Nationals swept the series against NY, and then as fate had it.."presented" Phillies their Division title to the hometown crowd. Phillies haven't won the Division since 1993 !

But likely there are a lot of Mets fans doing harm to themselves in the VBDC right now.

but they've done a great job this year and the Phillies certainly should thank them heartily for making it possible for them to take the division which was supposed to go to the Mets. 

The Amazins' had a spectacular collapse at the hands of the Nats.

As for who to root for, I was at RFK for games involving both teams, and have to say I have never met a more obscene, obnoxious bunch than the Mets fans I had the misfortune of sitting with who kept screaming really foul obscenities and suggesting truly pornographic things to the Nats bullpen.  The Phillies fans were loud and obnoxious too, but at least I didn't feel like taking a shower after encountering them.  And it's not like I'm a delicate wallflower, but the Mets fans' comments were truly X-rated.  So, all in all, not that upset about the Phillies advancing. 

We'll see what happens next year with my new hero, Manny Acta, at the helm of a team that shows a great deal of promise.

I seem to remember 8 straight wins Philadelphia had over New York.  Sure, the Nats helped, but credit where credit's due here.

the Mets would have won the division.  I call that the Nats giving the Phillies the division.

You could say that about any series of the year.  If the Phillies hadn't gone 4-11 to start the season, it wouldn't have even been close.  It's kinda disingenuous to pick out one series or even one head-to-head match-up to define an entire season.  The fact that the Mets are a VERY old team made it very likely that they would have fallen apart at the end (maybe not as spectacularly, but it was certainly predictable).  Are you also going to say that the Marlins "gave" it to the Phillies by beating the Mets?

in my Nationals chauvinism.  More than anything else I am just happy that the Nats, who were supposed to be a historically bad team, went on to compile a better record than nine other Major League teams.  Maybe the Phillies shouldn't have cut things so close or the Mets should have taken their Geritol. 

at least as much as I can like another team from my division.  I often sport my Democrat Blue Nats hat, and their new stadium looks GORGEOUS.  I think with a couple of good additions of some decent vets to complement their extremely talented crop of young guys like Chico, Bergmann, Flores, and Zimmerman, they could certainly be a contender at worst by 2010.  Gotta spend those bills, though, can't make the playoffs on just prospects (D'Backs notwithstanding). 

Having lived in Philly for 9 years, I was converted years ago.  And I must say this is truly one of the finest days of my sports-viewing life.  Jimmy Rollins for MVP, no doubt about it.

...in Lancaster County, PA, I have always, and always will be a 100% Philly sports fanatic....no matter how painful or frustrating...

I figure they're the ones who are due (long overdue).

A few years ago the Red Sox ended the 3rd longest stretch without a World Series win in 2004; the White Sox ended the second longest stretch without a WS win in 2005.  The Cubs and their almost 100 year old win-less streak are due up next.

The Red Sox though look like the team to beat with their deep pitching rotation and solid offense.

at my grandmother's I developed a real attachment to the Red Sox, even though I'm from here.  So, I will be rooting for the  Red Sox from now on, but if they implode it certainly wouldn't kill me to see the Cubbies take it.  They're due.

Part of the reason baseball is still the best sport played in the usa

You can have your football games, its baseball that speaks to the heart of a statistician

Hooray for my Phillies!!

I'm so excited....although knowing the Phils I shouldn't get much more excited!

The Eagles had to go and spoil all the good feelin' last night!

I guarantee that the Eagles loss, pathetic and gruesome as it was, is the one Eagles game that Philly sports fans care the least about in many, many years.  It probably did turn many parties into an inappropriately somber mood, though.

Umenaaa ... Umenyaarra ... Umenyaruao ... Oh, you know, number 72 on the Giants.  Can't remember how to spell his name, which is a little unusual for me.

The Democrats in Virginia are assisted by the Mets loss and it will push us over the top on November 6th.

Many democratic campaigns workers in Virginia are Mets fans. I'll go ahead and admit it. I'm a Mets fan, and I'm in pain.

I won't out the others, but there is a good number of us who are wondering why this happened to us, and not, for example, Boston.

Anyhow, now instead of being distracted by endless playoff games, we can dig in and get our candidates elected.

here's to hoping the Rockies beat the Padres. I always like watching the Phils because their fans are so brutal. Cant wait to see them booed by their own fans in the playoffs.