Aaron Rowand won the World Series in 2005 with the White Sox. So did Tadahito Iguchi. Antonio Alfonseca pitched 6-1/3 scoreless innings for the Marlins in the 1997 World Series, the same year Jose Mesa blew a save for the Indians in Game 7. J.C. Romero, Kyle Lohse, Tom Gordon and Jamie Moyer have pitched in the playoffs. Abraham Nunez reached the NLCS with the Cardinals in 2005.So, the Phillies know how big this week is.
And they know how costly yesterday's 6-3 loss in Washington may have been. The Phillies bid adieu to RFK Stadium by going 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranding 13. Coupled with the Mets win in Florida, the Phillies slipped to 2-1/2 games off the pace in the NL East. But they still trail the wild-card-leading Padres by only a half-game, and if they have a good week at home, they could make the playoffs.
How good? Well, going 5-1 against the Braves and Nationals almost certainly would get them in. Going 4-2 may be enough, considering the Padres play seven games on the road in San Francisco and Milwaukee. Anything less, and the Phillies will be home in October once again.
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Cole Hamels thought he had 10 or 15 more good pitches left in him yesterday. But the Phils pulled their ace lefty after only 76 pitches, and it was hard to blame them. Hamels was making only second start since returning from a strained left elbow. Risking his considerable future to get a win yesterday wouldn't have been wise. Then again, with J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon and Brett Myers needing a rest, another inning from Hamels would've been clutch.
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In what has to be the strangest injury we've seen in a while, Milton Bradley tore his ACL while arguing with an umpire Sunday. Seriously. We couldn't make this stuff up. That's a huge blow to the Padres -- and maybe a break for the Phillies.
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MLB and People Magazine are sponsoring the "Sexiest Fan Alive" contest. Fans are invited to upload their photos to www.people.com/sexyfan from now until Oct. 7. Don't think this guy will make the cut.
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