- October 1st, 2007, 1:45 pm
#114961
Medic....this excerpt from the ESPN article on the phillies has me laughing...
No major league team failed to finish first after having at least a seven-game lead with 17 to play. The Phillies joined the 1934 Cardinals and 1938 Cubs as the only teams to overcome a seven-game deficit in the final month.
"We were pretty fortunate," general manager Pat Gillick said. "The Mets just hit a bad streak and we were able to take advantage."
The Phillies hadn't spent a day in first place until tying the Mets on Thursday night. They moved into sole possession of first Friday, but gave it right back with a loss on Saturday.
Before they took the field against the Nationals, the Phillies looked up at the out-of-town scoreboard and saw the Mets were trailing 7-0. And, you didn't have to be inside the ballpark to know that score.
When the Marlins scored their fourth run in a seven-run first inning, one tailgater leaped high in the air off the back of his flatbed pickup, landing feet-first on a plastic Mets helmet, crushing it into tiny pieces. His buddies circled around and mocked New York fans with a chant of "Jo-se, Jose, Jose, Jose, Jo-se, Jo-se!"
Jose Reyes isn't going to the playoffs, but Jimmy Rollins is on his way. Rollins took heat for boldly predicting last winter that the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East.