Phillies

[PhillyPhreak54]

I'll be accepting a written apology from lil guy re: Jean Segura.

[MDS]

i will be doing no such thing. hes still overpaid and only here because of klentak's decision to sign santana and move hoskins to LF. hes been very good this year so hooray

and anybody who drives around a car with raptor on the back in big letters is white trash, i dont care how much the car costs

[MDS]

Halladay's number is going up next to Carlton, Roberts and 42? Not saying his time here wasn't great but it was short lived. They didn't even go to the WS. He's not hopped up on methampetamines and dies this doesn't happen.

How can you not love Chooch

im with this

he had 4 years in philly, 2 of which were good. pete rose and joe morgan dont have their numbers retired. he can go in the wall of fame with seemingly everyone else who played for them, but id leave the number retirements for lifetime phillies.

like if theres ever an all time team roster thing, doc is a blue jay. thats who he is most associated with

[PhillyPhreak54]

i will be doing no such thing. hes still overpaid and only here because of klentak's decision to sign santana and move hoskins to LF. hes been very good this year so hooray

and anybody who drives around a car with raptor on the back in big letters is white trash, i dont care how much the car costs

It's the model of the truck. It comes from Ford like that. I'll accept no Segura or Ford slander.

Dominant Wheeler start. That little shtein Nimmo was the only one to get hits. Last time a Phils starter retired 22 in a row was Doc's no no

[SD]

So Harper MVP is definitely a discussion

[Rome]

I'll accept no Segura or Ford slander.

Lol

[Rome]

These guys are on a nice run.  It won't last because of course it won't but at least it's something to cheer for.  And how is Harper an MVP candidate?   MVP's typically have gargantuan numbers and he's nowhere close other than OPS (which is very impressive, I admit).

[SD]

These guys are on a nice run.  It won't last because of course it won't but at least it's something to cheer for.  And how is Harper an MVP candidate?   MVP's typically have gargantuan numbers and he's nowhere close other than OPS (which is very impressive, I admit).

Look at his post all star game numbers concurrently with this run. I'm not saying he's mvp I'm saying he's definitely in the discussion

[Rome]

If he keeps it up all the way through September then he might have a shot but a few hot weeks don't make an MVP season.  The numbers just aren't there and like it or not MVP's have to have gaudy numbers. 

It's Tatis right now and it's not even close and his season is probably over.

[SD]

"Discussion" which is what we're having now

[QB Eagles]

Mets can't hit, Phillies can't pitch or field. Something's gotta give.

Well, we found out. Mets hitting is that bad.

[MDS]

So Harper MVP is definitely a discussion

yes...and wheeler for cy young

both guys not in pole position but in the mix

It's the model of the truck. It comes from Ford like that. I'll accept no Segura or Ford slander.

who tf is buying a truck with raptor on the back besides covid deniers from the south

i have a ford fiesta and it sucks, im running it into the ground

[PhillyPhreak54]

Raptor is part of the SVT program. High performance. Kinda like buying a Mustang Cobra.

Anyways...how about Covid Nola doesn't shtein down his leg on Tuesday and let's keep this shtein rolling

[ice grillin you]

outstanding gelb today....

Carlos Ruiz drove past the tailgaters Sunday and steered toward that familiar garage entrance on Darien Street. His hair has speckles of gray now, and most of his attention is devoted to the 26 horses on his farm in Panama. But he reappeared at Citizens Bank Park on this particular day as the largest crowd in almost two years squeezed into the blue seats to watch meaningful baseball. The fans chanted "SWEEP! SWEEP! SWEEP!" They stood with two strikes. They believed again.

Ruiz's oldest son, Carlos, is 19. He is much taller than his father, who brought him to the ballpark because the Phillies were retiring Roy Halladay's No. 34.

"I had a lot of great memories and warm feelings pulling up to the parking lot," Ruiz said. "My son was asking me, 'Dad, what do you remember about this place?' I remember all of the warm feelings. The intense fans. Being a part of these teams. It brought me a lot of really joyful memories."

Ruiz pounded his chest with his left fist. The emotions rushed back.

The Phillies have been chasing those memories for 3,593 days, and the journey has been so agonizing. It is not cured by an inconceivable eight-game winning streak or six weeks of good baseball. There are certain feelings that can never be replicated and that is why they occupy a special place. Ruiz was the catcher when the Phillies last played in a postseason game — one of the most epic games that will ever happen at this ballpark — and it was decided by one mislocated pitch.

"I try not to think about what could have been," said Raúl Ibañez, who stood next to Ruiz. "But it would have been great."

The ghosts have run rampant here ever since. Everything is compared to the glory days, but there will never be a time just like that era again. There will never be another Halladay or another double-play tandem like Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins. That is difficult to accept. A generation of Phillies fans didn't know it then, but they were spoiled. It was all they knew.

There was a roar in the ninth inning Sunday when Zack Wheeler re-emerged from the dugout to finish a 3-0 win over the Mets. Everyone knew he was going to pitch the ninth; he had batted in the eighth and no one was throwing in the Phillies bullpen. But the entire ballpark stood and screamed. The scoreboard didn't prompt them to do it. It was genuine, raw joy. People have waited almost a decade for it. Wheeler stepped on the rubber, and No. 34 was etched into the slope of the mound. The final pitch he threw against his former team was 98 mph.

He swung his right arm around and smiled. J.T. Realmuto, the $125 million catcher, flipped the baseball to Wheeler, the $118 million ace. The air was thick with nostalgia. Manager Joe Girardi, a few minutes later, stared into a computer screen and held back tears when he considered what he watched Wheeler do.

"He goes out," Girardi said, "and it was like Roy had his hand on him."

What is happening here? There are 50 games remaining, and until then, it's an open book. The Phillies were 4 1/2 games back on Aug. 1 when they stepped onto the grass at PNC Park. They now lead the National League East by two games.

"It's amazing," Girardi said. "We were pretty down after the first two games in Pittsburgh (last Friday and Saturday). We've responded in a really great fashion. And I give all the credit to the guys in there because they're the guys that are doing it. They're performing. We have a long ways to go, but I'm very proud of what they're doing."

"Just playing good baseball," Bryce Harper said. "Timely hitting. Good pitching. ... We're ready to play every day. Not that we weren't before. But it's time to go. It's time to win ballgames and play well."


Bryce Harper watches his opposite-field home run in the sixth inning. (Eric Hartline / USA Today)
Maybe the most simple explanation suffices. The Phillies (59-53) are playing like they were built to play. They have to outhit their deficiencies on defense and in the bullpen and the back of the rotation. They slugged three solo homers Sunday. They have hit the most homers in baseball since July 1. They own the best walk rate since July 1. They have the second-best slugging percentage and the third-best strikeout rate in that span. For almost six weeks, they have operated with the ideal offense.

The Phillies played Sunday without their starting first baseman, shortstop, left fielder and center fielder. It didn't matter. They do not have a fifth starter. Their fourth starter was their closer two weeks ago. Their third baseman is a liability in the field and Girardi has inched toward removing him in tight games when it's sensible. Their best reliever in the past month was the deposed closer, Héctor Neris, who is pitching with uncommon confidence.

This entire thing clicked into place overnight. At times, the Phillies have lamented their inconsistent style. But they have been painfully consistent for years now. They were a .500 team with a backbreaking way of squandering whatever momentum they collected.

Until now, they had not won eight straight games since 2011.

"That's the thing about this game," Girardi said. "You have to stay in it for the long haul. You can have bad weeks; we had a bad couple of weeks at one point during the season. But it's a long season. You've just got to keep doing your work and grinding things out. Different people stepping up at different times."

The Phillies have played 26 games in the past 26 days. They are hurt and tired. They are the hottest team in baseball.

"This is the team that we are," Wheeler said.

About 90 minutes before the first pitch, JD Hammer found a spot in the dugout. Hammer, who had recorded a career-high seven outs in Saturday's game, wasn't going to pitch Sunday. He's 27 years old, and he's already been added and removed then added again to the 40-man roster. He hasn't allowed a run in eight innings since the Phillies began playing better. He was 17 when Halladay stepped on the mound for Game 5 of the 2011 NLDS.

Hammer scanned the ballpark and he smiled. The gates had opened, and people dotted the stands.

"I've never been a part of a playoff atmosphere before," Hammer said, "but I imagine that's what it's like."

The stadium wasn't full over the weekend. But it was close. Few, if any, on the Phillies roster know what a true pennant race feels like in this ballpark. No player on the roster has ever played in a World Series. Only a handful have ever experienced the postseason.

The Phillies aren't chasing anyone — for now. That is a different brand of pressure. After they play six games against the Dodgers and Reds, the schedule looks easier and easier. The Phillies have not defeated the most robust competition during their streak. But if they win the games they should win between now and Oct. 3, they will win the division. It is a ludicrous thing to say aloud, but on Sunday, thousands of people floated out of Citizens Bank Park with new memories. They believed again, and it didn't matter if they could not explain it. Actually, it made it sweeter.

[PhillyPhreak54]

That was great. Even better was seeing Ruiz out there honoring Doc.

This week is going to be tough. I hope they can come out of the LA/CIN series' 3-3 or better.