Aaron Sorkin, one of my all-time top 5 writers, once borrowed some words from a very smart man in his brilliant comedy series, Sports Night. Those words- "As if it matters how a man falls. When the fall is all that is left, it matters greatly." After these words were borrowed, and thusly elaborated on, the character, Jeremy Goodwin, a very quixotic man, pointed out that the Phillies had been down by 8 since the 3rd inning and it was the best game the show had to report on.
Tonight I learned just how appropriate those words were and how much the Philadelphia Phillies exemplify their meaning.
Down by a score of 7-1 in the 5th, the Phillies, it seemed, were on the unkind end of a routing. But, as I should have learned in my 21 years on this earth, things are never uninteresting in the city of brotherly love. By the top of the 9th the Phils found themselves down by only two, with long-ball hitter and fan favorite Ryan Howard at the plate, representing the go-ahead run. Sure the often-criticized slugger grounded out and the game ended. However, that's not the story.
The story lies in how the Phillies got to that point. It started with Gregg Dobbs, a class act and a pinch hitter extraordinaire, who hit a single up the middle to start a potential 9th inning rally. Next Carlos Ruiz, one half of the backstop corps for the Fightins, stayed in the box and worked out a walk to put two men on for the top of the order.
After a pop out by J-Roll, who has been leaving his team in a lurch when it comes to clutch situations as of late, it brought to the plate the Flyin' Hawaiian. Shane Victorino, who, I would like to think, wanted to atone for not seeing a dropped third strike quick enough. After hitting a long hopper off the mound, Victorino showed why he's become a very popular player. H-U-S-T-L-E. Pure and simple. He legged out a hit to load the bases for his team, sending the tying run to the plate.
Mr. Goodwin would have been proud to watch what transpired next. Chase Utley strolled to the plate and what followed was a battle of epic proportions. Jonathon Broxon, the closer for the Dodgers, started the All-Star 2nd baseman out with three sliders, down in the zone. Utley fouled each off behind him, swinging for the fences and staying alive in the at-bat. It has been rumored for a while that his hip has been giving him problems in the box, during this particular trip to the plate he may have been battling pain, but he was definitely battling Broxon's heaters.
After throwing sliders that clocked in at 88 mph, the big-man on the mound switched to his 99 mph fastball, only to have that fouled off by his opponent. After a slider dropped off the table for ball one, Utley had his best cut of the at bat, crushing one down the first base line with home run distance, but foul again. Finally he looped a single into left field, in-front of the most anti-Philly player in the league, Manny Ramirez.
So what did it matter how the Phillies fell? To players like Dobbs, Ruiz, Victorino, Utley and Howard, it mattered enough to give it all they had in the last inning of a game that no one really thought they'd win. While the Fightins may fall, they do not fail their fans.
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