degree of difficulty of the Phillies' task than the remaining members of the 2000 Yankees, the last team to repeat as World Series champions.
"I would love to congratulate the Phillies, Charlie Manuel, their whole organization for the job they've done," Yankee boss Joe Girardi said. "They're an extremely tough opponent … a great ballclub with a lot of heart."
"It's tough enough to get here, let alone win it," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. "They're a great team, they deserved to be here."
And to a man, the Phils expect to be back.
"Like I was telling our guys in there, this just makes us more determined to come back again next year," Manuel said. "We've got a good team, and we love to play baseball. I'll tell you something, as MacArthur said, we will be back.
"It seemed like when we had to get the big hits or do things to take them out of the game, we couldn't do it. We didn't play as good as we can, but at the same time we played a real good team. They definitely deserved to win. They did things right when they had to."
Lidge, a stand-up guy all season, stood tall in defeat following Game 6. As he spoke in front of his locker, he was already thinking ahead to next summer's campaign.
"We have to get ready for next year," he said. "We had a successful season, no question. We're champions of the National League. But after what we did last year, not winning this year could be seen as a disappointment."
He paused.
"We're hungry to get that trophy back."
