Probably not… but it’s worth raising the question. I can’t count the number of times the Phillies have raised my hopes with the possibility of making the post-season, and now they are doing it once again. They are ABSOLUTELY RED HOT and are beating every team in sight — including winning the last 8 games in a row against the Mets (Aug and Sept). Meanwhile, the Mets are tumbling, have lost 5 (or 6) straight and the Phils are now just a game and a half away from the division lead. They’re also either a game and a half or just a half game away from the NL wild card lead (depending on how San Diego did last night) and with only a few weeks left (if that), there’s a distinct possibility they might actually get to the playoffs for the first time in like 10 years. Now don’t get me wrong — I don’t EXPECT them to do it. That would be just plain silly…

Dad sent me this article by one of my favorite writers George Will. It’s a great look at a great umpire, Bruce Froemming. In a time where many professional umpires opt for the easy way out, here’s one who unfortunately is considered a throw-back. He actually CARES about what he does. He calls them like he sees them… not like he’s EXPECTED to see them. INTEGRITY PERSONIFIED. I guarantee that if there were more Bruce Froemmings in pro sports, we’d have a lot less of the headline-grabbing nonsense that the rest of them are generating. But, I digress…

Read on — Diamond-Hard Integrity — Bruce Froemming.

Enjoy.

OK – so I took this video with my camera the other day cause I had to share with the world the musical genius that is Ethan Rezer. Nevermind the fact that he’s only 23 months…

In case you can’t hear real well, Daddy is calling out the names of the notes of the scale — OUT OF ORDER — and Ethan is playing them on the piano! He rocks! Look out Liberace!

Click on the video to bring it up in the player. Enjoy!

Isn’t it about time for the Phillies to dominate the NL East? Haven’t I waited long enough? Just when you though the Braves were headed downhill, here comes the newly acquired Mark Teixiera, hitting 9 homers in 18 games and revitalizing the Braves offense. Oh, and Smoltz is still as nasty as ever, proving so by striking out 12 in his most recent outing. The Phils are hanging in there, scoring a ton of runs and leading the NL in that category, but it seems like they just can’t seem to push it over the top. The pitching has been pretty steady, and a once inept bullpen has really been top-notch as far as I have been able to see in the limited amount of games I’ve been able to track. Is it too much to ask for a little post-season activity? There’s still hope… but it’s never a given with the Braves hanging around.

Oh yeah — I hate the Mets too.