More winner's lament

A week or so ago, one of the WIP hosts had a good observation. He said the Phillies are no longer in the National League, but are competing more against the Yankees, Angels and Red Sox.

It's true.

Whether you believe they are legitimately in on Roy Halladay or not, you can't help but notice that they're the only National League team mentioned in the Halladay speculation. It's as if every team is just resigned to the fact that the Phillies will be league champions for the third straight year.

Christine wasn't happy when she read this bit from Tom Verducci:

After almost a decade in which democracy ruled in the NL, Philadelphia is becoming the Yankees of its league: the king who wants more. Already the two-time league champion, the Phillies, given their aggressiveness and stockpile of young talent, are emerging as the favorite to land Toronto ace Roy Halladay.

They may have even supplanted my Red Sox:

The Phillies represent the biggest growth brand in the baseball industry, similar to how the Red Sox began to rise in 2003 under new ownership.

Their farm system is so flush that they could trade for both Lee (who cost them four prospects) and Halladay inside of six months and still have hay in the barn.

Their attendance has risen 38 percent since 2006, climbing from 2.6 million -- ninth in the league -- to 3.6 million.

Their payroll in those three years jumped 49 percent, from $88 million to $131 million and is likely to approach $140 million in 2010.

Local television ratings for the Phillies on CSN Philadelphia, their regional sports network, soared 24 percent last year alone -- the team's seventh consecutive season with increased viewership. The Phillies' 7.13 rating and 210,000 average homes are team records. Only the Yankees and Red Sox reach more households with their local networks -- making the Phillies the most watched team in the NL.

But, as we've noted before, this success comes with a price. Last week, Christine and I debated whether to fall for the Phillies extortion and purchase a Sunday plan because they no longer allow you to buy six packs with a Red Sox game and Fan Appreciation Day.

We had pretty much decided to go ahead, but the grown-ups in us hesitated before splurging and committing ourselves to so many games when we don't know what the summer holds for us.
My desire to see the Red Sox and continue our tradition of seeing Philadelphia's last home game of the regular season, as well as Christine's desire to attend as many Phillies games as possible, trumped those concerns. We logged on last night, but alas, all the Sunday plans are sold out.

It was quite different from when we were able to purchase a Sunday plan with prime seats for 2008 on New Year's Eve.

We bought a six pack, but we're disappointed. The seats are lousy, and we feel shut out from the Phillies.

I miss the days when you could walk up to Veterans Stadium, pay $5 and see the game whenever you wanted. {But do we miss seeing those stinky teams at the Vet? Ah, the dilemma of being a fan of an elite team.}