OK. Full disclosure here. I suck as a Philles fan. No, really. I do. I'm not a fair-weather fan by any means, but I'm also not willing to put myself through as much angst as I used to tolerate. At least, I didn't think so. That's why, last night, when the Phillies were down 5-3 in the bottom of the 6th and Ryan Howard had just thrown the ball god knows where, I went to bed. Yep. Given up hope. All is lost.
But, proving that I am a Phillies fan and, therefore, a glutton for punishment, I got up about 30 minutes later and turned on the radio (sorry, I can't stand the guys on FOX) to see just how badly they were losing. So, imagine my surprise when I heard that it was the top of the 8th and the Phillies were now ahead 7-5! Wow! Then, of course, I had to listen to the bottom of the 8th, in which Brad Lidge once again teetered on the brink of blowing his first save of the season.
These guys are gonna give me a heart attack! But, as long as they keep proving all the "experts" wrong, I'm OK with that.
Shane Victorino belts a 2-run HR in the top of the 8th to tie Game 4 of the NLCS vs the Dodgers (Photo by Robert Gauthier, Los Angeles Times)
Matt Stairs is congratulated after his 2-run pinch-hit HR in the top of the 8th put the Phillies ahead to stay (Photo by Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times)