It's September, and the Phillies Keep on Winning

Going into the last month of the season, it looked as though the Phillies had a difficult task ahead of them. At 50-83, in order to avoid 100 losses on the season, the team had to win 13 of their final 29 games. That would be a winning percentage of .448 for a team who came into the month with a .375 winning percentage for the season. Plus, the Phillies faced the division leading Nationals seven times, the league leading Dodgers four times, and the Mets, who seemed to have the Phillies' number this year, six times. 

Yet here we are, just three games left for the season, and the Phillies are winning. Not only are they winning, but winning against teams that matter. When the Dodgers came to town, they had yet to clinch their division. The Phillies took three of four from them. When the Nationals came to town, they were playing for a 100 win season. The Phils won two of three from them, and ensured that there would not be a 100 wins in Washington. In fact, the Phillies have a winning record so far in September at 13-12. If the Phillies can take at least one of the next two games against the Mets, they will secure a winning record for only the second month this season.

Moreover, this is a team that is finding ways to win. In September, we have seen blow-out wins, we have seen a shut-out, we have seen early leads hold, we have seen come from behind wins.

The offense is putting runs on the board. And while early in the month, Rhys Hoskins was dominating the news, we have seen run production from Nick Williams, Aaron Altherr, Maikel Franco, Odubel Herrera, and Tommy Joseph just to name a few. I have heard a few fans lament that this season is coming to an end just when the Phillies seem to be getting on track.

Will the Phillies continue their success come next season?  That's hard to tell. What appears certain is that the young talent who emerged from the minor leagues at the end of this season will be back. Indeed, this team now is hardly the same team that began the season. As fans, we can only hope that the long journey through multiple losing seasons may finally be on its way to an end.

William J. Kovatch, Jr.

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