I still like our group, our core group of guys, going into next year," he says of the relievers. It is unlikely, though, that both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez will return.

It's mid October and the Phillies are not playing. It's not supposed to be like this. After an upset loss in the NLDS to the Mets, the Phils know they can't completely run it back with the same 26 guys.

But six days later, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski gave his perspective of events at Citizens Bank Park. No, not everything went perfect this time around, but maybe this team’s just getting started.