Rauuuuuul!!

Sarge Says:
"ThAt'S bEcOmE hIs ThEmE sOnG aLmOsT . . . Ra-UuUuUl"

Holy shnikies!
I'll warn you, this one could be long
There are few things I love in this world more than texting people and having people call me during Phillies games. There is something that's real special to me about that. It's a little corny and maybe a little deep but I just love knowing that no matter where we are that this team truly brings us together. I was texting Bean throughout the game (as usual), Brianna texted me during the game, Jeremiah called me during the game, my dad called me after the grand slam, Cheese was watching in another room and came out while on the phone to give me a high five, and Steve and Aaron both texted me after the game. There is nothing like my Phillies family.

I wanna get this out of the way early so if my mom is reading and doesn't read the whole thing, she at least gets to read this. I love Jimmy wearing his pants pulled up and showing off those socks. There is no doubt in my mind that if I were in the majors, I would be wearing my socks high and proud. And I know my mother would love that

So Jeremiah called me after Scott Eyre fell apart and I told him, "I am equally as worried about this game right now as I would be if we had already won." Despite my confidence in this team, the pure elation is never lessened when we come through.

Being down 6-2 with Howard up and the bases loaded, I think most people said to themselves that he was gonna hit a grand slam, but I was excited that I actually said that one out loud to someone else.

People always talk about The Cit being a hitters park and everything. That was completely irrelevant tonight. Every one of those would have been gone in any ballpark in the country. The seven total home runs totaled 2,917 feet. That's over a half mile.

Our pitchers. Yikes. It's nice though that Scott Eyre can pitch that crappy in a game that we end up winning. He has had essentially a perfect season up until tonight, and he got about 6 bad outings out of the way in his 0 innings tonight. Although it backfired, I like that Charlie kept him in the game as long as he felt he could. Our bullpen is getting way too much work, and we need guys to get all the outs they can.

It's good to see Shane hitting the way he's been hitting over the past 4 or 5 games. He had one catch tonight going to right center that convinced me he's the fastest man alive. With those things being said, can we please have him lead off? Jimmy had 3 hits today and I can't complain about that, but look at the "double" that he hit in the 6th inning. No one out, men on 2nd and 3rd, down by 1. Someone who has been in the league for as long as Jimmy has should know how to just ground out to the right side there. Instead, J Roll popped out to the left side of the field, and got lucky because we were playing the Nationals.

Someone who would never mess that up is Chase Utley. Chase Utley is baseball. That's really all there is to it. The best example of that (other than the play in Game 5) is how often he gets hit by pitches. So many times I see people jump out of the way or kick their feet out in order to avoid getting hit, and I think to myself "Take one for the team." But then I think it is probably just a natural reaction to get out of the way of a 90 mph rock coming at you. And I know it is a natural reaction, but Chase Utley somehow manages to just stand in there and get hit as if it's what he is supposed to do. Bean texted me after that pointing out how he just "casually got nailed." It's so true. I've always said, if Chase Utley had it his way, he'd get hit twice every plate appearance.

I think Lou Marson looks pretty good, and we've been playing him an awful lot. That means a decision is going to be made in the next few days about his future. I would love to keep him up, I just don't really see us sending down Coste. I think we find out Wednesday or Thursday.

Ok so on to the man of the hour, Raul Ibanez.
I cannot believe how well he has handled being in Philadelphia. He was unpopular from the start because, after winning the World Series, just about everyone wanted Pat to stay (except you Kev). Whether that made sense or not in terms of actual baseball, it was just the way it was. Philly fans were waiting for Raul to mess one thing up so they could jump down his throat, but he has yet to falter. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Raul, and I am thrilled to have him playing for us every day. His interview after the game just shows how much of a class act he is and how much he truly loves being in Philadelphia. I thought it looked like he was getting a little emotional, but maybe he was just sweaty. The fans clearly love him, yelling Rauuul any time they notice he is still on the field it seems. I think the chant is a bit lame, but it's the thought that counts. As Sarge Said, the fans have "tAkEn To [him] LiKe...DuCkS oN tHe WaTeR!" Whether you think he looks like Voldemort, a zombie from I Am Legend, or male genitalia, I am just glad he is a Phillie. With that being said, Bean and I discussed the fact that he needs a nickname of some sort. I considered starting to call him NMR, standing for naked mole rat (because he looks like one of them too). It's a work in progress. Any Raul Ibanez nickname ideas are welcome. Until then I'm gonna try to force NMR until it flows, which I think it actually could. It is clear to me that the guy has not a single hair on his body other than the soul patch. So that's where these things are coming from, and any nickname ideas should probably somehow be related to that.

That's really long, but I hope you read it and enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed typing it. I think Wednesday night I'm going to do my first LIVE BLOG! So you can watch the game with me essentially. I'm excited about it.

And to close: I thought my hair today, although a bit greasy, looked fantastic. I was really happy and wanted to share that with you all.