I'll never admit it when the they lose, but the Phillies always have a flare for the unusual, and all the quirky ways they win and lose games give me constant reminders of why I love baseball so much.
No one could have predicted this outcome.
It's early July and Shane Victorino now has more home runs than Jayson Werth. In Thursday night's game, the Phillies lost the lead twice after the seventh inning, Brad Lidge blew a save (stirring up horrible memories of last season) and they still managed to win.
How was this possible? Brian Schneider became the second Phillies catcher this year to hit a walk-off home run in extra innings. Philadelphia has not been used to homers from No. 2 on the field since a man named Lieberthal. Phillies catchers only have a combined eight bombs this year, but this one felt so good. It laughed in the face of the logic that was so certain the team would lose this game.
I dare any player from any other team to say they got a better welcoming reception at home plate, too. The crazy Hawaiin was at the center of the celebration, beckoning the hero with a few pounds of the bat that sent his team and the home crowd into a frenzy. Regular season baseball doesn't get much better than that.
Even if Philly was sitting in last place, wins like this make anyone feel like they're walking on air. There are still three crucial games left before the break, but I'm not going to ruin the moment. Let those guys enjoy the present and the present is the rush of victory. Way to go.
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