http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/12/14/lee.to.phillies/
Tuesday December 14, 2010
Free-agent prize Lee rejects Yanks, Rangers to return to Phillies
Story Highlights
Cliff Lee is returning to the team he helped pitch into the 2009 World Series
Lee probably took less money from the Phils than the Yanks or Rangers offered
He's said to be intrigued by joining the Phillies' already stellar rotation
Jon Heyman, SI.com
Almost a year after they traded him, Cliff Lee is headed back to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Lee, the most highly sought pitcher on this winter's free-agent market, turned down more lucrative offers from the New York Yankees and the Texas Rangers to return to the team he helped pitch into the World Series in 2009.
Lee reached a preliminary agreement on a $120 million, five-year contract, plus a vesting option for a sixth year. The deal is subject to the 32-year-old left-hander passing a physical.
The Yankees had offered Lee six years at $22 million each, plus an option year for $16 million, for a total of $148 million over seven years. The Rangers' offer was for $120 million over six years, plus an option.
The 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner apparently could not bypass the chance to join the Phillies' already stellar pitching staff of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. With Lee, it becomes the most formidable rotation in either league.
The Phillies are now in serious talks with the Red Sox about trading pitcher Joe Blanton to clear payroll space for the Lee deal.
The Phillies weren't even known to be in the hunt for Lee until earlier Monday, when they were revealed to be the "mystery team" that was pursuing him along with the Yankees and Rangers.
But just hours later the Yankees and Rangers both received telephone calls telling them they were out of the running.
Lee is said to have absolutely loved his brief time with the Phillies in 2009, when he won two World Series games against the Yankees. People close to Lee say he envisions himself as No. 2 in a rotation with Halladay at the top, Oswalt pitching third and Hamels fourth. Now they may well have the best No. 1 pitcher in baseball, the best No. 2, the best No. 3 and the best No. 4.
Philadelphia offered him a three-year deal for about $54 million after the 2009 season. When he turned it down, the Phillies dealt him to the Seattle Mariners on Dec. 16 as part of a four-team, nine-player swap while simultaneously acquiring Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays and signing him to a new contract that added $60 million over three seasons.
Lee is 102-62 with a 3.85 earned run average over nine seasons with the Cleveland Indians, Phillies, Mariners and Rangers.
A fourth-round draft pick in 2000, Lee is has excelled in the postseason, going 7-2 with a 2.13 ERA for Philadelphia and Texas in the past two years, including 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA against the Yankees.
Lee won 18 games for Cleveland in 2005, then got hurt in spring training in 2007 and was demoted to the minors. He returned to the big leagues, finished 5-8 with a 6.29 ERA and was left off Cleveland's postseason roster. He rebounded to go 22-3 with a 2.54 ERA in 2008 and was voted the AL Cy Young Award.
He was 14-13 for the Indians and Phillies in 2009, and 12-9 for the Seattle Mariners and Rangers this year.
With Lee's departure, the Rangers could move closer Neftali Feliz from the bullpen to the rotation and may attempt to acquire 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke in a trade from the Kansas City Royals.
Showing posts with label Philadelphia Phillies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philadelphia Phillies. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Phillies close out Rays, earn World Series title
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=281027122
Lidge and the Phillies close out Rays, earn World Series title
10-29-8
PHILADELPHIA -- Save the jokes, the taunts and all those insults about the losingest team in sports.
The Philadelphia Phillies just won themselves a World Series.
If that sounds strange, it was strange.
Nearly 50 hours after Game 5 started but was stopped by rain, Brad Lidge and the Phillies finished off the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in a three-inning sprint Wednesday night.
"It was a crazy way to win it with a suspended game, but we did and it's over," 45-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer said. "It has been a long wait, but it's worth it."
Left in limbo by a two-day storm, the Phillies seesawed to their first championship since 1980. Pedro Feliz singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh and Lidge closed out his perfect season to deliver the title Philly craved for so long.
Cheesesteaks, on the house.
"Who's the world champion?" manager Charlie Manuel asked the gleeful crowd during a 90-minute postgame ceremony that lasted longer than Wednesday night's action.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that President Bush talked to David Montgomery, the Phillies' president, on Thursday morning. She said he "offered his congratulations and said how exciting it must be for him, the team, and for all of the fans."
Perino said that Bush also noted that Manuel had brought some of the players by the White House last year, and said he was "really impressed" by them. She said Bush asked Montgomery "to give Charlie and the entire organization his best."
Bundled in parkas and blankets, fans returned in force to Citizens Bank Park and saw the city claim its first major sports championship in 25 years. No more references needed to those sad-sack Phillies teams in the past and their 10,000-plus losses.
"They could taste it just as much as we could," Series MVP Cole Hamels said.
It was among the wackiest endings in baseball history, a best-of-seven series turned into a best-of-3 1/2 showdown when play resumed in the bottom of the sixth inning tied at 2.
Home Sweet Home
The Phillies became the fifth team to come home tied 1-1 and go on to win the World Series by taking three straight in their own park. The Cardinals were the last to do it, in 2006 against the Tigers. Here's a look:
Year Team
2008 Phillies
2006 Cardinals
1984 Tigers
1974 Athletics
1969 Mets
How bizarre? Hamels was a star in Game 5 -- and the ace never stepped on the mound Wednesday night; Two Rays relievers warmed up to start, and there was a pinch-hitter before a single pitch; "God Bless America" was sung rather than the national anthem, and it was quickly followed by the seventh-inning stretch.
All because the game was suspended Monday night after rain made the field into a quagmire, washing out the foul lines, creating a puddle at home plate and turning every ball an adventure. Commissioner Bud Selig eventually called it -- fans booed loudly when he presented the MVP trophy to Hamels.
For Philly, it was more than a World Series win. Got the whole city off the hook, actually.
Finally, long after Julius Erving led the Sixers to the 1983 NBA title, something to celebrate.
How much did Philly fans want a champion to call their own?
Well, the sports hero they point to with the most pride isn't even a real person -- Rocky Balboa.
Yo, Adrian ... the Phillies did it!
"It's over," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "It's over, man."
Fast Facts
• The Phillies scored two runs in the resumed portion of Game 5 to clinch their first World Series title since 1980 and second in team history.
• The win gives the city of Philadelphia its first major sports championship since 1983, when the 76ers won the NBA title.
• The Phillies go 7-0 at home in the postseason. Since 1995, only the Phillies and 1999 Yankees have gone unbeaten at home in postseason and won the World Series.
• The Phillies closed the season hot. Including the postseason, they won 24 of 30 to end the year.
Lidge went 48-for-48 on save chances this year, including two this week. He retired two batters with a runner on second, striking out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske to end it.
Lidge jumped in front of the mound, landing on his knees with arms outstretched. Catcher Carlos Ruiz ran out to grab him, and teammates sprinted to the mound to join them as towel-waving fans let loose.
"At first, I couldn't believe it. And then the gravity of what happened hit me," Lidge said.
A generation ago, it was Tug McGraw who went wild when the Phillies won their first title. A few days after country singer Tim McGraw scattered his dad's ashes on the mound, it was Lidge's turn to throw the final pitch.
Popular broadcaster Harry Kalas, in his fourth decade of doing Phillies games, serenaded the festive fans with a chorus of "High Hopes."
Despite low TV ratings and minus the majors' most glamorous teams, fans will always remember how this one wrapped up. And for the first time in a long while, kids saw a World Series champion crowned before bedtime.
"I believe this firmly, our guys are not going to be satisfied without playing in October from now on," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "And that's a good thing. And that's all because of this group of people this year."
Reliever J.C. Romero got the win, his second of the Series.
Hamels went 4-0 in five postseason starts, beating the Rays in Game 1 and pitching six sharp innings in the rain during Game 5. He was set to be the first batter when the game resumed, and was immediately pulled for a pinch-hitter.
While former NL MVPs Ryan Howard and Rollins drive the Phillies, it was their less-heralded teammates who helped win it on this chilly night. Closing It Out
Phillies closer Brad Lidge was 41-for-41 on save opportunities in the regular season. He stayed perfect in the postseason and equaled the NL record for saves. Here's a look:
Most Saves by NL Pitcher
Single Postseason Year, Player Team Saves
2008, Brad Lidge* Phillies 7
2002, Robb Nen Giants 7
2007, Manny Corpas Rockies 5
1996, Mark Wohlers Braves 5
*Won the World Series
Tied at 3, Pat Burrell led off the seventh with a drive off the center-field wall against J.P. Howell. Chad Bradford relieved and one out later Feliz singled home pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett.
Rocco Baldelli's solo home run off Ryan Madson made it 3-all in the top of the seventh. The Rays almost got more, but All-Star second baseman Chase Utley alertly bluffed a throw to first on a grounder over the bag and instead threw out Jason Bartlett at the plate.
Pinch-hitter Geoff Jenkins, the first batter Wednesday night, doubled and later scored on Jayson Werth's bloop single.
In all, there were six new pitchers, three pinch-hitters and two pinch-runners when play restarted.
Manuel, whose NL East champions clinched a playoff spot in the final week, guided the Phillies' second overall championship in six World Series tries. The Phils helped themselves by going 7-0 at home this postseason, beating Milwaukee and the Dodgers in the NL playoffs and then defeating the Rays.
"I always thought we'd win the World Series. I knew we could beat anyone in the league," Manuel said.
Once known as a city of champions, Philadelphia saw its sports teams fall on hard times after Erving and Moses Malone led the Sixers to that 1983 title.
Since then, the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers made it to the championship game or round -- seven times, in total -- and lost all of them.
The city became so starved for a crown that it was ready to throw a parade down Broad Street for a horse. But local colt Smarty Jones lost, too, in his bid for the Triple Crown.
Now, all those people can gather for the celebration Friday -- it's Halloween, and fans can dress up as champions for Halloween.
"People enjoy being associated with winning and a world championship is the ultimate," Mike Schmidt, MVP of the Phillies' other championship, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press this week. "It unites a town behind one team."
Tampa Bay did itself proud, too, until this final week. Baseball's best success story this season, the worst-to-first Rays played like the downtrodden Devil Rays from the past decade.
Even so, the gap between the Phils and Rays wasn't enormous. Had Evan Longoria's late, long drive off Moyer in Game 3 not been blown back by the wind, the teams might still be playing.
Game notes
The World Series failed to make it to a Game 6 for the fifth straight year, the first time that's happened. ... Burrell went 1-for-14 in the five games. ... Howell put down the first sacrifice bunt of his career.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Lidge and the Phillies close out Rays, earn World Series title
10-29-8
PHILADELPHIA -- Save the jokes, the taunts and all those insults about the losingest team in sports.
The Philadelphia Phillies just won themselves a World Series.
If that sounds strange, it was strange.
Nearly 50 hours after Game 5 started but was stopped by rain, Brad Lidge and the Phillies finished off the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in a three-inning sprint Wednesday night.
"It was a crazy way to win it with a suspended game, but we did and it's over," 45-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer said. "It has been a long wait, but it's worth it."
Left in limbo by a two-day storm, the Phillies seesawed to their first championship since 1980. Pedro Feliz singled home the go-ahead run in the seventh and Lidge closed out his perfect season to deliver the title Philly craved for so long.
Cheesesteaks, on the house.
"Who's the world champion?" manager Charlie Manuel asked the gleeful crowd during a 90-minute postgame ceremony that lasted longer than Wednesday night's action.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that President Bush talked to David Montgomery, the Phillies' president, on Thursday morning. She said he "offered his congratulations and said how exciting it must be for him, the team, and for all of the fans."
Perino said that Bush also noted that Manuel had brought some of the players by the White House last year, and said he was "really impressed" by them. She said Bush asked Montgomery "to give Charlie and the entire organization his best."
Bundled in parkas and blankets, fans returned in force to Citizens Bank Park and saw the city claim its first major sports championship in 25 years. No more references needed to those sad-sack Phillies teams in the past and their 10,000-plus losses.
"They could taste it just as much as we could," Series MVP Cole Hamels said.
It was among the wackiest endings in baseball history, a best-of-seven series turned into a best-of-3 1/2 showdown when play resumed in the bottom of the sixth inning tied at 2.
Home Sweet Home
The Phillies became the fifth team to come home tied 1-1 and go on to win the World Series by taking three straight in their own park. The Cardinals were the last to do it, in 2006 against the Tigers. Here's a look:
Year Team
2008 Phillies
2006 Cardinals
1984 Tigers
1974 Athletics
1969 Mets
How bizarre? Hamels was a star in Game 5 -- and the ace never stepped on the mound Wednesday night; Two Rays relievers warmed up to start, and there was a pinch-hitter before a single pitch; "God Bless America" was sung rather than the national anthem, and it was quickly followed by the seventh-inning stretch.
All because the game was suspended Monday night after rain made the field into a quagmire, washing out the foul lines, creating a puddle at home plate and turning every ball an adventure. Commissioner Bud Selig eventually called it -- fans booed loudly when he presented the MVP trophy to Hamels.
For Philly, it was more than a World Series win. Got the whole city off the hook, actually.
Finally, long after Julius Erving led the Sixers to the 1983 NBA title, something to celebrate.
How much did Philly fans want a champion to call their own?
Well, the sports hero they point to with the most pride isn't even a real person -- Rocky Balboa.
Yo, Adrian ... the Phillies did it!
"It's over," shortstop Jimmy Rollins said. "It's over, man."
Fast Facts
• The Phillies scored two runs in the resumed portion of Game 5 to clinch their first World Series title since 1980 and second in team history.
• The win gives the city of Philadelphia its first major sports championship since 1983, when the 76ers won the NBA title.
• The Phillies go 7-0 at home in the postseason. Since 1995, only the Phillies and 1999 Yankees have gone unbeaten at home in postseason and won the World Series.
• The Phillies closed the season hot. Including the postseason, they won 24 of 30 to end the year.
Lidge went 48-for-48 on save chances this year, including two this week. He retired two batters with a runner on second, striking out pinch-hitter Eric Hinske to end it.
Lidge jumped in front of the mound, landing on his knees with arms outstretched. Catcher Carlos Ruiz ran out to grab him, and teammates sprinted to the mound to join them as towel-waving fans let loose.
"At first, I couldn't believe it. And then the gravity of what happened hit me," Lidge said.
A generation ago, it was Tug McGraw who went wild when the Phillies won their first title. A few days after country singer Tim McGraw scattered his dad's ashes on the mound, it was Lidge's turn to throw the final pitch.
Popular broadcaster Harry Kalas, in his fourth decade of doing Phillies games, serenaded the festive fans with a chorus of "High Hopes."
Despite low TV ratings and minus the majors' most glamorous teams, fans will always remember how this one wrapped up. And for the first time in a long while, kids saw a World Series champion crowned before bedtime.
"I believe this firmly, our guys are not going to be satisfied without playing in October from now on," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "And that's a good thing. And that's all because of this group of people this year."
Reliever J.C. Romero got the win, his second of the Series.
Hamels went 4-0 in five postseason starts, beating the Rays in Game 1 and pitching six sharp innings in the rain during Game 5. He was set to be the first batter when the game resumed, and was immediately pulled for a pinch-hitter.
While former NL MVPs Ryan Howard and Rollins drive the Phillies, it was their less-heralded teammates who helped win it on this chilly night. Closing It Out
Phillies closer Brad Lidge was 41-for-41 on save opportunities in the regular season. He stayed perfect in the postseason and equaled the NL record for saves. Here's a look:
Most Saves by NL Pitcher
Single Postseason Year, Player Team Saves
2008, Brad Lidge* Phillies 7
2002, Robb Nen Giants 7
2007, Manny Corpas Rockies 5
1996, Mark Wohlers Braves 5
*Won the World Series
Tied at 3, Pat Burrell led off the seventh with a drive off the center-field wall against J.P. Howell. Chad Bradford relieved and one out later Feliz singled home pinch-runner Eric Bruntlett.
Rocco Baldelli's solo home run off Ryan Madson made it 3-all in the top of the seventh. The Rays almost got more, but All-Star second baseman Chase Utley alertly bluffed a throw to first on a grounder over the bag and instead threw out Jason Bartlett at the plate.
Pinch-hitter Geoff Jenkins, the first batter Wednesday night, doubled and later scored on Jayson Werth's bloop single.
In all, there were six new pitchers, three pinch-hitters and two pinch-runners when play restarted.
Manuel, whose NL East champions clinched a playoff spot in the final week, guided the Phillies' second overall championship in six World Series tries. The Phils helped themselves by going 7-0 at home this postseason, beating Milwaukee and the Dodgers in the NL playoffs and then defeating the Rays.
"I always thought we'd win the World Series. I knew we could beat anyone in the league," Manuel said.
Once known as a city of champions, Philadelphia saw its sports teams fall on hard times after Erving and Moses Malone led the Sixers to that 1983 title.
Since then, the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers made it to the championship game or round -- seven times, in total -- and lost all of them.
The city became so starved for a crown that it was ready to throw a parade down Broad Street for a horse. But local colt Smarty Jones lost, too, in his bid for the Triple Crown.
Now, all those people can gather for the celebration Friday -- it's Halloween, and fans can dress up as champions for Halloween.
"People enjoy being associated with winning and a world championship is the ultimate," Mike Schmidt, MVP of the Phillies' other championship, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press this week. "It unites a town behind one team."
Tampa Bay did itself proud, too, until this final week. Baseball's best success story this season, the worst-to-first Rays played like the downtrodden Devil Rays from the past decade.
Even so, the gap between the Phils and Rays wasn't enormous. Had Evan Longoria's late, long drive off Moyer in Game 3 not been blown back by the wind, the teams might still be playing.
Game notes
The World Series failed to make it to a Game 6 for the fifth straight year, the first time that's happened. ... Burrell went 1-for-14 in the five games. ... Howell put down the first sacrifice bunt of his career.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Phillies first professional team to 10,000 losses
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/wires/07/16/2010.ap.bbn.phillies.10000.losses.0902/
Phillies first professional team to 10,000 losses
Monday Jul 16, 2007
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Never known as lovable losers, cursed, or even affectionately as bums, the Philadelphia Phillies have long held a more pitiable title: The losingest team in sports.
From the Baker Bowl to the Vet and Citizens Bank Park, futility has tailed them like the sound of boos that echo throughout Philly for the disheartenment of every September collapse, every last-place finish, every near miss.
No team has lost quite like the Phillies. Now, make it 10,000 times.
Bad starting pitching, brutal relief, hardly any hitting, it was all in there in Sunday's milestone loss. Albert Pujols hit two of the St. Louis Cardinals' six homers in a 10-2 rout.
"I don't really care about it,'' Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We haven't been really talking about it. Our players haven't been talking about it.''
Maybe there wasn't much chatter in the clubhouse, but the fans jumped all over the ugly number. They started Web sites that counted down to 10,000, blogged about the memorable defeats and brought signs to the game that poked fun at the unimaginable number.
By the ninth inning, fans in the sellout crowd of 44,872 thumbed their noses at the dubious mark, standing and applauding. Camera flashes went off all around the park, trying to record the final pitch as NL MVP Ryan Howard struck out to end the game.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made sure to snag the ball and said he would auction it off for charity.
"That ball is history,'' he said. "It's nothing to be ashamed about.''
Maybe not. But only one World Series championship (1980) in 125 years has long brought that feeling to the fans in a city way too familiar with losing.
The Phillies have had few moments to celebrate. The franchise, born in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers and briefly called the Blue Jays in the mid-1940s, fell to 8,810-10,000.
Next on the losing list: the Braves, with 9,681 defeats. It took them stints in three cities (Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta) to reach that total. Not even those lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs, come close at 9,425.
And for those counting, it was the 58th time the Phillies have lost by that exact 10-2 score, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
The Phillies avoided the milestone for three games, but the Cardinals - the team that caught them 43 years ago for the NL pennant in one of the biggest collapses in baseball history - beat Philadelphia one more time.
All that mattered to the Phillies was winning the series, 2-1.
"It doesn't matter one way or the other to all the guys in here,'' All-Star center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "The guys in here weren't responsible for 10,000 losses, so what does it really matter to us?''
It hasn't been all bad for the Phillies. They've had their share of highlights and Hall of Famers: Jim Bunning, Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn.
They haven't lost 100 games since 1961, and they won the NL East three straight years from 1976-78 behind Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Larry Bowa. Philadelphia lost the World Series in 1983 and 1993, though it hasn't returned to the playoffs since Joe Carter's homer won the 1993 World Series for Toronto.
"I think they need to forget about it and move forward,'' said Greg Luzinski, the starting left fielder for the 1980 team.
After combining for 23 runs and 37 hits in the first two games of the series, the Phillies were held in check by Adam Wainwright (8-7). He threw seven shutout innings against the highest-scoring team in the National League.
Philadelphia, with a 46-45 record this year, fell five games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets.
The Phillies blew their chance to push back No. 10,000 until their seven-game West Coast road trip when even the die-hards would have trouble staying awake to watch it.
Pujols hit a two-run shot in the fifth off Adam Eaton (8-6) that was followed by Chris Duncan's 17th of the year for a 6-0 lead. Pujols, Juan Encarnacion and Adam Kennedy each homered in the seventh. Ryan Ludwick added a solo shot in the eighth to make it 10-0.
Philadelphia broke up the shutout in the ninth when Michael Bourn hit his first major league homer.
The players were at least glad they no longer have to answer questions about 10,000.
"Oh, we were so stressed about it,'' Eaton cracked.
Every true fan knows of the infamous 1964 collapse when the Phillies held a 6 1/2-game lead with 12 to play, only to blow the NL title by losing 10 straight. The Cardinals won the pennant by one game.
The Phillies had a big head start in earning this ignominious mark: They played their first game on May 1, 1883, against the Providence Grays. Of course, the Quakers lost 4-3 to Old Hoss Radbourn and started 0-8. They went on to lose 81 of 98 games in their inaugural season.
"I've been involved in over 2,900 of them, but I've also seen a lot of wins during that time,'' Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas said.
Phillies first professional team to 10,000 losses
Monday Jul 16, 2007
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -Never known as lovable losers, cursed, or even affectionately as bums, the Philadelphia Phillies have long held a more pitiable title: The losingest team in sports.
From the Baker Bowl to the Vet and Citizens Bank Park, futility has tailed them like the sound of boos that echo throughout Philly for the disheartenment of every September collapse, every last-place finish, every near miss.
No team has lost quite like the Phillies. Now, make it 10,000 times.
Bad starting pitching, brutal relief, hardly any hitting, it was all in there in Sunday's milestone loss. Albert Pujols hit two of the St. Louis Cardinals' six homers in a 10-2 rout.
"I don't really care about it,'' Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "We haven't been really talking about it. Our players haven't been talking about it.''
Maybe there wasn't much chatter in the clubhouse, but the fans jumped all over the ugly number. They started Web sites that counted down to 10,000, blogged about the memorable defeats and brought signs to the game that poked fun at the unimaginable number.
By the ninth inning, fans in the sellout crowd of 44,872 thumbed their noses at the dubious mark, standing and applauding. Camera flashes went off all around the park, trying to record the final pitch as NL MVP Ryan Howard struck out to end the game.
Cardinals manager Tony La Russa made sure to snag the ball and said he would auction it off for charity.
"That ball is history,'' he said. "It's nothing to be ashamed about.''
Maybe not. But only one World Series championship (1980) in 125 years has long brought that feeling to the fans in a city way too familiar with losing.
The Phillies have had few moments to celebrate. The franchise, born in 1883 as the Philadelphia Quakers and briefly called the Blue Jays in the mid-1940s, fell to 8,810-10,000.
Next on the losing list: the Braves, with 9,681 defeats. It took them stints in three cities (Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta) to reach that total. Not even those lovable losers, the Chicago Cubs, come close at 9,425.
And for those counting, it was the 58th time the Phillies have lost by that exact 10-2 score, the Elias Sports Bureau said.
The Phillies avoided the milestone for three games, but the Cardinals - the team that caught them 43 years ago for the NL pennant in one of the biggest collapses in baseball history - beat Philadelphia one more time.
All that mattered to the Phillies was winning the series, 2-1.
"It doesn't matter one way or the other to all the guys in here,'' All-Star center fielder Aaron Rowand said. "The guys in here weren't responsible for 10,000 losses, so what does it really matter to us?''
It hasn't been all bad for the Phillies. They've had their share of highlights and Hall of Famers: Jim Bunning, Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn.
They haven't lost 100 games since 1961, and they won the NL East three straight years from 1976-78 behind Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Larry Bowa. Philadelphia lost the World Series in 1983 and 1993, though it hasn't returned to the playoffs since Joe Carter's homer won the 1993 World Series for Toronto.
"I think they need to forget about it and move forward,'' said Greg Luzinski, the starting left fielder for the 1980 team.
After combining for 23 runs and 37 hits in the first two games of the series, the Phillies were held in check by Adam Wainwright (8-7). He threw seven shutout innings against the highest-scoring team in the National League.
Philadelphia, with a 46-45 record this year, fell five games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets.
The Phillies blew their chance to push back No. 10,000 until their seven-game West Coast road trip when even the die-hards would have trouble staying awake to watch it.
Pujols hit a two-run shot in the fifth off Adam Eaton (8-6) that was followed by Chris Duncan's 17th of the year for a 6-0 lead. Pujols, Juan Encarnacion and Adam Kennedy each homered in the seventh. Ryan Ludwick added a solo shot in the eighth to make it 10-0.
Philadelphia broke up the shutout in the ninth when Michael Bourn hit his first major league homer.
The players were at least glad they no longer have to answer questions about 10,000.
"Oh, we were so stressed about it,'' Eaton cracked.
Every true fan knows of the infamous 1964 collapse when the Phillies held a 6 1/2-game lead with 12 to play, only to blow the NL title by losing 10 straight. The Cardinals won the pennant by one game.
The Phillies had a big head start in earning this ignominious mark: They played their first game on May 1, 1883, against the Providence Grays. Of course, the Quakers lost 4-3 to Old Hoss Radbourn and started 0-8. They went on to lose 81 of 98 games in their inaugural season.
"I've been involved in over 2,900 of them, but I've also seen a lot of wins during that time,'' Hall of Fame broadcaster Harry Kalas said.
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