It was ordinary day. Watching and listening to the sports announcer telling the world that my baseball Philadelphia Phillies has a franchise-record and major league high eight All-Stars in the All-Star Game which is a reflection of what the Phillies have done so far this season; but not where they expect to be when it was all over. Especially, after how they finished each of the last two seasons. "Our goal as a group is very straightforward, and that's to win the World Series," reliever Jeff Hoffman said this past Monday before the All-Star Game workout. "Obviously, this is a nice accolade on the way there, but our goals are more lofty than this." These Phillies have a 62-34 record at present that is the best in baseball, and their most wins ever at the All-Star break. They have an 8 1/2 game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League East. "We definitely had a pretty dang good first half," first baseman Bryce Harper said. "I think when you have a good team, you have depth. Just a lot of fun as a group, from the top down." Harper, short-stop Trea Turner and third baseman Alec Bohm were all voted by fans as All-Star starters. The Phillies then became the first team to have five All-Star pitchers, with three from their starting rotation that leads the majors with a 3.22 ERA. "I don't think we think we deserve anything. I think it's just more so, it's a pretty hungry group," Bohn said, "I think we've gotten close enough two times to where there's some hunger there for sure." Philadelphia in 2022 made its first World Series since 2009 and lost in six games to Houston. The Phillies didn't make it back last October, even after winning the first two games of the National League Championship Series and then returned home for Game 6 with a 3-2 lead and postseason standout Aaron Nola on the mound. They instead lost twice at home to the Arizona Diamondbacks. "No one's going to talk about the eight Phillies that made the All-Star Game unless we win the World Series," reliever Matt Strahm said. "It'll be remembered when they won the World Series and had eight All-Stars, so.....we all have one goal in mind, and this is just a stop along the way." Strahm wasn't with the Phillies during their World Series run two years ago, but signed with them as a free agent right after that. "Last year being with the team, you could feel it from the guys that came up short the year before, and I mean just feed off it." he said. "Day one spring (this year), it didn't even feel like we even said Hi! Like....we were just let's go, and we all knew..... It's just an open wound until we fix it." Neither Zack Wheeler or Ranger Suárez pitched in the All-Star Game, though both have 10-4 records. Left-handed Christopher Sánchez (7-4, 2.96 ERA) is a first-time All-Star pick, as are relievers Hoffman and Strahm. Wheeler skipped his scheduled start Sunday and is using the All-Star break to recover from a nagging back issue, while Suárez is being held out as a precaution after experiencing tightness and spasms in his lower back after his Friday night start last week. World Series fever has begun to set in, and everyone on the team is starting to feel it. But, it's still a long way before the end of the season, and other teams are prepping themselves to take on the Phillies. I'd love to see my Phils make it to the World Series, but I'm not getting my hope too high just yet. Maybe by the time they get to the final few weeks and still have a chance....then I'll get World Series Fever. They have the personnel to do it....but the entire team must stay healthy. Losing a key pitcher or position player could be a disaster. I'll keep you informed if and when they reach a new plateau. September is still a long way off,....and all the teams will be prepared for their games with the Phillies. Here's hoping the new additions this year to go along with the best players from last year....will give the Phillies a chance to make it into the World Series. Hey, I'm not getting any younger.....so they need to make a move as soon as possible so I can have a chance to cheer on my Phillies to a victory in the World Series. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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