Inner Conflict at 7 PM on a Wednesday Night

We sat down at 7:05 PM on Wednesday night, September 28^th in awe of the sports night ahead of us. Exhausted, ready for bed, we were torn. Everybody hates the Braves in Philadelphia. Those smug bastards were on top of the NL East for as long as anybody could remember, and what could be better than knocking them off on the last day? As of Game 162, the Braves were no longer a playoff contender. Fantastic!

But if you all go back to the middle of the paragraph above, you’ll remember that we said we were ‘torn’. Did you stop to wonder why? Well, we can help with that.

By knocking the Braves off, the Phils opened themselves up to playing the Cards in the first round.

We here at ‘continued success’ are not too pleased with that idea.

Sure, in retrospect, we were jacked up about beating those Tomahawking bums. We waited and waited and waited 13 innings to watch everybody’s new favorite motor mouth (along with Shane-0) hit a hot shot at 1^st base (yeah, that was sarcasm) and get us a go-ahead run, and it was PHENOMENAL. Especially when they all hung their heads nice and low and looked as if they had no idea what to do with their newfound free time. Oh, and their fans were mortified. We loved it.

But seriously think about this. Let's just say that we let the Braves win (they clearly can’t do it on their own because we’re so overpowering). They then somehow eek out a win in a one-game playoff with the Cards, and we play the D-backs in the NLDS. The D-backs are garbage. They are in the playoffs because they overtook the mighty San Francisco Giants (who had one offensive player and he was hurt months ago for blocking the plate – you’ll remember him because he then had his agent whine for him about protecting catchers) in the highly competitive NL West (more sarcasm). Who on the Diamondbacks scares you? We were 3-3 against them this year. Not really all that impressive, but how did we fare against the Cards this year you might ask?

3-7

Eh, last time we checked - that’s worse.

They may even still have this guy. We don't even know who it is, but he can't be any good either.

And let’s just say we get past the D-backs (that’s not a stretch), and we end up playing those same Braves in the NLCS. How nice would that be?

We’re 12-6 against them…

Not to mention that they don’t even have Jair Jurrjens. He was their BEST PITCHER. He’s gone. Done. It’s a cakewalk to the World Series…

Another thing to consider about the Cardinals is… THEY HAVE ALBERT PUJOLS. Remember that nickname he has? Oh yeah, it’s the ‘Machine’. You don’t just get that nickname for being mediocre and streaky. At least, we don’t think you do. Not to mention, a revived Lance Berkman, a pretty decent pitching staff including Chris Carpenter and Kyle Lohse (you may laugh, but he dominates the Phils since we dealt him), and an upstart manager by the name of Tony Larussa (more sarcasm).  This is a very good, very experienced team.

They DO lack in the bullpen though. Former Phil Ryan Franklin was dominant for them last year as their closer. (This year - not so much) Franklin had already blown four saves by the end of April and lost his closers role that he seemed cemented into. No big deal. They found dominant pitcher Eduardo Sanchez. Doesn’t ring a bell, you say? That’s probably because he then lost the role by the end of May – one month after Franklin lost it. They aren’t settled there. That much is for sure. Literally just type ‘Cardinals Closer’ into ESPN.com and see what you get. Here, we’ll do it for you (CLICK HERE). That’s a lot of talk about one topic. Hm. Interesting.

The mindset for the Phils should be the same as it is for any other point in their season. Get good at-bats. Force their starting pitchers to work and overwork themselves right into the bullpen. We know, we know – that’s the same for any team and any matchup. You’re right. But let’s face it: the Boys like to get anxious and aggressive. They love it. They love being aggressive. They force themselves into streaks of awful at-bats where they can’t score.

Phils, please do us a favor. Relax. Take a deep breath. Make the Cardinals’ pitching staff throw pitches.

We’ve got this.

Now, with all of this circulating around our heads for the entire game last night… Do you see why we were torn?