Phillies

Phils Will Again Try to Clinch Their Fifth Straight Division Title

By Kyle Scott

Published: Sep 17th, 2011 · 2:32 PM EDT

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Allow me to be melodramatic about the Phillies for a second, never mind the fact they lost last night and that there are one-week olds who haven’t seen the team hit.

With two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning, a hobbled and in pain Ryan Howard stepped to the plate. He will receive a cortisone shot in his heel when the Phillies clinch the division, but in the meantime, he continues to gut it out (the problem doesn’t seem to be affecting him, or if it is, he’s not showing it). He lined Jason Motte’s 2-2 fastball into right field for what should have been a long single for the injured Piece. Instead, he somehow found an extra gear (second gear for most players) and beat the throw into second with a head first slide. Carlos Ruiz promptly lined a ball to deep right, where Corey Patterson dropped the final out. Tie game.

As you know, the Phillies went on to lose in extras, but that doesn’t take away from what we saw in the ninth inning. It was the second straight night of late-inning heroics for the Howard. On Thursday, he hit a walk-off double.

There’s no metric for that sort of fight.

Howard, Utley, Victorino, Rollins, and Ruiz make up the core of the team that will soon clinch its fifth straight division title. No calculator-reading SABR nerd can come up with a metric for that sort of success. It doesn't occur just because players have specific skill sets. It happens because, while talented, the Phillies are a bunch of winners. And nothing is won on paper or in a computer. Just ask the Mets.

Watching Howard gut out a double with the division title in his sights and the subsequent hand holding by Victorino on Chooch's liner showed us exactly why this team is so loved in this town. They’re collectively a different breed of player, and tonight they’ll have a chance to clinch their fifth straight division title. There’s no goofy metric for that… just flags.

Phresh, Phillies Be Killin 'Em 

Song recorded by Doug Moore. Thanks to Dennis for sending.