MikeB, that was tremendously well written and i totally agree with you.

I have the same amount of faith in my Phils as I did in the 70′s while I sat in section 525 at the Vet with my grandparents.

I realize that my comment is vague about a good division leader should maintain playing at least .500 baseball. I have been a Phillies fan for almost 50 years. I have seen the really good teams that have won over the years; Yankees, Reds, Cardinals, Dodgers, the Phillies and some others. Some of these teams that won their league or division over the years and led that league or division for the majority of the baseball season played good consistent baseball throughout the year. Seldom lost five or six games in a row and avoided the recurring losing streaks and I realize that I am remembering this without researching it. What I remember most is that they seldom had losing strings and lost whole series to inferior teams like the Phillies have this year to Houston, Toronto, Baltimore, etc.. So yeah, I am sticking to what I am saying in that a good division leading team , once that it establishes a division lead and stays in that lead for a reasonable amount of time, should be playing like a division leader, avoiding the long losing streaks and beating the inferior teams by taking the series against those inferior teams (winning 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 4 games in the series). The good teams were dominant back in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s and even in the 1990s with the Atlanta Braves and others. Now I realize it is not going to happen that way with every winning team. I guess what I am getting at with the Phillies is I see them play without inspiration and fail against the weaker teams and then I think, well, how in the world are they going to do in the playoffs and the World Series, if they make it that far, against the good teams that make it there? They will drop a series in regular games during the season once in a while and lose every now and then as was posted by someone because that is how baseball goes but in general, they are a division leader and should be playing as such, certainly not like they have been. You can post being as positive as you want and no amount of positivity will change the way they have been playing. I agree with those posting that we need to stay positive with our posts for the team for the future games.

using “whatever” like a teenage girl in an argument

yeesh

man-up folks

i wonder how many of you people are actually from Philly

i.e. from yesterdays game… im confused why manuel didn’t double switch in the 8th. 8-hole hitter (pinch hitter matt stairs hitting for catcher carlos ruiz) makes the last out in the top of the eighth. phils turn to myers in the bottom of the inning and replace stairs with lefty catcher paul bako but instead of putting myers in the 8th spot and bako in the 9th they leave the pitcher in the 9-hole.

now the atros closer valverde is gonna come in the 9th and hes a righty (lefties hit .280 against him this yr vs. .125 for righties). so instead of the lefty bako facing him as the 9-hole, the phillies pinch hit with the right handed hitter ben francisco in place of myers. francisco understandably strikes out.

And Chuck, we are a solid majority with our views as the 50 plus sold out games at CBP would confirm.

The Phils were just like this last year, I’ve said it at least 1000 times, but now they ARE the WFC, and they DO still have a decent lead in their division, my god, what is wrong with you? I think alot of these guys must be young and don’t remember the absolutely LOUSY teams we had for many, many seasons, this team has given us more in the last couple of years than ALL the Philly teams combined over the last decade or so.

Honestly, I think they just enjoy b!tching and whining about it because it’s “cool” or makes them sound tough, which in fact it does the opposite. If you really think the Phillies are that crappy, take a look around the league, maybe become a Nats or Pirates fan if you’re that disillusioned with the WFC!

karen says at 7:06 PM “I seriously see a possibility of this team not making the playoffs.” karen…..we’re making the playoffs….ok?? Just stop it!!

mikeB says at 8:31 PM, “A good division leading team should maintain playing .500 baseball at least.” mikeB…..exactly what amount of games are you basing that statement on??…..2 games, 10 games, 30 games??? EVERY good team in baseball history has slumps. It’s part of a V E R Y L O N G S E A S O N..

These are just a few examples of the daily posts that are so hard to read sometimes. Yeah, I’m frustrated, too. It was an unpleasant weekend. There are concerns. Real ones.

Thank goodness for the posters like bob and Manny and Don M (even though he’s in his “banned” mode) and there are others….because if not for them I wouldn’t even bother to go on this site.

For all you posters that are so negative and even nasty at times…..what are you going to do IF the Phillies don’t repeat…..say they “suck”?? Call for Charlie’s head?? Demand that Pat Burrell comeback to replace Raul?? Act as if Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, et al should be traded??

All of you should be grateful that the Phillies have put a competiive team on the field for the past several years. And are in a great position with their current roster and farm system to continue that for a long time. I’m not sure where else you can get the kind of entertainment value for your hard-earned dollars that you have been able to with the Phillies over the past several years.