Thursday, September 28, 2006
A Win is a Win
What a game last night. I am not going to talk to much about the game itself because I think I could write a 5 page paper on everything that went right or wrong. I will only mention a few things.
- The much maligned Abe Nunez had a great night. He hit two clutch doubles. Also on Rollins' game-winning triple, Nunez was on the top step cheering. Although I imagine every Phillie was happy, Nunez showed it more than anyone else.
- Fabio Castro needs to pitch more than every 20 days. It almost cost them last night and that responsibility falls on Charlie Manuel.
- Ryan Howard is the NL MVP. Frank Robinson walked Howard with a runner on first to move the winning run to second. That is RESPECT.
- Clay Condrey pitched two brillant innings out of the bullpen.
- Chase Utley did a terrific job of keeping the bad throw from Castro in front of him. Had that got by him the Phillies would either have been tied or even lost the game.
The Phillies understood that this was a must-win for them and they did everything they could to win. It might not have been easy or pretty but it got the job done. The job only gets tougher from here. One more in Washington then down to South Florida for three. The Phillies remain one game behind the LA Dodgers in the wild card race.
One last point is the phans who were there in Washington. The Phillies fans were great. They stayed into the game until the end and were rewarded with a victory. They got chants going and were enthiusastic. The Phillies should never complain about the phans. They have the best phans in the nation. All Philly wants is some meaningful baseball in October and hopefully this club can provide it.
