I think they will be compared to the 1996-2001 Yankees. If you want to talk about a dynasty, that is the dynasty to compare teams to in modern day.
I want Giant-Yankees WS. Get the old NY rivalry going.
Wow, I can't see anybody being like that crew. During that time, some say it's the best group of guys in baseball, ever. Division wins with expectation for no less, close to unparalleled pitching, hitting in the 300s consistently, four WS wins. That's a Yankees dynasty among dynasties.
When the Phillies get
at least three wins in five tries in the World Series in a similarly short time, then I may put them in the same sentence as that crew from New York. Anyway, I don't ever remember the Phillies striking so much fear in an opponent. They are probably like Boston was not long ago, and may become like that '96-2001 Yankees lineup. In that period the Yankees also have four AL pennant wins in a row, also very hard to achieve even though their four WS wins were not in a row. Any way one looks at it, the Yankees put up great numbers.
The Phillies could conceivably win the WS, but then they would have to win that series again, and at least show up one, if not two, more times, as runner up, to make themselves synonymous with the championship as the go to NL contender. I know if the Yankees don't win the WS this year, a lot of people will still consider them an early season favorite next year to go the distance.
Philly can be a couple of bad trades away from mediocrity, but the Yankees have never been that vulnerable. When the Yanks didn't measure up, it wasn't because they could not get players.
That being said, a team like San Francisco or Seattle are a player away from being as good as Philly now. Let's say the Giants get someone like Ichiro or Pujols or another Lincecum. With just one addition of or near that caliber would make the Giants the NL team to beat, not the "underdog" in the NLCS. If the Mariners got a Lincecum, they would be right up there as a major threat in their division.
We SF fans got a lot of mileage just on Barry Bonds, a single (yet juiced up) player. If only our pitching or hitting was a little better some years ago, SF would have cleaned out the Angels in the World Series. It could come down to just one great player or a couple of good players playing their potential.
SF will have to play their very best baseball, and not just the stuff they put up against Atlanta, to get past the Phillies and then win the AL team on the other side. I am not even thinking World Series right now, as the Phillies, one game at a time, is scary enough.
