Phillies Are Unavoidable

And so I've been sucked into postseason baseball.

I had valiant plans to avoid it completely and just wallow in my disgust of the Mets while focusing my attention on both college and pro football. But what can I say. I'm a baseball fan and the intrigue of the playoffs is honestly the first real baseball I've watched in quite some time.

Now I find myself basically rooting for anyone not named Phillies or Yankees, but this has yet to give me any joy. In fact I've found myself admiring what the Phillies are doing. Being down by 3 runs with 2 outs in the ninth and then coming back to win is something all Mets fans are familiar with. That's because we've been on the other end of those victories for the last three seasons.

But it's undeniable that this Phillies team is full of gamers, and something that Mets management would be wise to take notice of. Howard, Utley, Victorino, and Werth are all guys who thrive in the clutch.

I hate that.

Name a Mets player you have total confidence in when the game is on the line? Ok, I'll give you Santana, but after that it's a crap shoot. KRod? Wright? Beltran? Forget it.

The Mets need gamers, but that's not an easy commodity to find.

So I find myself unable to avoid the Phillies. I'm watching their games on TV. Rooting against them. Hoping for Lidge to crumble on the world stage. But it's not happening.

In fact, I'm out in California on business and guess who's staying at my hotel. Yup, the fighting Phils are arriving this evening.

I'll be the guy with a basket of bitterness waiting to yell at Pedro.