Ah, a drought is over. No, not a championship, not yet anyway. But it had been 15 long years since the Phillies won a playoff game. On the left arm of one Cole Hamels, that is exactly what the Phillies did Wednesday afternoon.

It is almost unanimous throughout the baseball community that Cole Hamels is among the best young pitchers out there, but if there was one criticism of him, it was his ability to play in big games. King Cole started game 1 last year against the Colorado Rockies in the NLDS. Hamels who was considered the ace then too, allowed three runs in six and 2/3 innings against the wild card Rockies.

What a difference a year makes. Tonight Hamels was absolutely masterful. Responding to his critics, Hamels went a full eight innings haunting the Brewers while only allowing two hits and no runs. For the first time all season, a team was actually looking forward to facing Brad Lidge just so they didn’t have to feel the wrath of the Phils young lefty. While Lidge remains perfect, he allowed the Brewers only run in the ninth surrendering two hits and one walk. The only concern with him is that it looked like the Brewers were getting a good look at his slider and may be on their way to solving it.

But how often can the Phils rely on their pitchers to bail them out of not producing at the plate?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a Phillies fan tried and true. I think it’s fantastic that they won today, but if they continue to play like that, can they possibly make it to the World Series?

Our Fightin’ Phils mustered only three hits off of Yovani Gallardo who entering the day had worked just 24 innings this season, most recently spending 1/6 of his season working four-innings on Sept. 25.

Yes, it’s great that the Phillies were able to score three runs on only four hits, but that kind of performance won’t really cut it. The 22-year-old righty Gallardo walked five this afternoon and followed his Sept. 25 performance by going only four innings again. In the remaining eight innings of pitching from Milwaukee the Phillies could only get one single solitary hit. That is utterly pathetic.

This is the playoffs. If you think you have a shot at winning the Fall Classic, you’re going to have to make things happen at the plate. Jayson Werth went 0-for-4. Pat Burrell 0-for-2. Only Ryan Howard was able to do something productive while not hitting the ball. He walked three times.

Tomorrow the Phils face C.C. Sabathia. Sabathia clearly has Cy Young stuff. He is really the biggest reason why Milwaukee is in the post-season. Every five days he gave the Brewers a ridiculously good shot to win and even helped himself out. In his first game he hit a home run. The Phils can’t get caught up in “C.C. Nation” though. Sabathia is 1-1 in his career against the Phils. He has a 4.97 ERA in those games. He can be beaten although it isn’t easy. Tomorrow they can’t win from the pitcher’s mound like they did today. They will have to show up and hit consistently against this excellent pitcher who after this season will become very expensive.

Brett Myers didn’t finish the season all that strong. He lost his last two outings, but before that he was stellar after returning from a minor league stint. He’ll need his best stuff to keep the Phillies in this game, but the lineup will absolutely have to help him at the plate.

MILLER LITE
For those that don’t know there is an unofficial ban of Miller Lite this series. See, the Brewers play at Miller Park up in Milwaukee. Consuming 3.2 grams of carbohydrates, 96 calories and 4.2% Alcohol By Volume will have to be done in some other fashion than downing Miller Lite. Looking for an alternative? Bud Light is first of all not afraid to use the right spelling of the word. (What are you hiding Miller?) They also clearly have a preference in this series as evidenced by their bottle. Come on fans, we’re at war, pick a side.