Moyer hit hard and the bullpen falters again. But, the Mets lose too and the divisional margin remains two games. It's now been five days since the Phillies have won while someone else has beaten the Mets. Five days since we've picked up a whole game on them. Actually, look at it this way, we've lost a half a game in the standings since then. Kind of hard to win the division when we're not consistently picking up ground on them. You can't help but feel like this race has become a treadmill which certainly isn't good for us. Will Moyer have a chance to redeem himself on Fan Appreciation Day?
9/26/07
Disappointing result last night, as already reported, Moyer didn't have it. J Roll did join the 30-30 club, but hard to say he'll win the MVP if the Phils don't make the playoffs.
The homer can be seen here from 55:13 to 55:37.
The Padres won, but the Mets lost, 13-4 to the lowly Nats, so still 2 back in the east. The Mets don't sound so confident any more, talking about being embarrassed and undeserving.
We're debating if the Phils can afford to lose any of their remaining 5 games, so it's time to start winning again.
Let's chart a northward path in the standings from here on out! Can it happen?
EF, I have a request and, WARNING, IT CONTAINS SPOILERS. Sometime after the next couple of Mets games, David Wright will be interviewed and the Mets captain will appear to be on the brink of bursting into tears about the state of the NL East race. I have searched but never found a link to it. Do one of these upcoming game threads contain it?
9/27/07
Huge win last night, combined with another Mets loss, the Phils are just 1 game back. Forget the wild card, we can smell the division. Highlights of last night's win here 1 from 55:56 to 56:33.
Tom Glavine says the Mets are so talented they sometimes get bored or complacent. Hard to believe they're feeling that way right now, losing all those games in a row at Shea.
Won the Hudson game, now have to beat John Smoltz to keep the magic going.
9/28/07
Kendrick beats Smoltz, the Mets lose again, and we're tied for first! Highlights here 1 from 56:37 to 58:07.
As mentioned above, the Mets had dubiously called off a game earlier in the season to set up the rotation for a series with the Phils. This ended up making St Louis fly in to NYC for a one game makeup. Cards shut 'em out. Karma.
metsblog has taken down their magic number countdown graphic. Willie Randolph still says the Mets are gonna win this thing. Baseball Prospectus says if the Mets blow it it will be the second biggest collapse in MLB history, behind the 1995 Angels.
Now it all comes down to three (or four games) to end the regular season. Mets have the last place Marlins, we get the fourth place Nats.
9/28/07
Kendrick beats Smoltz, the Mets lose again, and we're tied for first! Highlights here from 56:37 to 58:07.
As mentioned above, the Mets had dubiously called off a game earlier in the season to set up the rotation for a series with the Phils. This ended up making St Louis fly in to NYC for a one game makeup. Cards shut 'em out. Karma.
metsblog has taken down their magic number countdown graphic. Willie Randolph still says the Mets are gonna win this thing. Baseball Prospectus says if the Mets blow it it will be the second biggest collapse in MLB history, behind the 1995 Angels.
Now it all comes down to three (or four games) to end the regular season. Mets have the last place Marlins, we get the fourth place Nats.
That would be the last Phillies regular season game I would watch on TV that season. I managed to get tickets to every game of that last series against the Nats. Oh boy, the ups and downs!
What about the '64 Phillies?
In their article they put it at #10, so guess it's at least #11 now:
This collapse is particularly famous because of just how badly the Phillies played down the stretch, and just how poorly Gene Mauch managed his pitching staff. However, it was not quite as bad as it might seem at first glance because of the disparity in the schedules. From September 18th onward, the Phillies played teams with an average winning percentage of .548, as opposed to .470 for the Cardinals, which was enough to wipe the equivalent of a game or two off of their lead.
9/29/07
It didn't take 17 games, it took just 15 for the Phils to turn a 7 game deficit into 'all alone in first place'. Cole Hamels was brilliant in the biggest game of his young career. Highlights here 1 from 58:09 to 1:00:05
Mets lost their 8th straight home game, and Paul LoDuca, who was taunting the Phils earlier this year, is now complaining that he hasn't slept in weeks. Now the Phils are the team with the magic number.
A win today clinches at least a tie for the NL East. But it's Adam Eaton's turn.
9/30/07
Well, Adam Eaton was what we feared. Phils lose, Mets win, and it's all down to game #162. Mets start a little earlier vs Florida, we've got Moyer going at 1:35. On the other hand, we get Harry Kalas to call the game instead of FOX. And JRoll going for the 20 20 20 20 club membership.
I put up a poll about what's gonna happen today.
10/01/07
Highlights from Video Dan here 5 from 1:00:05 to 1:04:15.
I made plans for trip to Europe back when the Mets had the division wrapped up. The only way I'll miss this once in 14 year postseason is if the Phils get swept so it's probably fine. If anyone wants to update thread go ahead.
My memories of that day. I was a wreck after Saturday and feared that like the teases we endured in 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006, this would be the cruelest tease of all. But, when I woke up that morning, I felt strangely calm and confident.
I had tickets to the game. I picked up a couple of my friends in Roxborough and Mt. Airy before heading to the ballpark. We met up with others and tailgated. But, it soon came time to head to the gates. As we got close to Pattison, I heard people cheering at another tailgate. At that point, I learned the Marlins were putting a hurting on the Mets in the first and my confidence grew.
Game on in CBP. Moyer got through the first without trouble. Then in the Phillies half of the inning, Jimmy Rollins--he who played all 162 games that season, he who was the straw that stirred their drink all season, he who taunted the Mets before the season began and then backed it up on the field--manufactured a run seemingly all by himself. At that point, a feeling came over the ballpark that we were not just there for a game but an afternoon-long party. Sure enough, the Phillies built solid lead. But, the backbreaking run came with Rollins' record-setting triple. That was a magic moment. Howard added one more with a home run.
Ninth inning. The energy, the noise was amazing. The roar with the final out, seeing the mob scene at the mound, the bullpen guys running in from center field, the fireworks going off. In the stands, total strangers high-fiving each other.
I made my way down to the seats by the field to watch the celebration closehand. Antonio Alfonseca picked up a groundskeeper hose and sprayed numerous people, including me!
Eventually, we had to leave yet I felt like could have floated out of there. The Phillies were finally going to the Postseason! We partied a little more at our tailgate and, one of my friends had bought a champagne bottle and, to cap things off, I had a little bit poured on my head!
What a day, what a ride!
On Monday, October 1, the City held a pep rally at City Hall to honor the Phillies while the team basked in the glow. John Street was in the waning months of his mayoralty and the election of his successor was a little more than a month away.

PHILLIES PEP RALLY AT CITY HALL: Stage Door Photos | Philly Chit Chat
I’m not much into sports, but I am into celebrity events, and in Philly our celebrities tend to be sports figures, weather women and Piere Robert. SO today when I read they were going to have a Rally for the...
We still don't know who our opponent will be, though. All we know is that it will be the NL wildcard. The even hotter than we are Rockies finished the season on an 11-1 run to earn the right (via coin flip) to host the Padres in a one game playoff. Personally, I preferred to face the Padres. Game went to the 13th inning where the Padres took a two run lead. A two run lead and probable future HOFer Trevor Hoffman on the mound to close things out, so it's going to be the Padres, right? Right...?