Odds Still Look Good

Pressure didn't get to the Phils last night, it was history.

In his brief career Cole Hamels has rarely come up big when the game mattered most. He has never shown he can avoid the one or two costly mistakes that separate the true ace from the aspiring one. Last night his throwing error on a pickoff and first pitch hanging curve to Casey Kotchman were the differences in a 3-2 loss to Atlanta. Still, the Phils were coming back against Mike Hampton until Pat Burrell, Monday night's hero, killed the rally with a bad base running mistake.

Both players have a history of making these kinds of mistakes.

Coupled with the Mets 6-2 win over the Cubs, the Phils lead was sliced to 1.5 games with four games remaining. There is no sense of panic in the locker room; after all, they can't win every game. Still, to a man the Phils know the Division title and Wild Card are still up for grabs.

With one game remaining against Atlanta and three against the Nationals the Phillies' destiny remains in their hands. I still like their odds.