Phillies

The sellout crowd watched in stunned silence Friday at Citizens Bank Park.

The final out was recorded. The St. Louis Cardinals were mobbing ace Chris Carpenter after a 1-0 victory in game 5 of the NL divyision series. And Philadelphia Phillies lost game when Ryan Howard was on the ground withering in pain.

The quiet was finally broken by the sound of a fan yelling, "Let's Go Eagles,'' and others start shuffling towards the exits.

The Phillies, believing this might be the greatest team in their franchise history, disappeared into the Philadelphia night.

Inside the clubhouse, Roy Halladay, who gave up one run and lost, stared vacantly into his locker for nearly 25 minutes. Center fielder Shane Victorino grabbed World Series tickets from his locker and tore them into pieces. Manager Charlie Manuel uttered how he felt angry and empty. Howard, hitless in his last 15 at-bats and now suffering surgery on a possible torn Achilles tendon, kept muttering to himself.

The Beasts of the NL East, the Phillies had realized the Boston Red Sox collapse down the stretch, and the New York Yankees lost their tempo in the first round, but they were not believed that they would suffer the same circumstances.

"I'm very surprised,'' Phillies reliever Brad Lidge said, "that we lost.''

The Phillies scored 15 runs in the first 10 innings of the series and just six the rest of the way. If not for Ben Francisco's pinch-hit, three-run homer in Game 3, the Phillies might have been eliminated in St. Louis.

"The hard part is you think about all the hard work you put in over the course of the year, all the anticipation, all the excitement," Halladay said. "All of a sudden that kind of dissipates. It's hard to have it end like that.

"It's a tough way to go.''

It was a classic pitching duel, one that will be forever frozen in time. It was happen first time since the 1921 World Series that the game's lone run in a clinching game was scored in the first inning.

It didn't ease the Phillies' pain one bit.

"I am feeling little sick,'' said Pence, who hit just .211 in the series, "I was not able to do more.''

Said Manuel: "I could not really tell you the truth how I feel. Right now, I've got some anger. I've got some question. I just feel very empty."

The Phillies, just like 26 other teams, are faced with the future. Tough decisions have to be made.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins, 33, is a free agent, and wants a five-year deal. Closer Ryan Madson and outfielder Raul Ibanez are free agents, too. There are option years on the contracts of starter Roy Oswalt and Lidge.

"I would say in my four years here, this was probably the most talented team we've ever had," said Lidge, who has a $12.5 million club option that the Phillies surely will not exercise. "I know there's a chance there's a few people here that might not be back, so you want to make sure you take advantage of something like this when you can. At the same time, the horses in the rotation will be back, and because of that, this team is going to continue to win.''

Yet, it will plan different for coming year. The uniforms will be the same, but players could be different.

"This is the most unpredictable team I've ever been on,'' Lidge said, "with the most unbelievable fans I've ever witnessed," Lidge said. "This is a pretty amazing place, a pretty special place.

"I will plan different for this winter"

It's going to be a long one, three weeks longer than expected.

"Obviously, we had higher expectations, we expected to play much better than this season," Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee said. "But nothing's handed to you and you have to earn it. It's not over until it's over.