The Phillies win the Pennant!! The Phillies win the Pennant!!

I’m going to keep this short, because I’m too excited to type too much. I can’t quite express in words how I feel right now. In my lifetime, only three of my teams have been in this situation before: the 1993 Phillies, the 2000-'01 Sixers, and the 2004-05 Eagles.

I can now add the 2008 Phillies to that list. 

Will this be the team that breaks the trend? Right now, I’m not thinking about that. I’m so proud of our guys, our manager, our GM, and our owners. Gillick never made a big move, but we wouldn’t have gotten here without Werth, Stairs, Dobbs, Romero, Lidge, et all.

Charlie was never a genius, but he made these guys a team and never let them give up. The players made it happen and came through where so many other Philly teams have failed. Thanks guys, but we aren’t done yet. Bring on the Rays or the Sox, I don’t care, we can absolutely take them.

Below you can find my game notes that I wrote down as the game went on

- It is pathetic how many empty seats there are right now in Dodger Stadium. I know it’s rush hour, and I know L.A. traffic is the worst, but 10 overturned tractor trailers wouldn’t keep us from getting to an NLCS game on time.

- A fantastic AB by Rollins to lead off the game, even before the HR.

- Jayson Werth is really pressing in the playoffs. He has swung at more bad pitches than anyone on the team in the playoffs.

- I was surprised when they took out Billingsley. He was giving up hits, but his stuff wasn’t as bad as the other night. Maybe I was more disappointed…

- Does anybody else love how Utley chews his gum nonchalantly while he’s busting it around the basepath?

- Rafael Furcal completely lost it in the fifth inning. His defense has cost a great deal this series. Thank God for Jimmy Rollins.

- A story I want to tell about Shane Victorino’s family. During the fifth inning, he appeared to say something legitimately nice to Rafael Furcal after he made a very costly error. When I worked in the sales office at the Phillies, people who knew how it worked would come into the office and have us retrieve their complementary player tickets so they didn’t have to stand in line.

We would always do it, and it was never a big deal. But, whenever Shane Victorino’s brother would come in, he would bring us a big box of Hawaiian chocolate for our “troubles.” He would talk with us and was an incredibly nice guy. Always made me think a little differently about Victorino and that comment he made, as strange as it was, shows what kind of person he is.

- I love you, Mitch Hamels’ girlfriend

- “Obviously, from a Phillies’ perspective, you want Manny Ramirez to hit with the bases loaded.” I know it was a slip up, but seriously, how does Tim McCarver have a job. Billy Packer has been ousted, can’t McCarver go live on a island with him.

- We need to be done with the Carlos Ruiz standing up behind the plate pitch. I’ve seen it three times, 2 HR and a double.

- Russell Martin is a spaz and has a terrible beard. That being said, that pitch in the sixth was ball four, not strike three. 

- Why didn’t the Dodgers start this McDonald kid? We can’t get to him.

- Guess what guys...Cole Hamels has “it.” He’s stepped up in every big game this postseason. He’s been our Johan Santana, our Andy Pettitte. And he’s made it look easy. Really easy. 

- Ryan Howard, even though he hasn’t gotten a huge hit or hit a HR, had only two strikeouts in the NLCS.

- Madson throwing 97 MPH heat? I know Fox’s gun can be a little fast, but even Manny was late on some of those.