PHILLIES NEWS

It's over baby, it's finally over. The Miracle has happened, the Phillies have finally won a game, snapping a season high 6 game losing streak. Well, okay maybe it's not a miracle that they won, but I mean come on, did anyone really expect them to end their losing streak today. Think about it, after two dismal performances against the Devil rays, there was really no reason to think they would play any better today. Thank god they were playing the D-rays today, because just about any other team would have beaten the Phillies today to complete the sweep of the series. Getting back to game, let's talk about the reason the Phillies finally got a win today. They won because manager Charlie Manuel, finally did what I told him to do 2 posts ago. He shook up the lineup, benching Pat Burrell, David Bell, and Aaron Rowand and starting bench warmers, David Dellucci, Abraham Nunez, and shane Victorino in their place. All three responded positively to their sudden inclusion in the starting lineup by collecting 5 hits and an RBI. Now, I am not saying these three guys singlehandedly won the game for the Phillies, but they kept the Phillies' offense firing all night long and created several scoring opportunities by continually getting on base. When you do that, when you keep giving your team opportunities to score they will eventually capitalize on it, and capitalize on it the Phillies did, especially Ryan Howard who collected 2 hits and 4 RBIs, three on a homerun, and that's after starting the game 0 for 2 and committing a key error that allowed the Devil Rays to take an early 3-0 lead. In the end this persistence by both Howard and the rest of the Phillies' offense payed off for once, as they took the lead initially in the 5th inning 6-3, then hung on for a huge 8-5 win. Now, as the Phillies prepare for a tough 3-game set with the Yankees, which starts tomorrow, we will see whether or not this win is the start of a new hot-streak for the Phils or just an aberration amongst the continuation of this slump that has befuddled them for so long.