Halladay Two-O

September 21:  PHILLIES 5, Atlanta 3 (Magic Number is 6)
September 20:  PHILLIES 3, Atlanta 1 (Magic Number is 8)

He wasn't particularly sharp, especially after the first inning, but Roy Halladay had just enough guile, arm, and guts to win his 20th game of the season tonight.  In so doing, he becomes the first Phillies pitcher since Steve Carlton in 1982 to win 20 games.  That 28-year wait was the third-longest active streak in the majors.

The Phils did just enough again tonight to win, but facing a quality team like the Braves, it doesn't have to be the 21st Century edition of The Bash Brothers.  It just has to be a win.

Now, we all know how fragile leads can be (ask the 1964 Phils and 2007 Mets about that).  But with a 5-game lead and just 10 to play, six against woeful opponents, it's getting clearer every day that the Phils should soon be posting one of those little "x-" in front of "Philadelphia" in the standings.  I won't go so far as to call it over ... I have steadfastly refused to celebrate anything until that little "x" appears in the standings.  But this is just about over, folks.

Ninety-one wins.  A season-high nine-game win streak.  Thirty games above .500.  A 17-3 record in September.  A 21-4 record since the long-forgotten "Houston Massacre".  Another sell-out at The Bank.  Rally Towels everywhere you look. 

It looks and feels like October baseball ... because it's almost certain that, for the fourth consecutive year, there will be October baseball in the City of Philadelphia ... a new record for consecutive post-season appearances by the Phils.

We can all revel in the wonderful run in the second half that's had us come from seven down to five up, an amazing twelve-game swing in the course of the last 60 days.  That's right, two months ago, this very evening, the Phils were seven games behind the Braves in National League East. 

I'm going to go out on a huge limb and say that this past month has been the greatest month of baseball ever played by the Phillies.  Yeah, it's easy to get caught up in the hype, but when you live as far away as I do (Chicagoland) and you're not right there, in the middle of the frenzy, it's easier for me not to get caught up in the hype, because I'm not surrounded by peers, co-workers, family, friends, and neighbors, all high-fiving each other over the streak the Phils are in.

I'm quite serious.  Yes, the Phils had a magical, 12-3 October in 2008.  But we expected it (well, I suppose many of us suspected the bottom would eventually fall out as it usually does for Philadelphia teams) and went along for the ride.  But no one saw this coming, especially after losing that four-game set to the Astros.  No one could have foreseen this.  Even I kept saying that at least we could grab the Wild Card if all else failed.

And because no one saw this coming, it's not only all the more sweeter, it's also impacting my judgement on whether or not this stretch of baseball is the greatest ever played by a Phillies team.  And I'm going to say that it is.  You may disagree with my opinion, but that opinion, and $4, gets you a something-or-other coffee-type drink at one of those coffee-like places where everyone drinking a cup thinks they're very special and discerning people for drinking what is, essentially, whipped cream, air-injected milk, with caramel syrup and about as much real coffee in it as tiramisu.  In other words, Starbucks is to coffee what Jamba Juice is to coffee.  (Okay, that's my "you cannot be serious" rant about Starbucks and all Starbucks wanna-be shops.)

Enjoy the ride, Phillies fans ...