Formulaic Victory

First off, it is awesome to see that the Phillies magic number is down to two although I was little bit nervous after Brad Lidge put runners on first and third with two outs. However, it's kind of funny because I watch the Phillies pretty much every game, and I have seen the trend. I have seen that pretty much every game, the Phillies will be ahead by some margin going into the ninth. Somehow, enough runners will get on base that the tying run is at the plate or in some cases the go-ahead run. Finally, Brad will run the count almost full and then throw a slider in the dirt that the batter inevitably swings at. Of course, because Carlos Ruiz is the best defensive catchers in baseball, he always knocks it down and proceeds to throw out the runner at first. It is pretty formulaic, and it seems like the Phillies just enjoy raising everyone's blood pressure. I think that really is the simple reason behind it. Everybody would turn off the game and go to bed if it was always a 1-2-3 ninth. So, remember this when you're watching the Phillies in the World Series. They might let you get close, but they will pull it out in the end!
Photo by Julie, Dave & Family on Flickr