95 wins as of September 15th.

[jiminphilly]

The Phillies could play .500 ball the rest of the way and finish with 103 wins. See ya'll in the playoffs.

[Shoalzie]

Their pitching lived up to expectations...tops in wins (obviously), 1st in ERA, WHIP and shutouts, 2nd in OPS and 4th in batting average...plus their tied with the Rays for best fielding percentage. With their lineup, I would've thought they'd be better than middle third in most major categories. And it's not like getting to their bullpen is the way to beat them either...2nd fewest innings, 4th in batting average and 6th in ERA and surprisingly, they're the best at converting saves...even better than the Tigers with Valverde being 44 for 44.

An amazing stat to follow with them down the stretch is with 16 games left, they've allowed only 474 runs. From what I've gathered...the 162 game record is by the '68 Cardinals with 472. They're not going to beat that record obviously but they're still having an historic season pitching-wise. Without looking up how many, they're aren't many teams allowing fewer than 600 runs in a season, let alone under 500 runs.

The other contenders have good pitching and solid lineups...the Phillies have GREAT pitching. It's their title to lose at this point. The only way anyone will beat them is if you hit where they ain't because they're very good defensively. If they allow 2 or 3 runs a game...they've got a good enough lineup to make that hold up. Obviously, no teams has their depth with starting pitching. In October, I'll take the team that pitches over the team that hits.

[jiminphilly]

Their pitching lived up to expectations...tops in wins (obviously), 1st in ERA, WHIP and shutouts, 2nd in OPS and 4th in batting average...plus their tied with the Rays for best fielding percentage. With their lineup, I would've thought they'd be better than middle third in most major categories. And it's not like getting to their bullpen is the way to beat them either...2nd fewest innings, 4th in batting average and 6th in ERA and surprisingly, they're the best at converting saves...even better than the Tigers with Valverde being 44 for 44.

An amazing stat to follow with them down the stretch is with 16 games left, they've allowed only 474 runs. From what I've gathered...the 162 game record is by the '68 Cardinals with 472. They're not going to beat that record obviously but they're still having an historic season pitching-wise. Without looking up how many, they're aren't many teams allowing fewer than 600 runs in a season, let alone under 500 runs.

The other contenders have good pitching and solid lineups...the Phillies have GREAT pitching. It's their title to lose at this point. The only way anyone will beat them is if you hit where they ain't because they're very good defensively. If they allow 2 or 3 runs a game...they've got a good enough lineup to make that hold up. Obviously, no teams has their depth with starting pitching. In October, I'll take the team that pitches over the team that hits.

Good stat Shoalz. Of the 30 teams, 21 are over 600 and 3 teams are in the 590's and so there is a good chance they'll be over 600 be season's end too.

The real surprise this year has been Vance Woorley and they'll likely have him in the bullpen for the playoffs since Charlie likes to go with his vets in big games. He has a legit shot at ROY. I'm not sure Oswalt has earned the starter role for the playoffs but his velocity is up and the Phillies stretched him out his last outing even though he was down 4-1 in the 6th inning so they're really trying to get him ready for the playoffs with just a few starts left.

[Goober McTuber]

Hopefully Philly will be three and out in the playoffs.

[Shoalzie]

Hopefully Philly will be three and out in the playoffs.

You've got a better shot at surprising a team like that in a short series. If they open with Milwaukee and how good they are at Miller and they've got a solid rotation...it puts the heat on the Phillies to win their home games. The Brewers home record is talked about so much but the Phillies have just as good as mark as them.

As cool of a story the D'backs have been and I'd be rooting for Gibby, they don't stand a chance against the Phillies. Kennedy has been great and Hudson has been a solid #2 but the rotation falls off after that. Short series, long series...you're not going to beat the Phillies and their arms. I'd give them a shot against the Braves if they get them in the NLDS because injuries have thinned out their starting pitching. With no Hanson and Jurjjens, then they start to look ordinary with two war horse like Hudson and Lowe to lead them but they've got that great back end of the bullpen.

[Bizzarofelice]

The Phillies could play .500 ball the rest of the way and finish with 103 wins. .

so. how'd the .500 ball work out for them?

[jiminphilly]

The Phillies could play .500 ball the rest of the way and finish with 103 wins. .

so. how'd the .500 ball work out for them?

They'll likely finish with at least 101 wins. They had home-field locked up early enough that the total win count meant nothing.

[Kansas City Kid]

Hopefully Philly will be three and out in the playoffs.

No chance, Dipshit.