It’s amazing the difference a couple of days can make.

After Monday’s loss to the Astros, the surging Braves were within 4 games of the Phils. Folks were invoking 1964. I took scissors out of the cubicles of some of my male co-workers who appeared beyond despair.

The vibe in Citizens Bank Park was cautiously nervous last night when the Astros took a 1-0 lead off a Lance Berkman moon shot off J.A. Happ. For the remainder of the evening, lots of scoreboard watching ensued as we hoped that the Phils would be able to shave not 1 but 2 off of their seemingly never reducing magic number.

For me, it didn’t matter last night if the Braves won or lost. The Phillies just had to win. They had to. Not just for magic numbers. But to reignite their own fire and that of their faithful fans in the process. If the Braves won, well then at least we had moved one step closer to an NL East three-peat. Seeing that the Marlins had held onto a paper-thin 5-4 win over the Braves was just the cherry on top.

Tonight’s game seemed to have an air of inevitability to it. With 5 games to go and a magic number of 1, not even the Mets could have blown that. The Phils offense showed up in spades and even a shaky start by Pedro Martinez couldn’t stop the champagne from eventually being popped.

Charlie’s move in the top of the ninth to bring Brad Lidge in to get the last out was just another example of why Manuel is beloved by his players. Charlie is nothing if not loyal, but he has put Brad’s 9th inning shift on the shelf, leaving 54′s playoff future in question. Charlie is a class act. He knows when to let the players just do their thing, and he knows when to bring the hammer down and when to call a meeting to remind his players that they are the defending champs.

How Charlie handles the next 4 games is going to be very interesting. Will he rest everyone and be willing to sacrifice some wins even if it means he loses home field advantage? How will he balance the need to give Uley a break with the fact that the Phils are extremely close to overtaking the Dodgers for the b est record in the National League. We should not forget how integral the Philly fans were to the Phillies postseason success last year as they went undefeated at home during the playoffs.

There are many questions that lie ahead. But tonight is an opportunity for us all to take a step back, relax for a bit before the butterflies kick in, and reflect on how impressive this 3 year run has been and how we should never take these things for granted.