It doesn't stink to be the Phillies right now. They've sent the upstart Milwaukee Brewers reeling with a pair of home wins and now move on to Wisconsin, where they are well-positioned to wrap up their first trip to the National League Championship Series since 1993.

And all I can think about are Alan Greenspan and Larry Bowa.

The former chairman of the Federal Reserve once warned about "irrational exuberance" in the stock market. (And, hoo, boy, doesn't he look smart now?) And when Bowa managed the Phillies, he once illustrated his point in a postgame press conference by stepping from behind the podium and pantomiming the proper way to step on the neck of an opponent once he's down.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins sagely observed earlier this season that this Phillies team never seems to do things the easy way. This is a group that responds well to adversity, much of which they create themselves.

So here's some free advice: Win tomorrow.

Win tomorrow at Miller Park and end this National League Division Series right now.

Win Game 3 tomorrow and, for once, make it easy on yourselves.

Win tomorrow to complete the sweep and give manager Charlie Manuel a chance to once again line up his pitching to the best possible advantage.

Win tomorrow and do things the easy way, just this once.

After the Phillies shocked previously dominant Brewers lefthander CC Sabathia with a thunderclap of offense that lifted them to a 5-2 win over Milwaukee last night at Citizens Bank Park, Brew Crew manager Dale Sveum was asked if he thought his team had simply run out of gas. He bristled slightly.

"This thing ain't over yet," he said. "So to say anybody ran out of gas is far from the truth. These guys had their backs against the wall 7 days ago and they came through with flying colors. I've been there and I've seen it before. It's one game at a time now. We win [tomorrow], it's a different ballgame."

Now, that's what Sveum has to say. But he's also right.

It wouldn't be the end of the world if the Brewers manage to win tomorrow and force a Game 4 on Sunday. The Phillies still would be sitting pretty, still completely in control of their own destiny.

There are plenty of reasons, though, to believe that it would be a really good idea for them to wrap this thing up ASAP.

One fairly obvious point: You

always want to win the games you're supposed to win. And while anything can happen once the first pitch is thrown - anybody who predicted that Sabathia would give up more runs in an inning last night than he'd given up in any game since he joined the Brewers may step to the front of the line - the Jamie Moyer vs. Dave Bush matchup seems to tilt strongly in favor of the Phils.

The 45-year-old Moyer is coming off a remarkably consistent season. And with all the win-or-go-home pressure heaped squarely on the backs of the young Brewers, his coy style could give them fits.

Bush pitched well in the second half but will be making his first postseason appearance. And the Phillies have a history of doing well against him. He had a 5.25 earned run average in two starts against them this year and a 5.88 career ERA in six turns against them.

If the Brewers were to steal a win tomorrow, the calculus shifts more than it might appear at first glance. The Phillies would start Joe Blanton. The Brewers would presumably counter with Jeff Suppan.

That would suddenly become a must-win situation for the Phillies. Because if Milwaukee won again, the change in momentum would begin to look like a backlash.

Not only would the Brewers be on a roll, but they would have a fully rested Sabathia ready to try to avenge last night's defeat.

The Phillies would have Cole Hamels pitching, and they always like their chances when it's his turn. At the same time, if it got to that point, Manuel would be answering the second-guessers who are already questioning why he isn't planning to bring Hamels back on short rest in Game 4 if necessary.

The good news is that the Phillies have been pretty good at maintaining a one-game-at-a-time approach, not getting carried away or looking ahead, staying focused on the task at hand.

While Sveum and Sabathia were in the postgame interview room, Brett Myers and Shane Victorino were waiting along with Manuel for their turn in front of the cameras.

"I just heard their manager say they still have a chance to win, and he's definitely right," Victorino said. "We've got two down, but we still have a big one left."

Just this once, then, they should try doing it the easy way. Who knows, they might even find they like it. *

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