ATLANTA — The Phillies slid into the playoffs like mice into a hole, but now that they’re there, they’re roaring like lions.
These playoffs seemed like a bonus. They took the sixth seed, the first time a third wild-card existed in a normal season. They won, yawn, 87 games. They were clearly inferior to the real NL East powers; the Mets owned them all season and the Braves battered them late, and both teams won 101 games.
Or were they? Were they really inferior?
