PHILLIES PHODDER

It was an ugly Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. The weather was perfect, in fact, even a little chilly. The game was another matter, as the Phillies were crushed by the world champion Chicago Cubs, 17-2. It was the most runs scored by a visiting team this summer at CBP, and the most visiting runs scored since Cincinnati put up 22 runs in 1998.

Phys Hoskins homered again, his 10th. He may be the only reason to watch anymore, a must-see every at-bat.

When he came to bat in the 9th inning, the Phils down by 15 runs,much of the sparse crowd stayed ( aside form the hundreds of Cub fans) just to see if Hoskins would homer again.

He is the face of the franchise now, much-needed both on the field and off.

It was my girlfriend, Holly's, first Phillies game. Here are the high ( or low) lights of the evening:

* Holly was given a certificate that read "My first Phillies Game ( and it sucked!)

* It was Bark in the Park night- only the dogs were on the field wearing red.


* Holly is a big baseball fan. After the game started she asked if we were on the "Wentz wagon?" No, but the Cubs did score two touchdowns and a field goal.

* I showed her the Phillies Wall of Fame display before the game. No matter how hard we looked, we couldn't find the Pete Rose plaque ( did they take it down?).

* The first time Holly ever had crab fries! $12 a cup- welcome to a Phillies game!

* We went into the Phillies's tore. They have everything you can slap a P on in there. There best seller this summer is Phillies toilet paper. Talk about not getting any runs!

* Cub fans used to be lovable losers. Now they're just obnoxious jerks. After the game a group was holding up a white banner with a blue W on it. I'm thinking the W meant "Wusses?"

All in all, despite the score and the fact it felt like we were  at Wrigley Field, it was a fun night. My last game of the season (thank God!). Next is the Eagles vs. Cardinals game in early October. Hopefully there will be much more to cheer about.

After losing 7-1 to the Phils on Friday night, the Cubbies showed why they are champs, showing no mercy. No matter how brilliant Hoskins continues to be, he can't be the savior alone. The Phils need pitching help this off-season. Hopefully GM Klentak and team president MacPhail were watching up in their boxes, hearing the boos of the Phillies fans and the jeers of the Chicago fans, and were both embarrassed and understanding of the fact that we need help.