All of the sudden...

...this has become a sports blog. I remember way back last November, when the Phillies said they probably weren't going to be able to sign Aaron Rowand, someone (either This Guy's father or maybe even That Guy himself) said, "can Shane Victorino really play everyday?"

Well, if last evening, at approximately 11:39 PM Eastern, didn't finally answer that question, I don't know what will. The truth of the matter is, after starting out slowly, the most consistent player on the Phillies this year was the Flyin' Hawaiian.

Who would have thought that the Phillies would make the playoffs this year after the offensive struggles they had this season? Nobody--not one single starter-- hit over .300. Only two players had 100 RBIs. This was an offense that was carried (not by Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, or Jimmy Rollins) in August, but by Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino.

I didn't think they would come back last night. I was almost asleep on the couch, when Torre brought in Wade to face Burrell-- I thought it was a good idea. Burrell can hit a fastball-- even a 96 mph Broxton fastball. So bring in someone with a little more finesse. It worked. It just happens that we all forgot that the hottest hitter on the Phillies team, and the only player with more than 3 RBIs this post season, not named Myers, was stepping to the plate. After the stupid Dodger fans have been booing him for 2 nights because he didn't want to be plunked in the head by a fastball, Victorino hit a pretty good pitch. Some will say it was a hanger, but the man from Hawaii's bat was only a couple of inches off the ground when he hit his 2-iron into the bullpen. There was some celebration, but truth is that only tied the game, there was more to be done.

And done it was. It was done by the guy we've all met. He's been playing first on your slow pitch softball team for years now. He admits it-- he goes up there to hit homeruns. Man did he ever hit one. Matt Stairs only played 16 regular season game for the Phillies club--13 of those pinch hit appearances. This wasn't the first pinch-hit homer of his career--heck, not even of this year, but it was the biggest. A three games to one lead is a lot different than a tied series.

Matt Stairs and Shane Victorino did one thing the Phillies haven't been able to do all year. They gave their fans some breathing room.