The Heat In The NL East

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has been around baseball long enough to understand the importance of September.

"It's good where we are at," Manuel said. "We have, what, 26, 27 games left? That's good.

"But we still have to win quite a few of them. We have to win some of those games."

The Phillies have won four straight and just completed their best month of the season, with an 18-10 record in August. In that time, the Phillies (77-58) have taken a three-game lead over San Francisco in the National League Wild Card race and trail Atlanta by just one game in the NL East.

In the Phillies' favor is the experience that comes with three consecutive division titles, something Manuel knows is almost, but not quite as important, as just getting into the playoffs.

Writers Note :

GO BRAVES ;)