Who would have thought, as we watched this team fade away in 2012, that four years later, we’d be seeing Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, Joe Blanton, Jayson Werth, Cole Hamels, and Jimmy Rollins together again at the playoffs? Only this time, they’re playing for three different teams. And also, one of them isn’t actually playing.
Yes, the 2016 MLB playoffs will be a lot like a Phillies Alumni Weekend in a couple of years, if instead of honoring them on the field, the Phillies forced the alumni to play against each other in a high stakes multi-night tournament that actually counts while they presumably weep and ask to see their families.