I’ve been to two games so far this young Phillies‘ season, Opening Night and Wednesday’s Ring Ceremony game. Both games were very emotional, with all the World Champion festivities, the raising of the banner, the presentation of the rings, the return of Pat Burrell. Unfortunately, both of those ceremonies were followed up by some of the most uninspiring baseball I’ve seen in years.

The Phillies have not quite come out of the gate as many fans had hoped, building on the momentum and energy of their historic postseason last year. That is, until the bottom of the seventh inning on Wednesday.

The Phillies, down 10-3 in what seemed to be a third straight lost game to the Atlanta Braves, somehow managed to score eight runs in one inning. While the Braves’ bullpen certainly helped the Phillies cause by walking in four runs, credit must be given to the timely hitting of several of the Phils’ players, and credit must be given to the players who had the patience to draw walk after walk.

It is a true testament to the character of this team that we have come to expect, no matter the situation, no matter the deficit, this Phillies team can never be counted out of a game. Time and again, they have rallied to come back and pull a victory out of the jaws of defeat late in games.

It was also good to see Raul Ibanez have a good game, with a two-run homerun and an RBI single, after struggling through the first two games and having to watch his current teammates receive their World Series Rings. Perhaps Burrell receiving the loudest ovation gave Ibanez motivation to prove that he is a worthy replacement for the now popular leftfielder.

Hopefully the Phillies can take this momentum to Colorado, which will get them away from all the World Series hoopla, and hopefully take some of the pressure off, allowing them to play loose baseball. They play a weekend series against the Rockies starting on Friday. Look for Cole Hamels to make his first start of the season, and hopefully turn the Phillies’ pitching woes around. Newcomer Chan Ho Park will also be making his first start with the Phillies.