After last night’s frustrating 5-4 loss to the Houston Astros, the Phillies stand in a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the National League Wild Card.
In a 162 game season, we’re down to a six game sprint for the playoffs. The Red Sox proved how fruitful the Wild Card spot can be when they won the World Series in 2004. If the Phillies make the playoffs, I believe we can duplicate that. But mostly, I want to make the playoffs because, after a thirteen year absence, I’m sick of meaningless (to me) baseball in mid-October. As I wrote at the start of Spring Training in February, in describing the 2001 and 2005 playoff tickets I never used because the Phillies didn’t make the playoffs.:
This year I’d like the opportunity to purchase playoffs tickets AND to use them. And the same for World Series tickets would be appreciated. Spring Training is proof that dreams never die.
This Wild Card race is why I’m an optimist every February. My baseball pessimist, beaten into me by season after season of losing, makes me believe the Phillies are just aiming to drive the dagger through my heart by finishing the regular season tied for the Wild Card, only to lose the one-game playoff against the Dodgers on Monday.
I have tickets to the next three games in Washington because the optimist ignores the pessimist every year. I’m gullible. Go Phillies!