The streets are alive with the sound of PHILLIES

The Phillies are on the verge of winning their second straight National League East division title and the City of Brotherly Love is infected with Playoff fever. I was at the Phillies Braves series opener on Monday night and was walking around the city after the victory and you could just feel the excitement in the air. Walking down the street wearing my Phillies' hat and Pat Burrell jersey, I got big thumbs up from bar tenders, shouts of "Who won tonight?" from doormen, gleeful bangs on the glass from restaurant patrons. All over the city, you see red hats with the white P, rally towels taped onto windows, and Go Phillies! signs. Despite a dreary rain filled September night on Friday, Citizen's Bank Park was still packed with raudy, dedicated fans. The same fans who have consistently sold out the ballpark all season. In a city that bleeds Eagle green above all else, football has taken a backseat to the Fightins as they move ever closer to the thing that has eluded them so often in their 100+ year history: the playoffs. Phillies' fans are so excited about this team's prospects that they have even started to embrace the oft criticized manager Charlie Manuel. With two outs in Friday night's game against the Washington Nationals, home plate umpire Andy Fletcher reversed his own third strike call to an uncaught foul tip. The strikeout would have ended the game. Manuel came out to argue the call, something he has done countless times during his career as a manager. Manuel, first and foremost, sticks up for his players, which is in part how he has endeared himself so much to his players. "It was pretty good, actually," closer Brad Lidge said of Manuel's tantrum. "He got after it a little bit. I was trying to read his lips a little bit. It was exciting. But Charlie, man, he'll fight for you out there. It's great. We really appreciate it as players." It appears that Manuel is finally starting to endear himself to the fans. While marching out to the mound to argue with Fletcher, 44,000 Phillies' faithful chanted "Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!" Manuel, however, apparently never heard it. "No, I didn't [hear the chant]," Manuel said. "My red neck was showing too much." As with any coach, there are things Manuel does that you can question. Sometimes he makes moves during that game that make you want to pull your hair out, and for a city that adored the fiery style of Larry Bowa so much and is not a fanbase to coddle their athletes, it is understandable that Manuel has had a rocky relationship with the fans and the media here in Philly. Something that needs to be remembered however, and is more important than any of his coaching nuances and quirks, Charlie Manuel wins. He is one of the most successful coaches in franchise history. He has (most likely) taken this team to the playoffs two of his four years as manager. This is a team that has more losses than any other franchise in sports history. There is something to be said for a guy who will steadfastly stand up for his players. We, as fans and media, may want to scream at Jimmy Rollins for not running out the groundouts, at Carlos Ruiz for being the infuriating rally killer, at Ryan Madson for blowing yet another lead, but the job of the manager is to stand up for his players. The job of the manager is to create an environment that makes his players want to play for him, want to win for him, and that is what Charlie Manuel has done, and for that, he should be lauded. So I join those 44,000 fans in chanting, "Charlie! Charlie! Charlie!"