When the ball hit Ryan Howard’s glove across the diamond, the Philadelphia crowd erupted like a volcano that has been dormant for years. Fireworks exploded from the outer perimeter of Citizen’s Bank Park while 45,000 fans plus threw rally towels, cup holders and those rather tasty buckets of Chickies & Petes crab fries were also tossed into the late September sky as the Phillies repeat of Division champions became a reality.

When the game began, Phillies fans had already heard about the performance of Johan Santana up in New York, shutting out the Florida Marlins 2-0. The Phillies knew however, that it was time to take care of their own business. Jamie Moyer took the mound and allowed only 1 run and 6 hits over six innings. Moyer earned his 246th win tying Joe McGinnity for 47th on the all-time career win list. When 45 year old Moyer was removed from the game in the sixth, 45,000 fans rose to their feet applauding their season long hero. Jamie finished the season 22-11 after 33 starts.

The game progressed with a few scary moments. In the eight, pitcher Ryan Madson delivered the ball with runners on second and third with no outs. Washington National Lastings Milledge slapped the ball to shallow center. Rollins had a great jump on the ball and made an incredible grab over his right shoulder. However in the process, center fielder Shane Victorino also had a great start at the ball and collided with Rollins after the grab was made. Victorino tried to avoid Rollins by sliding on his back but made heavy contact with Rollins near the shin area. Victorino fell to the ground favoring his left leg but still remained in the game.

As the night continued, Citizen’s Bank Park was nothing short of electric. Not a single fan sat. Rally towels waved continuously between every pitch. The beer vendors that circulated throughout the stands all unoticabley stopped their alcohol distribution to take part in the last few innings. What was taking place on the field seemed to be better than looking for that next beer. Hard to believe! Pedro Feliz stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eight and delivered a key base knock with 1 out. Victorino followed using his Gap gift card as he launced a bullet into the left-center gap. Feliz scored the insurance RBI that lifted the Phils 4-2 over the Nats. The stage was now set. Three outs. National League East Champions.

The ninth inning followed producing ups-and-downs of the century for Phillies fans. The first out did come easy, but after the Nationals loaded the bases, Phillies fans began to expect the worst. However, the waving of rally towels and the roar from the crowd never ceased except when Zimmerman connected with the infamous 2-2 pitch. You could have heard a pin drop as the ball appeared to be in slow motion, traveling from Rollins to Utley and then finally floating to Ryan Howard completing the succesful 6-4-3 double play to win the NL East!

At the games conclusion not a single fan left the stadium. Jimmy Rollins expressed his appreciation to his teammates and the fans of Philadelphia. When Ryan Howard took the mic the chant of “MVP” echoed throughout the entire stadium. Pedro Feliz rode a bicycle around the warning track thanking the fans for being a huge part of the Phillies success this season. Champagne rained inside the Phillies clubhouse and the celebration of the Phillies season began all across the city of Brotherly Love.

September 20, 2008

[RBI Magazine] – The battle has begun with less than 8 games remaining; the Phillies and the Mets are once again in a last lap dash to see who will become the NL East division champions. Can the Phillies stay on their hot streak and will the Mets continue to avoid an inevitable collapse like last year?

History does repeat itself and if you can remember on Sept 12th of last year we saw the Phillies fall 7 games back from the Mets, then within a matter 5 days they were only 2.5 games out of first in the NL East. This year on Sept 10th the Phillies were 3.5 games back and in 7 days they passed right by the Mets taking the lead by a half a game.

What is up with the Mets? The Mets made improvements with the addition of Johan Santana during last years off-season hoping to strengthen the pitching rotation and help stabilize the Mets come October. However, the only time the Mets seem to be stable is when the offense is hitting the ball.

Last night against the Braves, Johan Santana cruised through 7 innings striking out eight while Brian Schneider had one of his best outings at the plate this season. Schneider lead the 11-hit attack with his second ever multi-homerun game of his entire career crushing the Atlanta Braves. If the Mets can balance pitching with their offensive strategies throughout the remainder of the season, they will have two opportunities to make playoff baseball by advancing through the NL East or the Wild card. One thing is certain, another monumental collapse needs to be avoided by the Mets organization as the final games of the 2008 season come to a close.

So what exactly are the Phillies doing that they were not doing before? For one,  their pitching staff is smoking in public. Brett Myers is back in sync and unstoppable. Since Myers was bumped back up from the minors he seems like the old Brett Myers Phillies fans know – on target and absolutely on fire! The last game against the Brewers is proof that Myers is back to his old self with a full gamed pitched allowing only 2 hits.

The Phillies also seem to be working the bats as good as any team can in September. The Phillies need to repeat what they accomplished near the end of last season by keeping their pitching and hitting consistent. During the last few weeks it seems as though everyone is contributing their part to the Phils defensive and offensive attacks. In the last six games Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Jason Werth and Ryan Howard all have an average over 400. Seems like they are doing something right and if they can keep it that way they will be calling themselves the NL East Champions once again. The Fightin Phils are ready to fight.