Here we go again. The Phillies are sucking us back in once again.
Another September is upon us and they're 11 games above .500 and they've redeemed themselves by sweeping the Dodgers in 3 games this week, one week after getting shellacked by the Dodgers in L.A.
Earlier yesterday the "Redeem Team" won gold in the Olympics over Spain. Philadelphia's version of The Redeem Team finally woke up on offense and found a way to win the game last night after falling behind, tying it and then Feliz won it in the 11th.
What does this all mean? Not sure yet. We've seen the Phillies play well for spurts during the past two months, but then they faltered again.
It is certainly encouraging to see their offense really come alive for once when Hamels pitched on Saturday.
They have now won three straight series', but two of those series wins came against bottom feeders in San Diego and Washington, and they didn't exactly look great against either of them.
The bottom line is they are winners of 7 of their past 9 games and with three straight series wins, it's their best stretch in that regard in two months.
We'll have a much better picture of what kind of team this is after they play the Mets twice this week and the Cubs for a brutal 4-game stretch over the weekend.
They have to get the Mets while they're down because now John Maine is gone for the season and with Billy Wagner on the fritz, this division is right for the taking.
The Phils take on the Dodgers once again tonight at 7:05.
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Getting the job done
On Friday night the Eagles' special teams was the big story, with a kick-off and punt return in the same game.
Not only did this team not have a punt return for a TD last year, but they failed to get a kick-off return TD as well.
That's pretty pathetic. And, while this was "just a preseason game", the third game does give you a pretty good read on what sort of team it is.
I'm hesitant to say the Eagles are anything more than a 10-game winner right now. Their defensive end rotation looks shoddy at best. You're talking about Trent Cole and a bunch of pedestrian players being plugged in on the opposite side of him. And, while D Jack looks like a star in the making, let's remember that Andy Reid is Larry Brown's answer to rookies in football; he dislikes playing them a whole lot.
Friday night should make you more optimistic though. McNabb looked sharp and got the job done against a Patriots defense that looks older than a beat up pair of Chuck Taylor's.
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