Final thoughts

The Phillies won the World Series. We were there. Incredible.

I tried to take a picture immediately after the last out, but as you can see, it didn't quite turn out. I was shaking from the cold and the excitement, and everyone was going crazy in the stands. There were streamers and confetti flying through the air, and people were dumping beers on each other. Fireworks were going off at the stadium and in the city streets, and the field was immediately filled not just with the Phillies and their personnel, but with the national crew for the post-game show. My eyes welled up as the World Championship banner was unfurled over the center field wall.

I don't think I can describe how I felt at that moment- rather than going crazy, just a sense of overwhelming calm and contentedness that the Phillies, who I have followed for all these years, finally reached their goal. It feels great that my team won, but I'm more happy and proud for the players who gutted it out, throughout the year and over many seasons.

And as I think about the players, that's when I start to get a little sad. The end of the baseball season is always depressing for me - summer is officially over, there are no more games to watch, and a long, cold winter is just around the corner. But this time, it's different. The Phillies proved they are the best team in baseball, but that's the highest that they can go. They will win again, but it probably won't be with the same feeling of accomplishment and joy. And it definitely won't be with the same group of players. This column by Phil Sheridan really tugged at my usually cynical heartstrings.

Pat Burrell, who I have long rooted for, will be gone. Jamie Moyer may or may not be back with the Phillies, or there is always the possibility that he will retire at the pinnacle of his career. I'm not shedding any tears over the loss of So Taguchi or Tom Gordon, but they both had their moments this year that helped the Phillies win. The starting rotation, after Cole Hamels and Brett Myers, is up in the air: Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ, Adam Eaton, possibly Moyer and possibly some other players to be named later - how do they fit in the equation? Not to mention the loss of Pat Gillick and Mike Arbuckle. They weren't on the field, but they created the 2008 champs.

And how will the contracts for Hamels and Ryan Howard play out this off-season? Will the Phillies reward them for the efforts and successes, or will the situation turn ugly, as it did last winter with Howard?

I'm trying not to think about these things too much right now. How I don't want my team to become the kind of obnoxious team with pink hats filling the stands, with players who become divas and whose egos explode after tasting such success, and with poseurs buying up all the game tickets, which will undoubtedly skyrocket in price.

No, right now I just want to remember 2008 because I will never get to experience this again. I want to watch the recording of Wednesday night's clincher to relive that night. I'm already eagerly awaiting the '08 year-end video; they are always well-done and provide a great look back at the season's highs and lows, and I know Dan Stephenson will outdo himself this year as he creates this important memento.

On Jan. 1, I was working on this computer, downloading songs onto my iPod. Greg came into the room and made a grand announcement: "I've made a decision, and it's going to affect you." I momentarily panicked, wondering what kind of life change was ahead. "I've decided to start a blog. About the Red Sox and Phillies." And for that, I'll always be grateful to Greg because I have such an unbelievable time capsule of this year, from all of the games we went to, the scorecards he kept and the detail of how I felt nearly every day this season.

I know we'll keep updating this blog, but for me, it can't get any better than 2008.

Thank you, Phillies.