Phreaking Phillies

Game 4 of the World Series. You're trailing the series 2-1.

In the bottom of the eighth you tie the game up, 4-4.

Top of the ninth. Two outs. No one is on base. Two strikes.

And then, somehow, inexplicably, amazingly, you lose by three.

My. God.

Today

Today I:
*Went to Target to buy necessary things (including marked-down candy, flannel bedsheets, and drano)
*Wrote the first 1,928 words of my NaNoWriMo novel (which will be terrible, and I still have no idea what it's about)
*Finished the above in time to watch the Phillies game
*Debated whether or not I want to watch the Phillies game based on the outcome of the last two
*Decided that I would feel responsible if the Phillies lose and I don't watch, because the single area of my life where I am completely and totally superstitious is baseball

This is more than I have done in the past several days combined. I hate being sick, and greatly prefer not being sick.

It begins again: NL East Champions x3

I know exactly what I want to happen in this post season (hint: it involves another parade in Philly), and I know exactly how I want it to happen (think pinstripes, falling down). However, I do not want to jinx anything, so I'll say no more beyond Go Phillies!

Regardless, when I was back in Philly in September, I was struck by the number of people wearing Phillies shirts or jerseys or caps, or sporting bumper stickers, or so on. Which was, quite frankly, awesome. It's about time that the city be able to truly rally around a sports team without shame or the knowledge that you're rooting for a lost cause. Because literally, for people in my age group from that area, being able to rejoice with other people at a championship is brand new, and I think we're all enjoying it too much to let it go.

Okay guys...

Dearest still-world-champions-but-had-best-get-your-asses-in-gear Phillies,

Citizen's Bank Park is your stadium. It is your home field. Have you ever heard the term 'home field advantage'? If not, it means that generally speaking, when a sports team is playing at home, in front of an audience which mostly wants them to win as they are locals, and presumably you've played many more games in this stadium than anywhere else, you have a slight advantage. You may want to make a note of this.

In other words, please stop losing every home game. It's beginning to get a bit embarrassing, and I thought we were over those days.

Take me out to the ball game...

The Phils just wrapped up a rather odd little interleague series against the Red Sox. The first game saw the Phillies put up a decent fight but lose 5-2. The second game, on Saturday, saw a cataclismically bad reenactment of the Phillies' glory days, and by glory days I mean those occassional times when they collectively forget how to play baseball. The top of the first saw them give up five runs, thanks in large to not one, not two, but three errors. They did eventually remember how to hit the ball, though not how to field it, and really the last run Boston scored in the top of the 9th (taking them to an 11-6 victory) was the final blow in a beheading with a dull, rusty axe.

However, yesterday saw the Phillies - and this is just weird - beat the Sox 11-6, getting six of their runs in the 7th. Either the score was intentional just to poke Boston in the eye (in which case the Phillies are much better than I thought and as such have a lot of explaining to do about Saturday*), or fate is once again just jerking them around.

Either way, they're doing pretty well overall so far this season, with the occasional ass-kicking handed back to them. Way too soon to make any guesses about what will happen come October, but you know, anything is possible...

*Because...seriously, guys? Three errors in one inning? Are you a professional team, or the local seven-year-old 'we use a batting tee after the first sixteen strikes' little league team?

Some post-post-season Phillies love

Here is the best 6-minute documentary about the Phillie Phanatic's hot dog gun that I have ever seen.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Philadelphia Phillies, 2008 World Champions! YES! Congratulations Phillies!

Please please please please please

How awesome were the Phillies tonight? So awesome that their pitcher hit a home run. To be colloquial about it: Hell yeah!

Now, one more game like that, tomorrow night. Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease.

Dear sports community:

1. Indoor, air-conditioned baseball stadiums with artificial turf are not luxurious and comfortable, they are an affront to god. Have we not learned yet that baseball is one of those things that modern science is not helping?

2. The Rays are not a bad team. Nor are they a good team. They don't have any particular reputation whatsoever. Know what they are? A ten-year-old franchise. By contrast, the Philadelphia Phillies are a 125-year-old team. Please stop trying to legitimately compare 10 years of history to 125 years.

3. Game 1, top of the first, Phils are up 2-0. GO PHILLIES!

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

Want to see something beautiful?

Here it is:
The Philadelphia Phillies are going to the World Series, because they are awesome and wonderful and I am not exaggerating when I say that the last time I was this excited about baseball I was six years old.

Go Phillies!

*glee*

I absolutely, fully, and wholly forgive the Phillies for last night.

If they want to try something new on Wednesday and win without giving every Phillies fan a damn heart attack, they should absolutely feel free to do so. But really, as long as they win, I'm going to remain solidly in love with them forever and ever.

A regression to being six years old

And with a very nice 3-to-1 series against the Brewers, the Phillies move onto the NLCS, someplace they haven't been since 1993. I'm very excited about this.

Go Phillies!

(Also: my condolences to any and all Cubs fans. Someday, guys.)

Aw yeah, you know you love it.

Honest to god, I think we're inching ever closer to the ESPN writers needing to say nice things about the Phillies. So far they're sticking with their general "uh, no, it was just the other team choking," but if tomorrow's game is anything like yesterday's awesomeness they're just gonna have to suck it up and admit it.

Instead, what October served up was the most disastrous outing of Sabathia's Brewers career -- all 18 starts of it.

Hell yeah. Go Phillies!

And again

National League East champions? The Phillies, of course.

What does it say about me as a Phillies fan that upon hearing this news my reaction is not one of joy, but rather apprehension? I mean, great work so far, guys, but...you are the Phillies, so, uh, there's kind of some negative momentum going here.