No September Swoon For Philadelphia Phillies: Philly Sports Chatter

Check the calendar.

Summer is ending soon and so are the remaining games on the schedule for the Philadelphia Phillies.

After this key series against the Atlanta Braves concludes Sunday, the Phillies will have 16 games remaining starting Tuesday versus the Toronto Blue Jays and wrapping up the regular season with the Houston Astros Oct. 5.

We say regular season because this will be the first year since 2011 where the Phillies will play meaningful games in October —playoff games.

"Playoffs??" We've heard some say that phrase before. But no one has really mentioned it in this city due to the Phillies collapsing for the past three years every time the calendar turns to the month where school starts.

There will be no September Swoon.

Not now. Not again.

Yes, in this franchise history, this team has destructed with a healthy lead and very few remaining games. Even I wasn't born yet.

But these Phillies benefit from the fact that Major League Baseball added an extra wild card to each league this year, meaning the Phillies should make it to the playoffs, and depending on where they stand, maybe even host a home game.

It would be nice to sell out Citizens Bank Park and recall those distant memories when Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins roamed the field.

These Phillies have Bryce Harper and some very talented players like Rhys Hoskins, Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Nola, JT Realmuto and Jean Segura.

These Phillies have a steadier hand in Manager Robb Thomson.

There should be no Gabe Kapler and Joe Girardi meltdowns where the Phils pretty much packed it in once students started packing their backpacks.

The Braves had basically locked up one NL wild card slot and still could overtake the New York Mets and swap positions.

The Phillies follow. As of this writing, they hold the second spot ahead of the San Diego Padres with the Milwaukee Brewers still holding on for dear life.

So not only am I telling you there's a chance, I'm telling you there's a very good chance.

The team has dubbed this playoff chase the "Hunt for Red October" after the Sean Connery movie.

The calendar is almost up. The games are running out on the schedule.

But the Philadelphia Phillies will win this hunt.