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| Hometown of Ryan Howard and future site of the death of the '11 Cardinals |
Starting this time of year… it doesn’t matter how you get
there, as long as you get there. Whether we win each game by 1 or 10, as long
as you keep getting closer to the World Series trophy that is all that matters.
And as this team keeps chugging along, we are finding any way that we can to
win. We have the unlikely hero of Ben Francisco tonight, and with the unlikely
come from behind win on Saturday, this postseason is proving to be anything but
ordinary.
On Saturday, as we sat in the stands in complete disbelief
of the three run bomb that Doc gave up to the Big Puma, there was a sense of
worry in the air. The stadium had a sense of “Oh no, not again,” in every half
inning that passed. The Phillies continued to have awful at bats versus the
“dangerous” Kyle Lohse, somehow getting out in an average of about 3 pitches
per inning, and even though Halladay had started on his magical streak of 21
straight outs, there was still uneasiness. Until that 6th inning,
when everything came into place. Again, the unlikeliest of heroes came through
for the Fightin Phils. Ryan Howard, who has been much maligned and hated for
his playoff performances thus far in his career, came through with a shot heard
round the world, and one that will certainly always be remembered if this turns
out to be the special season that we all hope it will be for the Phillies. It
shows that he has put his past playoff performances behind him, and he is ready
to contribute, but what made this game so weird was how it started. Roy
Halladay gave up a three run homerun. Roy Halladay NEVER gives up a homerun,
especially a three run bomb so early in the game. But for once, the offense
backed him up. In fact, the offense dominated so much that Halladay came out of
the game before he needed to so that the bullpen could have some work. For
once, in a long time, Halladay was picked up by a man who gets too much heat,
in a big way.
Then there was the game tonight. Tonight, a man who was
supposed to be a solid right field starter for us, showed he could still be a
hero through it all. Ben Francisco, who lost his starting right field position
half way through the season, has continued to try and contribute any way that
its possible. He did not get angry when Charlie sent him to the bench, instead
he adapted back to his old role as a pinch hitter. Since he has been back in
the role, he has done a great job of coming through when the club needed him.
Cole pitched a great game yet again through 6 innings, but without the
versatile Benji Ya Ya ( as we have affectionately called him) we would not have
the availability to be sitting in this series up 2-1 going into game 4 tomorrow
night in St. Louis. This is just another way you can see, that we have done
nothing but win in weird ways so far this postseason.
The Phillies, with all of their all-stars and amazing
individual talents, are showing that through it all, they are a team. Whether
it is Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, or yes, even Ben Francisco, this
team finds a way to win. In October, its not about dominating or convincingly
winning or even winning a solid all around performance, the only thing that is
important is winning. We may be winning out of character and we may be winning
in ugly, dirty fashion, but we are winning. This time of year, that is all that
matters.
A great example of just how winning ugly can look for the Phils...
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