After the game, while most of the talk inside and outside Citizen's Bank Park was about the at-bat by Brett Myers in the second inning, there were a few of us in attendance that went home focused on something else.
"We want four! We want four!"
The chant began with one man standing in centerfield next to the Brewers' bullpen and quickly spread to, well, no one as Shane Victorino stepped to the plate with the bases loaded two hitters later.
Ball one.
"Are you asking Shane to go to the deli? And perhaps pick up some salami?" I asked. Yes, I was proud of that little joke - and it's a personal favorite of mrs. tmmullen's even if she won't admit it.
Called strike.
The fan from Northeast Philadelphia quickly told me of another time when the bases were loaded and he and his group took up the call, "We want four! We want four!" only to be followed by a grand slam.
Foul ball.
"Re-karma! Re-karma! Re-karma!" he cried.
Crack!
We watched the ball rise. The entire stadium seemed to inhale in unison and hold their breath, following the track of the baseball until it disappeared from sight and insanity ensued. Euphoria engulfed me. I remember little after that.
When I rejoined reality, I realized that somehow I was able to snap a picture of this harbinger of Victorino's heroics in the midst of celebrating. His name is Lorenzo (Ren) Vizza and if he ever visits our little corner of the internets, hopefully he'll share the longer version of how the "We want four!" originated. Also pictured is his wife Christy who is a big - we're talking HUGE here people - fan of Jayson Werth.
Under penalty of violence, I am required to report in this space that Jayson Werth went 2-4 with two doubles, a run scored, and a stolen base in Game 2.
As you may have already surmised, I spent Game 2 out in centerfield. My brother and I originally dropped anchor there for a close-up look at CC Sabathia (who Christy kept calling CC Sabastian for some reason, along with some other unprintable names). He did not disappoint:
While many of the fans joined together to heckle the behemoth, at one point during a break, I offered, "Don't listen to them CC, come play for Philly next year!" A few people laughed, but, more telling, I heard one fan say, "Yeah, like the Phillies will spend the money." I wondered if Joe Owens was nearby to write that down.
And so it went. Whether true or not (and he didn't admit it was), five starts in 18 days (the last four on three days rest) may have finally worn CC Sabathia down. John Henry may have beat the machine, but he died in the process. CC couldn't beat the Phillies. Let's hope his arm isn't dead either.
[Although, tangetially, I doubt the Brewers care. They aren't going to re-sign him after this year, so why not trot him out every three days and get their money's worth. Arm issues? What arm issues? That's the next team's problem.]
Finally, listening to 920 AM on the way home, I heard a number of people make a case for Shane Victorino as the NLDS Most Valuable Player (should the Phillies win of course). But right now, my vote is for Mr. Vizza. Not only did he do his voo-doo to coax the grand slam, he also bought me an adult beverage.
Find me a Philly fan who doesn't consider that an MVP performance.
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