HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME

4 games swept from the New York Metropolitans.
3 amazing late-inning finishes.
2 games out of the division lead.
1 month left to go in another tense pennant race.

There were lots of heroes in this series from Ryan Howard to Jayson Werth. But it was particularly sweet seeing Jimmy Rollins set the pace for the Team to Beat, going 9 for 19 with 2 HR, 3 RBI, and a ludicrous 1.421 OPS. Honestly, I can't recall a recent season where Jimmy has been so underrated. Considering his world-class defense at a middle infield position and his cool, confident leadership, is it blasphemous to suggest that J-Roll might be just as deserving of MVP honors as Chase Utley?

Great picture (un-saveable) of Tad Iguchi at the official website. Bring on those Teal Bastards!

Uncle Cholly: Manager of the Year?

Kevin Hench of FOXSports.com brings us this delectable little nugget from his recent piece ranking the National League's Manager of the Year candidates:

The Phils had a chance to shave the Padres' wild card lead to two games Saturday night before Tom Gordon and Brett Myers combined to allow three home runs in the 8th and 9th in a crushing 4-3 loss. Myers had to be restrained from going after a reporter in the clubhouse after the game.

That was a pretty embarrassing incident for everyone involved in the organization, especially when the audio made its way onto the web. Definitely not good for the Phillies. Let's hope people don't judge them by the actions of one crazy closer who has had trouble controlling his emotions throughout his career.

So things are pretty much back to normal in Philly.

Kevin Hench, you asshole.

In April, it was Manuel who had to be held back from going after a media agitator. The team responded immediately to Manuel's fire, jumping back into contention over the next two months.

He's certainly succeeded in getting his players to lash out at sportswriters when asked about the correct spelling of the word "retard" and provide a list of excuses (injuries, opponents, the ballpark) when they can't get the job done. Charlie's been very exemplary in this regard.

But it's been hard to imagine the Phils making it to the finish line with their matchstick-and-bubblegum pitching staff. If they somehow win the wild card, Manuel deserves a ton of credit (and a free agent starter who isn't a complete disaster).

Yes. The way the Phillies are remaining in playoff contention has nothing to do with Ryan Howard rediscovering his power stroke, or Pat Burrell's resurgence, or Aaron Rowand's career year, or Jimmy Rollins' quiet consistency, or the blossoming of Cole Hamels, or the pants-down luck of finding pitchers in the farm system who are far superior to those disastrous free-agent starters.

The credit all belongs to Charlie, the man who overworked Myers during his transition, overplayed Howard during his slumps, quixotically supported Rod Barajas, batted Rowand in six different places, and always left pitchers in for one out too long.

It cannot be that the flawed Phils are again succeeding despite Manuel, carried on the back of a monster MVP candidate for the second straight year. That would be far too logical.