Posted on 09/30/2007 1:48:48 PM PDT by GraniteStateConservative
PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies led, 7-0, before taking the field, thanks to Tom Glavine's first-inning meltdown at Shea Stadium.
Fellow baseball senior citizen Jamie Moyer had no such difficulty, soft-tossing the Phillies to a 6-1 win over the Nationals on Sunday, securing their first National League East title and playoff appearance since 1993.
The Phillies took over the division lead after Game 160, then fell back into a tie with Game 161, when they lost to the Nationals. An enthusiastic crowd of 44,865 -- the 24th sellout this season -- reacted to each Marlins' run on the out-of-town scoreboard. The Mets' game, which began 25 minutes earlier, ended with an 8-1 Marlins victory.
Moyer, who famously skipped school to attend the parade celebrating the 1980 World Series championship, was more than up to the challenge of shutting down a Nationals team that achieved a season goal a night before by clinching fourth place in the division.
The veteran lefty pitched around a one-out double in the first and got the Phillies to the dugout. Jimmy Rollins added to his NL Most Valuable Player candidacy by stroking a leadoff single off Jason Bergmann, swiping second and third and streaking home on a medium liner to right field by Chase Utley.
Moyer provided a slow death to a lineup of aggressive fastball hitters, dancing through five innings. Washington's only run came courtesy of a Greg Dobbs error. Ronnie Belliard reached on that play and scored on an Austin Kearns single.
The rest of the afternoon on Fan Appreciation Sunday belonged to the suffering fans, who nearly got their wish over the past two seasons. More than three million (3,108,325) came to watch 81 home games this season, and delighted with each offering.
Raucous from pitch No. 1 -- a swinging strike by Felipe Lopez -- the rally towels waved throughout the 75-degree day, perfect by any standards.
Ryan Howard padded the lead to 3-0 with a bases-loaded, two-run single in the third, and Philadelphia added two more in the sixth. Howard also homered in the seventh. Moyer left to a thunderous ovation in the sixth, and Tom Gordon received some more accolades when he ended the inning with a double play.
Party hard, Phillies fans, for a relentless team that roared back from seven games back on Sept. 12 to overtake the Mets, who couldn't get out of their own way. Philadelphia went 13-3 in its final 16 games, while New York went 5-12.
Go on, Philadelphia. Spray champagne, smoke a cigar and buy a T-shirt that says "National League East Champions." Celebrate.
ping!
My name is Ryan Howard and I make baseballs cry.
Glad to see them back in the playoffs. Even though Philly fans are some of the worst SOBs out there this is a team that deserves to be there.
(No insult intended towards FR fans who have some class)
This is the same season they broke the 10,000 loss mark. It’s quite remarkable that these two events share the same season.
Tomorrow there will be a press release from Hillary’s office showing her wearing a Phillies cap saying she has always been a big fan....
Congratulations to the Phillies! Well done! As for the Mets, well, heads should roll. While Willy Randolph seems every bit to be a very nice fellow, he failed to manage a pretty good team to a pennant, even with a five or six game lead only two weeks before the end of the regular season. More than once, certain of his players failed, quite visibly to all of us, to give the proverbial 100%. His relief pitching staff couldn’t have pitched worse, even if they’d been on the payroll of the opposing teams! Today Tom Glavin didn’t have it. But I can remember three recent games when he did, only to be relieved in the sixth or seventh inning and then to sit on the bench and watch his relievers lose the game in humiliating style. The fact is, the Mets have no more than one or two reliable six inning pitchers, and the season finally caught up with them. Period.
My name is Hillary and I make small children cry..
And I make grown men groan when I wear a skirt.
Proof positive, once again, that it’s PITCHING, not hitting, that wins (and loses) ball games. ;)
As a Mariners fan it’s easy for me to jump on the Philly bandwagon.
I’ve rooted for Jamie for the last 10 years, why stop now.
We may have only boated 1 fish a piece, but it was the best day fishing in years.
ping
LETS GO PHILLIES!
For a longtime Phillies fan, that picture is a heartbreaker.
I truly believe that this year’s team has much of the same heart and fight as did the ‘93 team, maybe not as much personality, but heart they have.
Go Phillies!!!
SZ
Have to admit it's gonna be fun watching the Mets fans cry for another year.
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