I ain't heard no fat lady!

September 13: My first ever multi-sport doubleheader!

Phase I: I went to the Phils/Brewers game which was cool. Hitting has picked up, Cole wasn't quite himself but still sufficiently strikeout-y, bullpen looked pretty great. Pat Burrell looked horrendous, which made me sad. I love the guy and I've always defended him, but that was some painful stuff. Still, the Phils locked this one down, and then the Mets blew yet another win for Santana and lost about 10 seconds later. What a moment. Brought back memories of... well, no, you know what? No more memories and no more living in the past. This is 2008, my friends.

Phase II: I crossed the street and saw the (gold medal winning!) US Women's Team beat Ireland 2-0. It was the first time I've ever been in the Linc and the first pro soccer game I've ever seen in person. My assessments: well, one, even though I'd never been in the Linc before, I've seen it on TV and there's Eagles stuff everywhere, so it was hauntingly familiar. Not much to look at out on the concourses, but that's fine. I'm there for the game. Two, soccer: I was totally into it! Which is good sign, given that a few months ago I gave a faceless website $100 for a Philly 2010 season ticket deposit. The game has a great rhythm and I was kind of mesmerized at times. And you know what else? I didn't need to stand and sing for 90 minutes to be into the game. I just wanted to watch it. Of course, in fairness, this was a friendly between a team that wasn't really trying that hard and a team that was obviously inferior, plus the crowd seemed to be 85% soccer-playing girls under 12, so maybe it wasn't a representative crowd. Maybe when the New Atoms play DC United, it'll be more intense, and I'll be on my feet chanting something off-color and pouring a beer on someone's head. I'm not ruling it out. Long story short, I'm pretty amped about 2010. (By the way, I'll need people to go to games with it, so if you want to take my other ticket, contact me ASAP. Spots are going fast!)

September 14: I missed today's game. I was out buying pants. That may sound absurd to you, given that we're deep in a pennant race, but I really needed new pants. I'm very comfortable with my decision.

I was pleased to see when I got home that Blanton went 7 innings and Pat had two hits. The final game against The Brew starts in an hour and a half. All is right with the world. Now, before the series started people were saying that 3 out of 4 would be fine... and if we lose tonight, yeah, it's not the end of the world. But with a win, we can be tied for the wild card lead, and only 1 behind the Mets. In short, I WANT THIS GAME. I've wanted few games as much as I want this one. With pants successfully purchased, I can watch every pitch with confidence. Brett Myers, over to you...