If the Fightin's had let Luigi Borda do his magic, the team might've won this weekend. At least, that's what Borda believes, and I believe in Borda. So that's good enough for me.
Readers of this blog might recall a post from February 2009, when I wrote about Borda, a South Philly schoolteacher who is convinced, when it comes to the Phillies, that his Phillies-decorated, 1966 Fiat - or "Phiat" - is key in whether the team makes it to the World Series.
(Click here for a cute video about Borda, which aired on 6-ABC News.)
So Borda says the Fightins' would've nailed Saturday night's playoff game had he been allowed to drive his Phiat around Citizen's Bank Park, to bring the team luck. The way he did in 2008, when the guys won the World Series. And the way he did last year, when the team almost recaptured the title.
But on Saturday, security stopped him at the gate.
No!
Tell it to us from the beginning, sir.
"When the Phillies found themselves down three games to one, I thought it was time they needed LUIGI and the Philly Fiat to do their drive around," Borda e-mailed me this morning. "So I decided to drive around the stadium Thursday after school, and of course the Phillies won later that night.
"Since the game was in San Francisco, it wasn't a problem driving around. However, [Saturday] was a home game and with all the increased security, the Bank is now gated all around. I told them they didn't realize that the Phillies needed me to drive around, but security wasn't buying it.
"I tried all three sides and was turned away each time, so I had a bad feeling about the game. And, of course, you know what happened. Fiat and I feel like we let the Phillies down. I knew I should have snuck around at sunrise."
Damn right he should have. I don't know who we should be more upset with - Borda, or security. (I cannot and will not blame Ryan Howard. I'd crawl over broken glass to hand him a cup of Gatorade...).
At least Borda's car is given due respect in the children's book Borda penned, called Luigi Gets Around. Click here to read my blog post about it, penned in happier days, when we were World Series-bound.