Eleven years to the day since the Cardinals shut the Phils out of post-season play, last night in the wild-card round, the Phillies beat the Cardinals in two, much to the chagrin of Alex Rodriguez — who, after the win, still insisted the Cardinals were the better team! (J-Lo thinks Ben Affleck is the better man, so.)
It’s been such a roller coaster of a season. Covid, shortened season, injuries galore, losing streaks that seemed to last forever, and players who couldn’t play because they refused to get a vaccine. And through it all, including times when I was fed up and announced I would never watch them again, there was a small nagging voice that kept saying, “Yeah, but it feels like 2008.” (Which was the last time we won the Series.)
So here we are. The Phillies are never better than when no one believes in them except the fans. Buckle up, baby, we’re going to Atlanta!
— Ant🇵🇷 (@1027am_) October 9, 2022
And yeah, that Sosa’s save ended the game made it even sweeter:
I remember a little while after the Edmundo Sosa trade seeing some St. Louis fans mocking the Phillies, saying they traded for a player the Cardinals didn’t even want. Saying the Phillies couldn’t possibly be contenders if they were hunting through the Cardinals trash.
LMAO pic.twitter.com/r9EiAroRPA
— Leo Morgenstern (@morgensternmlb) October 9, 2022