Phils Win NL East and I’ve Never Been So Happy Being So Wrong

October 2 , 2007 | By Mike Santa Barbara | Discuss

For a while now I’ve been saying that the Phillies would not make the playoffs. Boy, being wrong never felt so great. Before I start getting “you’re a bandwagon jumper” e-mail’s, let’s make something perfectly clear. First off, I’ve been a Phils fan my entire life and my loyalty to the Phillies PLAYERS has never ever wavered. My beef is with management and ALWAYS has been. If any of you have read my previous articles (all the way through) you would already know this. Now I still stand by everything I said however, I’m a big enough man to admit when I’m wrong so, I was wrong, happy? Enough about what I said and what I didn’t say let’s focus on this incredible team, the Philadelphia Phillies.

First off, kudos to the MVP’s of this Phils team. Manager Charlie Manuel has made his mistakes but managed very well down the stretch. Manuel seemed to make all the right moves and looked and acted like a manager who had been there before, great job Charlie. Jimmy Rollins, is the 2007 National League MVP no matter what the voting says at the end of the season. Jimmy talked the talk and walked the walk all year long. He solidified himself as a true leader of this team and one of the best players in the league. Cole Hamels for doing what an ace does, come into a big game and give a big game performance when it matters. Ryan Howard for missing significant time and still leading the league in RBI and having yet another MVP caliber season. Brett Myers for accepting his new role unselfishly a quarter of the way through the season with enthusiasm and taking pride in it. And finally Chase Utley for doing all year long what we’ve now come to expect from such a great leader and player on the field.

Now that I’ve given credit to the Phils let’s give a little credit to the best fans in the world. This fan base hasn’t seen a playoff game since 1993 and before only a couple seasons ago they barely saw a contender. These fans have been behind this team all season long. During these last few weeks the fans have been nothing short of incredible. We all saw recently how quickly Mets fans put their heads down and gave up on their team. The fans never gave up on the Phils and on Sunday they were louder then I can ever remember. While watching the final three outs the crowd erupted with every strike the stadium was shaking and people were ready to release 14 years of frustration. And while the Phillies players did it on the field none of them would argue that the fans were an important part of the victory.

So still we are left with how did they do it? How did they overcome so much and still steal the division crown from the Mets? David Wright and the Mets may still think they have the better team. However, all they have now are tee times I guess. What made the difference in the last two weeks was heart and great leadership. Both of which the Mets obviously lacked down the stretch. Leadership and heart are what make a champion, not just good pitching and timely hitting, and the Phils have proved that.

Contact Mike Santa Barbara at MikeSBPhillyPurge@yahoo.com