The 2009 Philadelphia Phillies: Look Closer…

“Getting someone like Cliff motivates everyone. Our fans can feel it. They want that swagger…They sure don’t want to see us do a Mets collapse.”

-Cole Hamels

For the first time in many years, the Phillies look comfortable heading into the regular season’s final month. They’ve won 4 in a row, and the Marlins are a healthy 4.5 games back.

On the surface, everything seems fine in Philadelphia. Jimmy Rollins is Jimmy Rollins again, and adding Cliff Lee looks like the steal of this year’s trade deadline. Even so, disturbing problems loom on the horizon. The champs are flawed. The curse of William Penn was lifted in 2008, but the 2009 Phillies still have plenty of demons to go around.

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