Can Phils keep the good
times rolling down the stretch?

In the Batter’s Box
By Matt Godfrey

I heard it in my office. My dad said it was the same at his office, too.
People calling the radio stations said their offices were buzzing with it as well.
Even more people were not in their offices last Thursday to even experience it.
I’m talking about your hometown Phillies.
They are infectious.
They have taken over this town.
I even heard the morning FM radio stations talking about them. A few weeks ago those guys barely even mentioned the Phillies, and now they are the talk of the town.
I know there is still a month of the season left, but how much fun is it to watch these guys play right now?
Every time a game is on, I want to be watching it.
It was not always that way. Watching them could be rather frustrating.
These guys have had to battle, and that’s exactly what they did.
Last Thursday’s game against the New York Mets says it all. Well, really, the whole series said plenty, but Thursday’s game was one fans likely will recall for years to come.
The Phils started out by taking a 5-0 lead, then lost it.
They reclaimed an 8-5 lead, losing that too, and found themselves on the short end of a 10-8 score.
Now it would have been easy for them to have just packed up and prepared for the next series in Florida. They already had beaten the Mets three times in the series.
But you just had that feeling it was not over yet.
There was only an inning and a half to play. But you just had the feeling that these guys were not going to roll over.
Then it happened.
Pat Burrell (the current fan favorite, maybe?) slugged his second homer of the game to make it 10-9 against Mets closer Billy Wagner.
Then, in the bottom of the ninth inning, Jayson Werth blooped a single into leftfield, stole second, THEN stole third . . . on two consecutive pitches! He was so far along the base paths that the Mets didn’t even try to throw him out.
Werth scored to tie the game on a pinch-hit single by Tadahito Iguchi, and then Iguchi scored the winning run on Chase Utley’s single to rightfield.
Game over.
Series swept.
It left the Phils just two games behind the Mets for the National League East title.
They were just as close in the wild-card race, only two games behind the San Diego Padres, who are slugging it out with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National League West title.
September is going to be an exciting month for baseball fans. Even more so because the Phillies are in the race earlier than normal this year. That is due in large part to Chase Utley’s MVP season, which is back on track after his recovery from a broken hand.
Some still believe Utley can win it.
Others believe Ryan Howard could repeat if he turns it on for the last month.
Still others are backing Jimmy Rollins for the award.
But I have a different idea of what an MVP is, and, to me, there is one guy who has done more for this team than those three worthy candidates.
That’s not to take away from those guys. But rarely does a pitcher come along who can make each and every player on the team better.
It helps that he is a lefty.
It helps even more that he is incredibly in tune with the game of baseball.
I am not talking about Cole Hamels. I am talking about Jamie Moyer.
He is the only starter left standing from the opening-day rotation who has not spent time on the disabled list. Every pitcher on the team has said how much Moyer has helped them.
Hamels would be hard-pressed to have the strong season he’s having without the advice and guidance of Moyer.
J.D. Durbin and Kyle Kendrick have heeded Moyer’s tutelage, and both are doing a commendable job for their relative inexperience. You can go down the roster, pitcher and position player, and see how he has affected each one.
I understand that Moyer hasn’t put up the numbers you’d want from a pitcher of his stature. He also has struggled mightily over the last few weeks, but his contributions off the field may be that extra push that gets this team over the playoff hump.
Moyer would be my pick for the Phils’ MVP. So much could have gone differently if he weren’t around as a voice of experience. ••
Columnist Matt Godfrey can be reached at 215-354-3113 or mgodfrey@phillynews.com