Stage is Set: Phillies Look to “CHOP” Atlanta

“The Tomahawk Chop” has become a trademark of The Atlanta Braves’ crowd in Georgia. It’s their war chant, their main source of power. Usually when this notion is referenced at Turner Field, it means the Braves are taking advantage of the home crowd. This has been a common occurrence this season with Atlanta’s league-best 52-23 home record. Now, their archrival Philadelphia Phillies are looking to do just that to the Braves over the next three days, which could eliminate them from NL East Title contention altogether.

The tide has shifted drastically over the past few weeks with the Phillies now holding a three game lead over the Braves. The Braves took over the lead on May 30th in the midst of a three-game sweep of the Phils and held it up until September 12th. Their lead was growing by the day in the middle of the season and looked to be insurmountable with little hope for a Phillie comeback this time around.

But, the Phillies were able to persevere and remain in striking distance of the Braves. Near the trade deadline they were able to acquire another ace in Roy Oswalt. In mixing Oswalt with aces Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay, the Phillies were left with a Trio of Aces and a wonky offense. Wonky though, would soon become wonderful again and hence this is where The NL East Race stands on September 20th, 2010. The Phillies have a three-game lead and will send “The BIG Three” to the hill in consecutive days at home against Atlanta, with hopes of taking their toughest NL Title to date.

This season has been anything but easy for the Phillies, with an erratic offense and injuries among other things. The offense lost sync somewhere in late May and never regained their swagger until just a few weeks ago. Sandwiched in the middle of this all were injuries to former NL MVPs Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins as well as All-Stars Chase Utley, Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino. The Phillies have now won 19 of their last 23 games albeit taking a lead in the NL East Race.

Now, with the offense ready to explode and the pitching match-ups precisely in place, the Phillies look to “chop” Bobby Cox and the Braves for the last time. Hopefully they will be able to make the season finale at Turner Field irrelevant in the process. The next three days will present the season’s biggest test for the Phillies and Braves alike, two teams that have been battle-tested all season long. I believe that whichever way this series swings will play a large role in determining the representative of the National League in The World Series.

The Phillies have faced adversity all season and somehow have the best record in the NL (nearly MLB) to show for. Adversity has been as much a part of the Phillies as their red pinstripes this season as they’ve grown as a team because of their turmoil. Charlie Manuel has stuck with his guns all season long and now it appears to be finally paying off. In many ways this has been Manuel’s greatest challenge as a manager and now he and his team are better prepared for October.

September’s “King of Swing” Ryan Howard has swatted his team back to NL supremacy. Over the last three Septembers (’07-’09) Howard has 28 HR’s with 85 RBI and a .298 batting average. With another huge September in progress, Howard is looking to ignite the Phillies into October play with great momentum in hand.