2005 Chachi #14 Jason Michaels

Astros 5, Phillies 4

Too difficult to write complete, coherent paragraphs . . . Going with a list of observations instead.

- Phils couldn't string anything together tonight until Astros' starter Roy Oswalt was forced to the leave the game in the 7th inning with an injury.

- The team mounted an impressive comeback, scoring 4 unanswered runs. In the top of the 8th, Ryan Howard's RBI-triple and Pedro Feliz' game-tying single were the key hits. (A Ryan Howard card should be adorning this post.)

- Brett Myers returned to active duty, pitching a solid (and surprising) 8th inning. He calmed down after allowing a four-pitch walk to the first batter he faced.

- And then . . . and then . . . Brad Lidge. He entered with a 4-3 lead and he blew it. He blew it big time. He blew it for the 10th time. 10 blown saves. An 0-7 record. An Eatonish ERA of 7.15. It's enough to make you want to cuss on a blog. Former Phil Jason Michaels scored the winning run.

Now Charlie Manuel is a much smarter baseball man than I will ever be. But for the love of Johnny Wockenfuss, we need to stop letting Brad Lidge try to close out games! We've got several viable options in the bullpen now - Myers, Chan Ho Park, Ryan Madson (maybe), even Tyler Walker's been doing a decent job. Enough is enough. And now that I completely sound like someone who would call into a sports talk radio show, I shall be on my way.