Phillies Win! Phillies Win!

In what can be considered one of the greatest choke jobs of all time in baseball, the New York Mets, who were up by 7 games on September 12th, have been eliminated from playoff contention. Since that time, the Phillies have gone on to win 13 of 17 and now are going to the playoffs for this first time since 1993 when they reached the World Series.

Jimmy Rollins predicted at the beginning of the year that the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East. Not only has Rollins backed that bold prediction up, he joined an elite club when he hit an RBI triple in sixth inning as only the fourth player to hit at least 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. Towards the end of the game fans were heard chanting, "MVP, MVP, MVP!". And rightfully so.

The last time a team blew a seven game lead in the month of September was pre-WW2. The Pittsburgh Pirates achieved that feat in 1938. The Phillies before today were the greatest choke artists of all time when they blew a 6.5 game lead with 12 games left in the 1964. Now I wouldn't say that the Mets choke job was larger, but it certainly will help Phillies fans forget about that part of our history.

For once, Philadelphia fans will be cheering "Phillies! Phillies!" instead of chanting "E-A-G-L-E-S". A welcome change of pace if you ask me!