Thanks Zolecki

Late last month, Christine quietly tracked the Phillies magic number. I emphasize - quietly. She did this last year too, but never told me until the number was down to four. Even though they won the World Series, she still thinks she tempted fate to deal the Phils a horrible ending by mentioning their magic number.

But it would have been my fault, of course.

If the fates do so this year, she will blame Todd Zolecki. On Sept. 4, he gushed about the Phillies dominant pitching in a blog that ended with "The magic number is 22."

Since then, the Phillies have gone 3-5 against the tough Astros, Nationals and Mets. In a week, that number has been reduced by only five to 17.

Zo, you may be the Phillies best beat writer, but if the Phillies don't get going soon, you're going to have some dirty looks coming from South Jersey.

We'll probably be out of the loop today as the SoxandPhils take on their division rivals, the Rays and the Mets.