Phil Sheridan: Phils showing how hard it is to repeat

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, June, 2009 | by Phil Sheridan Inquirer Columnist

As the Phillies staggered through a horrific homestand - bad baseball interrupted by players in the emergency room and on the disabled list - a small voice in the back of your mind grew louder and more shrill:

This, the voice whispered, is why championship teams don't repeat.

While the Phillies were preparing to score one run against Baltimore's Jeremy Guthrie, first baseman Ryan Howard was getting a CT scan on his head. Doctors were trying to rule out a sinus infection as the reason for Howard's two hospital trips over the weekend.

It would be hard to get the entire team into the scanner at once. If you could, the results would show these Phillies suffering from just about every problem common to defending champions.

Name the pitfall and it has befallen...