The Zo Zone

Another nice win. I took a shot yesterday at Mesa and Condrey but they were huge last night bailing out Brett.

Even Durbin came in and took care of business.

Let's get one more tonight.

Let the record be clear: The Phillies can win games with pitching. Give St. Louis TONS of credit - with nothing to play for, they put up a heck of a fight.

So who was that guy wearing Jose Mesa's uniform working those two innings brilliantly, working around one very sensible base-on-balls to Pujols? It looked like the old Jose Mesa, not the 7+ ERA fellow who's been hanging around this year. If he's found something for the stretch, the Phils are in good shape. An observation: no stats here, but it seems in Mesa's last few outings that he fares best if he comes in to start an inning clean as opposed to the middle of a rally by the other team (of course, that's probably true for anyone).

Andf who was the guy wearing Clay Condrey's uniform working the 1-2-3 14th? From nobody out to everybody out in one day? Impressive rebound.

And who was the guy wearing Rod Barajas' uniform getting that big 2-out hit? Give Charlie credit for remembering Rod was on the team. I had forgotten.

Last night was eerie - like this team is just meant to win. What a difference a day makes.

Is this fun or what?

jimmymack, you took the words right out of my mouth.

So who all is going to the series this weekend in D.C.? (I'll be there Saturday and Sunday.)

I'm with all the comments above.

Just a point to all the Manuel bashers from yesterday: you're nuts. And wrong. The guy as done an amazing job with this team all year.

Has he made mistakes? Absolutely. Should he have left Kendrick in an extra inning? Probably.

The bottom line is, playoffs or not, he's whipped this team into the most exiting thing Philly has seen in - what? - 14 years (without the benefit of greenies and roids). They're tough. They like each other. Best of all, corny as this sounds - in a time where there seems to be only negativity grabbing the headlines in sports - they seem like a bunch of really good guys (yes, Brett, even you have your moments, last nite notwithstanding.)

Goosebumps.

John, as usual, is right on point. If you bash Charlie for Kendrick, you have to give him credit for Barajas last night. You can look at any managers moves over the season and find good and bad ones. If Myers had lost the game last night, people would be yelling that Gordon should have stayed in another inning. We are in the hunt for the division and/or wild card, with a year of major injuries, I say Uncle Charles has done very well. I defend him and disagree with him (Eaton) but overall he gets an A- from me, no matter what happens over next 11 games.
Who looks smarter right now, Manual or Reid?

V have a good trip, we'll be there in spirit with ya. And I think the Comcast numbers for the number of people watching is way underestimated. Got my tickets for last 6 games at home, should be a blast.

I am making the trip down Thursday and will be there Friday too (the Eaton game, gulp).

Should see a lot of Phils fans, which will be exciting.

We have not had too much success against Wainwright but hopefully that changes tonight.

Pelfrey goes for the Mets, so the Nats have a chance to sweep if they pounce on him early.

Go Phils!

Oh, one more thing... Very nice bunt by Michael Bourn in the 14th to set up the eventual winning run. I think there were two strikes on him at the time, no? It was late and I was tired...

Was anyone else surprised the Cards pitched to Howard (who hits lefties well) with first open and Utley on second? If you walk Howard you set up a possible DP and you could have brought in the righty to face Rowand... Anyway, getting Howard allowed them to walk Rowand to get to Mesa's spot (Barajas). I understand the situation, but it was just weird to see. Point: maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I guess it shows you what Aaron Rowand has become - opposing teams can't just arbitrarily walk Howard (who had burned them for 2HR & 5RBI the night before), they have to work around Rowand. LaRussa did pick the guy for the All-Star team after all. The Phils need to keep this guy.

Todd,

Thanks, as always, for the insight on the chat. Awesome job!

Hey, I'm all for giving Charlie credit- he's done a great job this year. But giving him the credit for Barajas last night? Come on. All you can say is he put in one of the few guys who was left. (Was anyone else left, in act?) It's not like it was a super strategic move.

Give the credit to Barajas for hanging in there and coming up big. He had some very good comments after the game as well, about doing whatever is needed to help the team win. Almost erases the memory of his botched tag at the plate, after which he laughed it off.

Welcome back, Rod. Let's hope you can keep contributing.

You mnaula bashers really don't get it.Charly put the right guy in at the right time, isnt that the same as what releif pitcher should go in? If bringing in mesa and condray were strategic moves, why isn't a pinch hitter? low ball pitcher, low ball hitter, isn't that a strategic move?

Lisa, we're not bashing Manuel. But understand that moves in the 14th inning are less about strategy than they are about survival. At the time, there was no other player left on the bench. Roberson had been used as a pinch runner so it was up to Barajas.

Yes, it's strategic to go low-ball hitter against a low-ball pitcher. But it wasn't as strategic as you think, seeing as Manuel had no other option. ...Unless to use a starting pitcher as a pinch hitter.