Man, I never thought they could do it until Harry the K announced that the Mets were down by four runs and then Jimmy Rollins manufactured a run out of a single, two stolen bases, and fair-to-middling line drive so-called sac fly.

I stay say that Rollins was incorrect in spring training when he said that the Phils were the team to beat in the NL East. The Mets were the team to beat, and both the Phillies and Mets did that aplenty in the last three weeks.

Even an old curmudgeon like me who picked the Phils to win 75 games had to be touched by the way they won this game and how the team responded to the fans. It was an electric feeling that comes—unfortunately for the Phils—every decade or so.

I am left with the images of the typically stoic Pat Burrell leading the charge on the field as the celebration started, of the players making the rounds well after the game high-fiving and spraying fans with beer/champagne/fire hoses/whatever they could get their hands on, of Rollins turning up the speed to nab his record-setting triple—baseball's fourth quad-20 player—amid cheers of MVP! MVP! MVP! I am not Rollins' biggest fan, but I have no problem with him winning the award. Call me a homer.

How far can this team go? As an NL fan, I would be pulling for these guys since they'll be the best matchup for whichever Goliath escapes from the ALCS. I could also see their pitching collapse and their getting swept out in the first round.

But it doesn't matter

Screw 1964! I wasn't even born, neither were most of the players (sorry, Jamie Moyer). It can now be considered officially buried.

What these Phils accomplished, with an assist from the floundering Mets, was astounding and historic. No team had ever come back from seven games back on September 12 until these Phils. From that point on the team went 13-4 while the Mets went 5-12. They swept series with the Mets three times and finished with an eight-game win streak vs. their rivals.

Was it the worst collapse ever? Let's see…

I looked at the daily standings all time and I selected the teams that a) lead their division or league by at least five games and b) lost that lead by the season's end. Then I looked at the worst "Collapse Ratio". That is, their games remaining (prorated to 162 games) divided by their games ahead on the given date.

Guess which two teams came in one and two? It's no surprise, but the order may be (and I know people had large tables but give me a break—my team finally won something):

So now the Phils division/league winner with the fewest days in first in a non-strike year since 1871. Actually, the tie—it's kizmit—the '64 Cardinals:

Oh and by the way, those Cardinals won the World Series. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more, say no more.