LOS ANGELES - To borrow from Jack Buck, I don't believe what I just saw. As I sat at Dodger Stadium last night, the scene felt too perfect to be real. Cole Hamels pitched another incredible game. Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard, silent for much of the National League Championship Series, staked the Phils to an early lead.
Balls bounced the right way for the Fightin's and the wrong way for the Boys in Blue. And all of it unfolded in front of a picturesque backdrop: Beyond the outfield, the San Gabriel Mountains pushed against a stunning salmon sky.
In the end, as I watched the Phillies celebrate their 5-1 victory in full view of 56,800 dejected locals, an eerie hush descended on Chavez Ravine. It sounded like the sweetest tune you ever heard.
The Phils won the NLCS, four games to one, and now they're headed to their first World Series in 15 years. That is both amazing and difficult to fathom.
In an attempt to make sense of the surreal, I went in search of Philadelphians who had made the trip west to Cali. My quest delivered me into the company of Zach Gibson and Myles Pettengill. They've been friends for a long time, and they decided to travel to L.A. to root for the Fightin's. Both are 25, born in the same year as the city's last championship. What a terrible curse.
When they were kids, they each attended the 1993 World Series, and they've lived with disappointment ever since. But when I asked whether they were optimistic about the Phillies' chances to complete this incredible run, when I asked whether they believed, neither hesitated.
"This is it," Pettengill said. "This is what we've been waiting for our whole lives."
And then, just to make sure I fully understood, Gibson added "[Expletive] yeah."
They couldn't have looked happier. The same could not be said for Dodgers fans, who sulked to their cars with very long faces indeed. Out in the parking lot, an endless trail of brake lights snaked slowly toward the 110 and the 5 like some horrible funeral procession.
And I thought: Drive home safely, Angelenos. Your health is all you have now.
Cheers
Cole Hamels: Amazing. That's really all there is to be said.
Jimmy Rollins: He smoked a leadoff home run, which made the crowd apoplectic. The guy who caught the ball out in the right-field bleachers threw it back, and everyone cheered. Small victories, I guess.
Ryan Howard/Pat Burrell: Back-to-back RBI singles in the third put the Phils up by three. It got really quiet in Dodger Stadium at that point. Like they say at the movie theater, silence is golden.
Chad Billingsley: My vote for MVP of the NLCS. Immediately after I said as much to Mike Jensen, two things happened. First, a Dodgers fan screamed, "Get him out of there, [Joe] Torre, and you go with him." Next, almost on cue, Billingsley threw a wild pitch. That's what I like to call comedy.
Rafael Furcal: His three errors in the fifth inning helped the Phils score two runs. It's almost like he and Billingsley had a secret plan to scuttle the Dodgers' season and go golfing.
Brett Myers: When someone asked the other day if he might fly back to the East Coast to prepare for a potential Game 6 start, Myers didn't hesitate: "I'm not going anywhere. Are you crazy? I'm not going to miss this. I'm going to sit here and support my teammates. I'm there patting them on the back, good or bad. I'm staying regardless." Hard not to dig that.
Big Ed: The other day, after Comcast SportsNet announced that Gov. Rendell would join Phillies Pregame Live, I wondered aloud how he found time to govern the state given his demanding TV schedule. Yesterday, the Gov went on TV and said he manages to do both by not sleeping. He also gave Sports Wit' a mention, thereby ensuring that I'll vote for him even after his term expires. That's one smart pol.
Kirk Gibson's homer: Yesterday was the 20th anniversary of Gibson's improbable World Series home run. Don't be so glum, Dodgers fans. You'll always have 1988.
The World Series: Wow. That's all I've got. Just . . . wow.
Boos
Michele Tafoya: On ESPN radio, she called the Tampa Bay Rays a "team of destiny." Don't you have to have a history before you can have a destiny? Slow your roll there, Tafoya. Don't be so quick to count out the Fightin's.
Dodgers fans: Yet again, they earn their way into the Boo section. When Shane Victorino came up to the plate - for the second time in as many games - I heard someone scream, "Hit him in the head." What do they call it again? Oh, right: the City of Angels.
Had another celebrity run-in at Dodger Stadium. While I was wandering around the park yesterday, I met Henry Winkler. There we were - the Fonz and the Gonz, having a conversation. It wasn't as cool as meeting Aimee Teegarden, but it was close. Really love L.A. . . . One more time, with feeling: The Phils are going to the World Series. Smile, Philly, you deserve it . . .
Contact columnist John Gonzalez at 215-854-2813 or gonzalez@phillynews.com.
