End Of The Road To 10,000 Losses

Hey, we’re here! Last night, the Phils heroically lost their 10,000th game, 10-2, in front of the Philadelphia home crowd, but not before scoring two runs in the 9th to ruin all the 10,000-0 headlines already laid out on sports pages. (But, hey, Michael Bourn hit his first major league home run! Good for him.)

The last few Phillies game have been a pretty good microcosm of the Phillies season — and probably of the past few years, actually. After blowing leads to the Rockies twice to fall back below .500, the Phils had the great tarp incident where they helped the Colorado grounds crew cover the field. After the All-Star Break, the Phils routed the Cardinals on Friday and Saturday, scoring 23 runs. They were two games over .500, only four games out of the division. And poised for a chance at a sweep, the Phils don’t homer until it’s 10-0 and, viola, 10,000th loss.

It’s perfect, right? Just when a fan thinks the Phils are going to sputter into the All-Star Break, they have the coolest moment of the season. Then, with everyone waiting for the 10,000th loss, the Phils rout the reigning world champs. It happens every year: Just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in. The Phils led the Wild Card with a week to go last season. We were all excited. And then, a few losses to a bad Washington team and it’s over.

But, you know, whatever. No, the Phillies are not lovable losers, and that’s why they fit in Philadelphia perfectly. Plus, as Phillies PR man Larry Shenk defends on his MLBlog, “The lives of ill and crippled children are brightened by the games and the players.”

Yep. Those ill children can sit there and think: “Man. I’m almost good enough to play for the Phillies!”

St. Louis 10, Philadelphia 2 [AP/Yahoo!]
Milestone [Phillies Insider]