No sign Phils’ boat
will spring a leak

In the Batter’s Box
By Matt Godfrey

I had a rowing coach in high school who, before the biggest race of our senior season, told our boat, "Remember every stroke, because it is going to be something you will want to remember for the rest of your lives."
We all thought he was insane. Up to that point, we hadn’t even won a qualifying heat let alone a championship final.
That was in May 2000, and I cannot even count how many times in the past eight years I have recounted every stroke of that race for people who were willing to listen.
If I were talking to my old coach right now I am sure he would be saying the same thing about these 2008 Phillies.
We had a mix of rowers who wanted to win and were willing to do whatever it took.
Sounds familiar.
The Phillies have a strong starting lineup from top to bottom, and their "reserves" are more like interchangeable parts.
If manager Charlie Manuel considers it necessary, he will play one guy instead of the other, and no matter who is playing, everyone on the bench seems to be rooting for the starting nine.
The Phils’ bullpen has been solid all season; the starting rotation seems to be energized, knowing that the team is pumping on all cylinders.
In our race, we got off to a quick start and put our competition down early.
I would say being 13 games over .500 and 3.5 games ahead of the second-place Florida Marlins (before this week’s series) would qualify the Phillies as having an early lead.
In that boat race, we made sure not to relax, and kept working our way to a bigger and bigger lead.
The Phillies, after getting off to their best start in several years, stood at 27-24 on May 24. Since then, they’d improved to 39-26 as of Sunday.
There has been no relaxing, no taking it easy and hoping that other teams will help the Phils move up the NL East standings.
Manuel has instilled a workmanlike approach to the job within these blossoming superstars. They have been playing as if each day is their last chance to make the playoffs.
They seem more assured, more confident.
Last year there was always the threat of relievers Jose Mesa or Antonio Alfonseca entering the game and blowing a lead.
Now — when Manuel feels a starting pitcher is done — the relievers he can choose from are even better, statistically, than his starters.
Even Adam Eaton, last year’s overpaid, underachieving bust, leads the team in "quality starts" (at least six innings pitched, giving up three or fewer earned runs).
Granted, the Phillies still have almost 100 games left to play, but it is much easier to lead the pack than chase it.
When I think of that boat race, the reason we won isn’t that we were necessarily faster or better or anything like that. It was that the other boats believed we were faster. We got into their heads from the start and made them think we were too fast to catch.
Putting the Atlanta Braves, who many thought were going to be the Phillies’ biggest threat for the NL East, into a 6.5-game deficit this early must have the Braves wondering just how good these Phillies really are.
The New York Mets are even further behind. And with memories of last year’s meltdown still fresh, the Mets show no sign of getting their act together any time soon.
With these Phillies about two weeks from the halfway point of the season, the challenge will be to keep putting more distance between them and the competition.
The fans certainly seem to be revved by having one of the hottest teams in baseball and cheering one of the hottest hitters on the planet in Chase Utley.
At last, this Phillies team has the makeup to do something you’ll want to remember for the rest of your life. ••