The Phillies Are Good (Really!)

After Brad Lidge struck out Gregor Blanco to put the Phillies into first place last night, it finally dawned on me: The Phillies actually have a shot at the postseason again.

That’s unprecedented — for me, at least. The Phillies haven’t made the playoffs in consecutive seasons my entire life. Last year’s shocking run to the NL East title always kind of seemed like a fluke. Sure, the Phillies were good, but coming back from 7 down with 17 games to play was a once-in-a-lifetime sports moment. It was like 1993, a year when everything fell into place (or all the players were on the best performance enhancing drugs, take your pick). The Phillies finished last the year before and next-to-last the year after.

For most of my life, they’ve been awful, out of it by mid-June, a team where no-names compete in front of empty seats for the second half of the season. The Phillies haven’t been that team since 2001, though, posting winning records every year but one (80-81 in 2002). Their players are stars and future Hall of Famers (well, Chase Utley at least). This year, they’re (jinx alert!) a near-lock for the playoffs all of a sudden. They should be good for the next several years, if they can get some pitching.

It’s taken nearly a decade for this to sink in, but the Phillies are good. Let’s try to enjoy the next 11 games — and hopefully a bunch more. The Mets are a half-game back in the division, the Brewers are a full one back in the Wild Card. Nobody can score enough runs to put the Phillies away. They can conceivably win every game they play.

It should be a great couple of weeks.