After an uninspiring but season-saving series victory over the Baltimore Orioles, the Phillies have just 10 games left in what has been a mostly frustrating season.
But they are not dead. Despite having dirt thrown on their corpses numerous times (I’ve done it at least three times in the last month), the Phils enter Thursday at 78-74, three games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East. Atlanta’s magic number for a fourth straight division title is 9.
Amazingly, the Phillies still control their own fate. After a four game series this weekend against the 57-94 Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phils finish up their season with an all-important road series in Atlanta and a three-game series in their own personal house of horrors, Miami, against the Marlins.