PHILADELPHIA -- There is still plenty to do on a task that began in February. Forget that the Phillies arrived in Clearwater, Fla., as the defending National League East champions. That's the past.
Though they reached the postseason for the first time since 1993, the players barely enjoyed it. A hot Colorado team -- the only hotter team in baseball at the time -- ended their season before the champagne dried from their division title celebration.
The 2008 focus wouldn't be to just visit the playoffs, take a few photos and go home. Even during those early, sunny and clear days of Spring Training, there wasn't a Phillies player satisfied with the previous season.
The team fell 11 wins short of the ultimate goal.
"There's plenty of room for improvement," Jimmy Rollins said in his first public comments in the spring. "I'd like us to get a little deeper in the playoffs, or a lot deeper. How about as deep as you can get?"
This coming from the reigning NL MVP, who generated chuckles and taunts of misplaced bravado a year earlier when he declared the Phillies the "team to beat." For his encore, he said the '08 edition could win 100 games.
Could? What about will?
"I guess after 162 games, we'll know that answer."
With 12 games remaining in the season, the Phillies won't reach 100 wins, but their victory total may be enough. The ride to this point exhausting, head-scratching, memorable and entertaining.
And thanks to a five-game winning streak, the Phillies hold a half-game lead over the Mets in the NL East. Five games earlier, they trailed by 3 1/2.
Haven't we seen this script before? Yes, last season, when the Phillies overcame a seven-game deficit with 17 to play.
But that doesn't mean the Phillies plan to sit back and expect a rerun.
"The players realize exactly what we have to do and how hard it is to go get [to the playoffs]," manager Charlie Manuel said. "The guys that were on the team last year -- especially the core players -- they know how hard it is for us to win. Winning is never easy."
How did they get to this point?
Pat Burrell and Chase Utley carry April and May
With Rollins out with a sprained left ankle and Ryan Howard's stroke out of whack, it seemed like Burrell or Utley had something to do with each of the team's 32 wins through May 31.
Utley batted .320 with 21 homers and 52 RBIs through June 2, and, while Burrell did most of his damage in April, his .278 mark with a 13 homers and 36 RBIs by May 31 were impressive.
Twice during that span, Utley homered in five straight games, and Burrell's name always seemed to precede the words "hit caps come-from-behind win."
"They were hot this month," Manuel said in late May. "We won a lot of early games because of them.
June-July swoon
What went right for Philadelphia in the first two months spun out of control in June and July. They seemingly reached a peak with a 20-2 drubbing of St. Louis, June 13, extending their NL East lead over the Marlins to four games.
The Mets and Braves were further away, at 7 1/2. After that win against the Cardinals, the Phillies dropped the final two games of the series, then struggled mightily during Interleague Play.
In going 3-9 against Boston, Los Angeles of Anaheim, Oakland and Texas, the Phillies batted .205.
"Our offense seems to be the thing we thrive on," said Shane Victorino, after a June 25 loss in Oakland. That game was started by Joe Blanton. "It's almost like we don't know what to do to get out [of it]. Everything is going wrong for us."
Added Manuel after that sixth straight loss: "We need to get good balls to hit, but at the same time, we need to stay aggressive with our swings. We've got guys not hitting, swinging bad, swinging at balls in the dirt, chasing balls over their heads, it looks like they've never seen a baseball. They can go back from square one and start thinking about what they've always done. That's how we're going to come out of it."
Jamie Moyer summed up the clubhouse climate.
"Three in a row, four in a row. Six in a row?" he said. "The day off felt like a loss, too."
By the end of the month, the sight of Brett Myers pitching was too much to bear, and the team shipped him to the Minor Leagues. That move would pay huge dividends.
September rebirth?
A 44-game stretch in first place ended July 24, when the Phillies lost at Shea Stadium. They would regain the top spot later for another stretch before losing it again on Aug. 27.
However, Philadelphia once again returned to first place on Tuesday with a 8-7 win over the Braves.
With September came another charge, with their two most recent Most Valuable Players leading the way. Howard and Rollins, who boast September as their best month, have been scorching.
Myers returned in late July and has been a dominant pitcher ever since. Jamie Moyer and Cole Hamels have been stellar, too, while Brad Lidge continues to be automatic as the closer.
Last season, Philadelphia galloped to a 13-4 finish and captured the division from the stumbling Mets. New York is fading again. So is Milwaukee, the Wild Card leader until Sunday, giving the Phillies another way in.
The journey to this point has been far from perfect. That's the way it works in Philadelphia, where suffering and emotional roller coaster rides come with the cheese steaks.
But they may get there yet.
"This team is a team of necessity sometimes," Jayson Werth said. "If you look back to last year, when we needed to win, we won. The pieces of the puzzle are starting to connect."
