Credit Where Credit Is Due

Those of you who know me know that one thing I really, really don't like is when people take credit for things that they aren't really responsible for. I hate when this happens at work, I hate when it happens at home, and I basically can't stand it it any other context in the world either. One of my basic precepts of life is not to give credit when it isn't due, and always give credit to the right person when something great happens.

Which is why I stand before you today to tell you that I, single-handedly, ensured a Phillies victory in Monday night's pivotal Game 4 of the National League Championship series over the L.A. Dodgers.

It was simple, really. The Phillies had played five games in LA this year before Monday night, including Sunday night's beatdown at the hands of the Dodgers in Game 3, and the Phils had lost all five times (don't worry, the Phils are 6-0 vs. the Dodgers at home this year), usually giving up a number of early runs on our way to defeat. Right from the get-go on Monday, things didn't look great as even though the Phils got two across the plate in the top of the first, they proceeded to give up a run in the bottom of the first to keep their streak alive of I believe 643 consecutive games against the Dodgers where LA puts at least one run on the board in the first inning. We then muddled along through four or five innings, not doing anything on offense and eventually allowing the Dodgers to take a one-run lead in the 5th and then a two-run lead in the 6th, thanks once again to some timely hitting from Manny Ramirez who knocked in two runs with a single in the middle innings. (By the way did you see that Manny is a whopping 7 for 8 with a home run and 7 RBI's with runners in scoring position so far in the playoffs? Scarrrrrrrry.) Late in the sixth inning, the Phils allowed the Dodgers to load the bases and then we brought in reliever Ryan Madsen, and I turned off the tv in the bedroom in disgust, unsure if I could even watch anymore after seeing the Phillies fail to capitalize on so many opportunities to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

And that's when it happened. That light from the tv could not have been off for more than twenty seconds when suddenly Hammer Wife was feeling amorous. Now I'm not one to kiss and tell, but let's just say that...oh...maybe 30 minutes later (yeah right), yadda yadda yadda and I was back in front of the tv with a smile on my face to watch the eighth inning. And wouldn't you know it, the Phils erupted for not one but two 2-run homers in the 8th to take the two-run lead, then they brought in Mitch Williams Brad Lidge for the four-out save, and before you knew it my beloved Phillies were just one game away from their first World Series appearance since 1993. And clearly it was all because of the yadda yadda yadda that went on in the Hammer household during the middle innings of the game.

Before the yadda's, the Phils were listless, they were squandering all of their opportunities and had let their lead slip away. Right afterwards, however, they were like a new team, energized and ready to snatch victory away from the jaws of defeat. In my mind, there is little doubt what this change in the team's demeanor can be attributed to. Those of you who are huge sports fans will know exactly what I'm talking about here. Your team needs some miracle, some big boost to get over the hump. Then you do something in your own life, and suddenly your team busts out with a huge play and goes on to win the game. In your rational mind you know there shouldn't be, cannot be a connection between what you just did and what your team just did. And yet, there you are the next game, doing the same exact thing. You know, just in case.

And make no mistake, I let Hammer Wife know what would be expected of her during Game 5 on Wednesday. The mental state of the fans of the entire city of Philadelphia hangs in the balance. No way I'm getting in the way of the hungriest city in America when it comes to a sports championship.