The Zo Zone

Dobbs and Werth and Romero are making Gillick out to be a genius! Much credit is due. Where would the Phils be now without those three? Salisbury points out that Romero makes the league minimum in fact.

Iguchi was an important pickup in a pinch too.

Was Eaton worth it? Tonight we find out. Eaton plus a tired bullpen... Pedro pitching for the Mets tonight... This is a big one (as they all are I guess).

The Phillies' bullpen is outperforming the Mets'. I hadn't heard about Wagner's back - was stunned he was not pitching last night. That might be the straw that breaks the camel's back for the Mets (pun intended).

Sad: I had my concession speech all ready by about the third inning last night. Scared the life out of both my dogs following the Marlins' 10th on the computer. When does football season start, anyway?

First, Mike: you make a good point about me always piling on Myers when he screws the pooch. In fairness, I also don't like him on good nights. Shane "Look, Ma, No Brain" either.

As to Wade, as in all pro sports, it's much easier to keep recycling old coaches and front office than giving new people a shot. I'm sure Amaro will end up somewhere.

Should be a fun next couple of days. Oh, and Bill Conlin sent me a really reeeealllly cranky reply after I hit him with both barrels for including Ryan Howard in the MVP discussion. Apparently, Bill is convinced a lot of us fans know as much about the game as ownership. Somebody hide his Snickers bars?

Goosebumps!

It was there last night. Admit it. That sinking feeling that the season was slipping away. It's a familiar feeling; one we've felt before. As in last year, and the year before, and the year before. Ryan Howard's 2-run homer in the top of the 1st had you feeling pretty good, but then the unexpected happened, as it always seems to. Previously reliable starter Kyle Lohse (who seemed to have come from out of the blue midseason) imploded. He was serving up pitches that TV commentator Gary Matthews accurately described as "batting practice" quality.

Before you could say "How about that Ed Wade getting hired?", the Phils were on the ugly end of a 6-2 score. And then it got very quiet. You could feel the postseason chances slipping away, especially when it was reported that the Mets had rallied for 4 runs in the top of the ninth to take a 7-4 lead over Florida. This was it. The ship was slipping under the water. Time to take a long last breath and accept the inevitable.

Then something magical happened. A single. A walk. Then a mammoth homer off the bat of... Jason Werth? (Who IS this guy, anyway??) Instantly, the sinking feeling was gone. Instantly you just KNEW the Phils were indeed Fightin' and would pull this one out. And sure enough, those dueling MVP's, Chase and Jimmy, did what they do so well (aided by a perfect bunt from Shane Victorino), and the Phillies had the lead. Bullpen worries? Bah! Meyers closed it out by freezing the unlucky Nat who was standing at the plate for the game-ending KO.

But the magic wasn't over quite yet. In one of the more exciting and enjoyable instances of scoreboard watching (get used to it) in recent memory, we learned that the motley Mets had coughed up the lead in Florida, and in fact, given the game away in the 10th to suffer another brutal loss.

That sinking feeling was gone. Replaced by another feeling, this one not so familiar. This was a feeling that the Phillies can actually do this. Not only make the playoffs, but (gulp)... win the division! And in the process, eliminate the Mets (the team to beat?) from the postseason altogether!

Ah, that's a good feeling.

I won't pile on Myers, but I'm with John, I am not a Myers fan as a closer. We need a better answer next year.
Jimmy Rollins gets my vote as this teams and league MVP, not Chase (who I love as a player, but he missed a month). JRoll has shown up every night, been flawless in the field and took on the Mets challenge after his remarks and killed them at every opportunity. What a season he has had.
Sorry Bill C., there is no way Howard gets the nod. He has disappeared for too many stretches this year to get my vote. Maybe he missed them on trips to the refrigerator.
Tonight we need good quality start games from Eaton and Scott Olson for the Marlins. If the stars align for that, you can be sure that Vuk is pulling strings and we win this thing. As Dave Cash said so long ago, "yes we can".

Sorry for my misspelling of Jayson Werth's first name. That sneaky 'y' always gets me!

The win was great but seeing the players running around the locker room, slamming their hands on the table and high fiving each other after the Fish came back is something I will always remember. Excellent behind the scenes coverage by CSN.

Eaton needs to limit the extra base hits tonight and we need to get a couple early again.

I love that while Jimmy delivered last night, David Wright's wide throw cost the Mets an out in the 9th.

Mets fans are turning on everyone...Glavine, Reyes, Beltran. Here's to Pedro getting lit up tonight. Probably the only time I will ever cheer for Scott Olsen.

Let's hope the Rockies stay hot too this weekend in SD.

One game at a time. Go Phils!

As a Boston native, and lifelong Sox fan, I have to report that watching the 2007 Phillies offense is like watching Red Sox 2004. Even when they're down, the bats are too good to stay down long.

As for Conlin, he's done.

He was on Daily News Live Tuesday saying Hamels should have made a rehab start. Ahem. Bill. The minors are done for the year unless you want to lend Cole to the Riversharks.

The MVP talk begins and ends with Rollins. (Sorry, Chase. Your month "vacation" did you in. But man, do you set a tone for winning.)

Rowand and Burrell should be included in the MVP talk as much as Howard. Both carried the team during injuries and stretches when Howard slumped and looked lost at the plate. For all his late game heroics, he hasn't had close to the same value as last season. I know 122 RBI are very valuable.

The win was great but seeing the players running around the locker room, slamming their hands on the table and high fiving each other after the Fish came back is something I will always remember.

Absolutely. Todd, were you in there with them? What was the atmosphere like? What's the energy in the clubhouse like right now?

If the Phillies pull this off it will be great for this town.....finally erasing the stigma of the 1964 team. The present day Mets are a far superior team than our heroes of '64 that played "over their heads" for practically the entire season. They didn't "choke" - just ran out of gas. The Mets on the other hand will never hear the end of it from their hometown Yankee fans.

Check this out - a little tidbit from a New York Post column should be good for a quick laugh:

"Pedro Martinez gets the ball tonight. His has been the greatest of feel-good stories, but these were all supposed to be tuneups for him, dress rehearsals for October. The Mets never could have dreamed they would be asking him - begging him - to save the season for them. Yet here they are. Asking. Begging. Pleading. Needing. Nope. They never could have dreamed this. Who did?"

The Mets are crumbling. This is our time. Go Phils.

Good post, V. Times like these I just love to listen to WFAN Puts a big smile on my face.

Definitely does. Those clowns up in NYC get all paranoid. Fact is, they're still in the lead. But I love it that they're tearing at the seams with 9 to go.

Since the subject of MVP candidates has come up...

Matt Holliday is on fire. And what great timing - the Padres haven't faced a team that can hit in over a week. Let's hope the Rockies can knock Peavy around tonight. We certainly know what they're capable of.

i get the myers criticism, but i still think he could be a quality power closer. yeah, smoetimes he's a headcase, but guys like dibble and rod beck weren't known as level-headed gentlemen. with the domestic violence arrest and apparent propensity to overeat, the phils will just have to keep more of an eye on him than others.

i agree about holliday- he has been on fire; great player. however, i didn't think it still existed with the humidor in colorado, but i saw his road vs. home batting avg somewhere and it was like .260 vs. .370 respectively. that will hurt him. if the phils make the playoffs i think rollins should be the mvp. i don't see how anyone else on the phils approaches his consistent production from april thru september. every day.

nice cavernous ballpark for eaton tonight, he must have one quality start in him, no? i'd even consider sitting burrell to get the fastest possible OF out there to chase down all those bombs.

The Fightin's are making their move towards the top spot in the NL East. That seems at this point to be their best chance at making the playoffs. They are playing inspired baseball at this time late in the season. They really have jelled into a nice team, playing team baseball. Every night there is a new hero. Werth has played superior ball down the stretch.

Does Manuel stay as coach of the Phils next year? My guess is yes if the Phils make it, but no if they don't make the playoffs.

Ed Wade as a GM in Houston?, he can get an interesting group of players together when he wants to. I fear the 'Stros now, because they are in a rebuilding stage and Wade though he didn't care much for him as the Phillies GM, still knows a thing or two about putting a good group of players together.

Give a listen to my podcast if you get a moment on the Phils at

http://phillywebcast.com

Wrong link in my prior post to my podcast, it is:

www.phillywebcast.com