Fast forward 27 years later.
In 2012, the Philadelphia Phillies are spending $55,285,714 on the contracts of Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Roy Halladay. All Utley and Howard have done this year is collect their paychecks from the comfort of their injury rehab centers, while Roy Halladay ... well, he just joined them.
Earlier today, Roy Halladay was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right shoulder. However, he will be sidelined for far more than 15 days. Phillies' assistant general manager Scott Proefrock stated that Halladay will miss six-to-eight weeks. Halladay will be completely shut down for three weeks, then will spend the rest of his time on the DL working his way back into the Phillies' rotation. In all likelihood, he will not return to the majors until after the All-Star Break.
Philadelphia has won five consecutive division titles, beginning in 2007, when Jimmy Rollins proclaimed the Phillies as the team to beat. Now it seems the Phillies are no longer the team to beat, but the beaten team. They have been in last place or next-to-last every day since April 17 and at no point this year have they been ahead of the Mets in the standings. Halladay's absence will make it all the more tougher for them to climb out of the bottom half of the NL East.
In 2009, the Mets were plagued with injuries and they finished below .500 for the first time since 2004. Phillies fans (the ones who hid from the ballpark prior to 2007) made fun of the Mets' maladies and told Mets fans to stop using the injuries as an excuse for their team's failures. The tables have now been turned.
It's never a good thing to root for an injury to a player, but it sure feels sweet to see the Phillies going through what the Mets have been through for the past three seasons, especially with the Mets hanging around the top of the division while the Phillies languish at the bottom.
Shane Victorino, watch your back. Then again, maybe you shouldn't. You might end up straining your neck doing so.
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