…it’s not often we want to get out of town but back-to-back wet and muddy losses to the Marlins will do that to you…you might say, simply, their pitchers adapted to the conditions better than ours did…to regain the positive let’s move on…

A bumping pitch and a blinding light,
An hour to play and the last man in.
And it’s not for the sake of a ribboned coat,
Or the selfish hope of a season’s fame,
But his captain’s hand on his shoulder smote
Play up!  Play up! and play the game!                                                            Henry Newbolt 1892 
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this leaves the Philly fan  to be addressed…
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misogyny be not so vile
as is the fevered Phillyphile
his bulk a dull disgrace
his corrugated face
Division lead? it’s been a while.
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and what about their GM ?
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‘he should have bought much smarter
he’s spent their final dime, you’ve surely heard?
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amaro and amaro and amaro
creeps on his manic race to overpay
with the last dollar of indentured time
while aging sluggers with their faded tools
await dear dusty death.  Out, Out, Inhaler!
they’re but a walking shadow, poor players
who strut and spend their power upon the stage
and then can hit no more.  It is a tale
told of an idiot,  spending ad absurdum,
accomplishing nothing.
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TO THE GAME…
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1st

 Maholm in place of Hudson.. bad call but when was Simmons last called out on strikes?  Progress?  JuP double, FF grounds out…
 Laird catching..Maholm gets away with dbl to Utley..awful Freeman throwing error scores 1…DP..            PHILLIES 1-0

2nd

  Decent contact off Lee all 3 hitters including Uggla single but BJ hits into douple play…his last AB last night awful…
 Revere bloop dbl, JuP decent attempt..Quintero 2R opp field HR after umpire confab… yuk,this must stop…  PHILLIES 3=0

3rd

  gets worse, Laird tossed arguing strike 3..3 up, 3 down..Lee loving it, we need some fire – and some breaks..Fredi gone too..
 monster 2 out HR Ryan Howard…they are playing with us..Brown doubles…the hounds are baying, the fox cornered PHILLIES 4-0

4th

  JuP single, 2/2.. CJ has the best outs on our team, mostly hard hit..Angel Hernandez both wrong and riled up – bad mix..
 10 pitch 1,2,3…between innings Angel Hernandez pursues Freddie to 1st base…apology?  don’t think so, GTFA…

5th

  BMac, hitting eighth for Laird, 2 out single..mound conference??  Maholm pops out..
 Rollins 2 out single.. Average age Phillies 44.6, Braves 17.3….feels like it but the old geezers are winning…

6th

  3up, 3 down..AS seems unlucky re BAPIB now he’s on the ground a lot more… Jason’s last 2 outs weak roll overs…
 Quintero with 2 out double scores Young when Mac can’t hold on to strong Uggla throw…  2ND  Upton ‘can’tquite’…PHILLIES 5-0

7th

  ff hppb.. cj is good!! UGGLA 3 R HOMER !!  BMac 1 out dbl..RJ p/hit single, Mac stops at 3rd.. LEE OUT..Ramirez in, AS line drive sac fly…JHey walks, JuP disappointing 3rd out strike out…                                                                   PHILLIES 5  BRAVES 4
 Avilan pitching against top of the order…95!  K..(love Chase, what a player)2 out..Rollins flies out, Avilan good again, what a rock..

8th

  Bastardo pitching..Freddie lines out.. CJ flies out deep Rt Fld.. Uggla K’s..Hope Bastardo doesn’t get to pitch the 9th, he looked good…CJ again makes a hard hit out…
 Avilan again, for Howard..ground out, Howard can barely run..Mayberry walks, Revere singles, 2 out..Vavaro gets 3rd out..

9th

  Papelbon, good! BJ, want him out? hard right down the middle…BMac unlucky, great catch in RF… here’s Joey! First hit! 2 out..decent at bat by AS but can’t finish it…                                                                                        PHILLIES WIN 5-4

so close, a run short…and three of theirs were less than pure to some degree – Freddie’s first inning error, the wrong home run call in the second and Mac dropping Uggla’s throw for what proved to be the winning run…still, we made a real game of it and gave them a fright…their best pitcher now departs the scene also…

so now is Kipling time, saved from last week…ever one to rally the troops with a fine turn of phrase this is his type of situation…he would have loved it…

if you can still your head when them about you
are moving theirs and blaming it on you
if you can trust yourself when all blogs doubt you
and try to vilify your pouting too
if you do fan but soon grow tired of fanning
and surely turn away from soft hit flies
and being canned do not accept the canning
yet cut the unctuous umpires down to size.

if you can throw and then just throw it faster
with never yet the need for taking aim
if you can meet with triumph and disaster
and treat those two imposters just the same
if you can count the piles of bats you’ve broken
the several times you’ve surely bent the rules
or offer a resistance more than token
to second baseman with just average tools.

if you have made one pitch in these nine innings
while risking all, a slow beguiling toss
and lose and start again at your beginnings
and never breathe a word about that loss
if you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
to hit your weight long after they have gone
and so hold on when there is nothing in you
while spinning out exactly like fat Juan.

if you ignore the crowds that boo and hurt you
and still perform so mighty in the clutch
let never any sliding pitch divert you
you know it dips but surely never much
if you can fill the unforgiving minute
with sixty seconds worth of hits and runs
yours is the field and everything that’s in it
and what is more we’ll all be fans, my sons.