Did the Phillies Find It?

What a difference 48 hours makes. Sunday night after the Phillies got swept in a doubleheader, all hope was gone. The mutiny had begun. Charlie had to go. Cole and Cliff had to be traded. The team needed to be revamped. Amaro had to be put on notice.

Now Wednesday morning, back to back wins, Utley is likely to be activated tonight. Word has it; Howard could be in Lakewood as soon as tomorrow to start his rehab and Herndon needed Tommy John surgery. How much better can this week get?

Suddenly, people are trying to see how soon we can get Doc back and figuring how long before we are creepin up on teams in the standings. The ladies are drooling over Chase. Shit, when I saw him on the pregame show in this RePresent tee with the sleeves cut off probably so his fucking 24 inch pythons could breathe, I let out a “Damn! Chase looks good!” (No Homo! I’m saying that now not then but it still counts right?)

Is it a matter of the fan base so desperate for a reason to cheer? Or have the Fightins finally turned the corner? Only time will tell. But being at the game last night, it did seem a little different. Most games this season, it was like our boys tried to find a way to lose rather than a way to win. They didn’t have the “It factor.” And by that, I mean finding a way to win no matter what. Some guys have “it” and some guys don’t. Did Ruben finds a way to assemble 25 guys without one “It” guy? I’d like to think last night was the turning point in the season. When Vance got in trouble in the first, he made a remarkable fielding play to keep the Pirates off the board. Then in the seventh, Schwimer and Mayberry came up HUGE!

With the impending return of Utley and Howard, it seems we can stop worrying about the lineup as much, but the bullpen has been a disaster. Other than Papelbon, the only reliever that I don’t cringe when I see them warming up is Schwimer. For reals! Michael Schwimer! His ERA has been plummeting since Dubee tinkered with his delivery. And maybe Papelbon needs to change his entrance music or abandon it completely. He’s ERA at home is 5.40. on the road his ERA is zero point zero zero.

They have a month before the non-waiver trade deadline. Lets find “it”!

See ya at the ballpark!

Jay Wrizight

jaywrizight@yahoo.com

PS-- for the other fans in attendance last night, doing “the wave” in the 8^th inning of a 1 run game is a god damn disgrace. Act like you been there before.