Well that was nice while it lasted.

"The town is a giant thunderclap."
"The rally towels are lighting up the night. The throats are hoarse. The eyes are glazed. Something crazy is happening here -- something that has always happened to someone else. Not to this team. Not in this town."
-Jayson Stark, ESPN.com
Read: This never happens in Philly ... but it is

That is the most intelligent thing I can possibly write right now. Can this really be happening?

MAGIC NUMBER = 2

So, a few back spasms and an 8th-inning RBI double later, the Phillies are back to within a game and a half of the Mets.

Three cheers for Jimmy Rollins.

Poor, sad jeers for the aching, unpredictable Billy Wagner.

Okay, so maybe he's not that unpredictable. Like anyone else (especially my Queens neighbors, who nearly shook my apartment with celebration after the Mets took a 9th-inning lead over the Marlins last night), I was expecting Wags to come in and finish the game, 1-2-3.

Not so fast, grandpa!

Back spasms are one of the reasons Wagner always made me a bit uneasy when he played for Philadelphia. Though most of the time he was lights-out, he also seemed surprising susceptible to injury. (groin) (rotator cuff) (back spasms) (finger)

In any event, sucks for them.

Said Aaron Rowand, about following the Mets: "We'd be lying if we said we weren't paying attention to their game ... To be able to take care of your own business then come in and watch a game like that, is exciting. [The Mets] losing tonight was huge. We're all having a good time and we'll enjoy this for a couple of hours, then we have to go to work again."

Said Jayson Werth: "We're having a lot of fun here ... We have a great clubhouse with great chemistry. It's a special atmosphere. The stretch drive is going to be a lot of fun, and we're going to have a chance to do some special things."

What's funny (and surprising) about the Mets, and you can tell this even from listening to their TV announcers ... this team is so incredibly scared right now.


"My name is Gary Cohen and I'm a scared little kitten."

So, I forgot to take my camera to the game at Shea today. No pictures for you, I'm sorry. It was a fantastic game though, made even better by the surprisingly large turnout of Phillies fans (though not as loud as I had hoped we'd be.)

Turns out, Shea is only a nine-minute drive from my new apartment in Queens. Sadly, this was the first game I was able to see there all season (first ever, actually).

In any event ... the Phils are now 4.5 games back in the division, and in the wild-card race just a game behind San Diego, whose game starts at 10 EST tonight against the last-place Giants (16 games back in their division).

On the front page of ESPN.com's MLB section right now is a great column by Howard Bryant about the Phils being "the biggest tease in baseball." Phils fans don't need to read it be reminded of all the upsets in the team's long history. But, like a car wreck, sometimes it's just too hard not too look...

Read the article here.

Phils beat Mets for 6th straight time.

I'm going to tomorrow's game at Shea. I hope to have some good pics.