Things were going great heading into the top of the 9th, with the Phillies holding a 1-0 lead and the Hollywood Hamels we all love and have missed dearly appearing to be back in '08 form. Naturally, things then went awry due to another fan deciding to see whether the Scotts Grass Seed he picked up at Home Depot really is as good as the real thing, right in the middle of Cole getting ready to deliver his first pitch of the inning. The "fan", reportedly this guy, was greeted with "Tase him" chants and hopefully a few solid death threats. Although he was removed rather quickly without incident, it seems Head Case Hamels resurfaced due to the distraction, as the night turned from memorable to a nightmare startlingly quick. The next two Cardinals batters slammed doubles, the game was tied, and heart palpitation inducing Brad Lidge replacing Cole. It's spots like this where you kind of look at the TV in a funny way and wonder if Charlie really did lose his mind this time, or whether he just has that much faith in his guys. Either way, as it so often does with Manuel, the move worked out-Lidge escaped the jam, setting the stage for fireworks in the 10th frame. Chooch went up to the box with a mean look on his face, crushing a pitch just foul before ending it on a 2-1 count with a bomb to left, saving Cole's gem from going to waste and possibly saving THIS GUY(hint, hint) from spending the rest of his days in a wheelchair.
