I still don’t feel anything. It feels like just another win.
It feels like we have another game to play tomorrow.

It will sink in eventually, probably on Friday when we drive
down Broad Street. We’re the champs and have nothing left to play for.
We got our ultimate goal. Hopefully, they’ll be many more to come. I
remember walking into Spring Training and talking about our goals.
It’s been a great ride and an enjoyable moment.

I almost lost it when the door opened in the ninth and Brad
Lidge ran out. It was so loud. You could tell the fans were hungry and
ready. I can imagine what it’s going to be like on Broad Street. We’ll celebrate with them on Friday. I have 50 text messages already, and
that was 20 minutes ago.

I remember watching Sid Fernandez in 1986 when he won with
the Mets, and how cool that was. I was six, but Sid was one of my idols, being
from Hawaii.
You always dream of being a part of a team that wins a championship. Lo and
behold, 2008 here we are.

I guess the curse is gone. William Penn is happy, now.

Then we will be WORLD CHAMPIONS. That will be unbelievable. This is definitely an exciting time, but it still seems like we’re a long way from getting there. I know we’re in the driver’s seat, and we put ourselves in a good position with our ace on the mound Monday. We have to keep our foot on the pedal. We have to try and finish the team off.

This has been such a great ride, but we need to finish this and bring a championship home.

I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like in this city, if we can do it. Driving home on Broad Street after Saturday’s win, I could see the excitement already, and we had just won one game. The closer we get, the more exciting it gets. We hope to share this with you guys tomorrow.

You deserve it to. Being from Hawaii, I never really understood what the passion of this city was like, in terms of its sports teams. I get it now. I know I’m not going to get much sleep tonight.

If we end up winning the World Series, this is going to be the game that stands out. We got the lead, lost it and ended up winning. Wild.

I’m really tired, as you can imagine, so I don’t have much to say. None of us realized how late it was until we got in the clubhouse and looked at the clock. It’s funny how you feel fine during the game — adrenaline I guess — and then all of a sudden, you feel it.

It doesn’t matter though. WE WON and we’re going to enjoy it. We have to play again tomorrow, or later today.

You guys are going to get loud and we’ll appreciate every cheer you make. It was pretty loud in St. Pete, but you guys can do a lot better than that. I’m sure you realize how big a part you can play in this.

At one game apiece, we feel that we have home-field advantage. We have to win three more games, and we’d love to sweep here and celebrate with you.

We’re really looking forward to it.

Because we didn’t get the job done with runners in scoring position, maybe it seems like you’re pressing. I know I’m not. I’m sure a lot of guys in here aren’t. Heck, I popped out with two guys on and no one out, and swung at the first pitch. I was trying to get a hit. I’m aggressive. I’m always going to be aggressive.

It’s not about making excuses. We’re just not doing it. They scored early by executing. Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria grounded out and two runs scored. We didn’t do that.

Still, we got ourself in a situation to tie the game with one swing, and that’s without executing. We have to look at the positives. We won one game without executing and lost one game without executing. If we do the little things, we’d be alright. We have to keep playing. We’ll show up and get ready to go in Game 3.

We struggled with execution tonight. The writers told me that we went something like 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position, but we got it done. That was because of Cole. He was fantastic. He’s done it the whole playoffs.

The key tonight was that we went out there and played the same. We showed up and were ourselves, and just tried to play the game. Chase hitting that home run dampened the crowd. He obviously wasn’t affected by the layoff. It doesn’t matter if he has a week off, a day off or no days off. He’s the best at his position for a reason.

A lot of people picked the Rays, and that may work in our favor. We like being the underdogs. It seems like we play our best when our backs are against the wall. Coming into a place like this — Tampa is so good at home — being able to take Game 1 is big. Boston took Game 1, too. It’s still a long series. We’re far from done. We’ll show up tomorrow and try and get Game 2.

Oh, and on my trying to score on that shallow fly ball. That was a  miscommunication between Steve Smith and myself. I heard, ‘go.’ He said, ‘No.’ B.J. Upton made a great play and has got a great arm. I don’t know why I tried to test him there. But we got the win, and that’s all it’s about. We were able to overcome some things tonight and pull out a win.

We’ll take it.

We haven’t played a game for a week, which is pretty weird for us. Unless it’s the All-Star break, we get no more than one day off at a time. But don’t worry, we’ll be ready. We’ve worked too hard to stop playing now. Everybody in this locker room wants the same thing, and we’re not going to slow down now.

This whole experience has been great, but we’re not finished. Of course, we wish we were starting the Series at home so we can get energy from you guys. We’re expecting it to be pretty loud. Being from Hawaii, I haven’t heard too many cowbells, so it shouldn’t bother me too much.

Finally, it’s here. The lights. The game. We’ll be ready to play.

We haven’t played a game for a week, which is pretty weird for us. Unless it’s the All-Star break, we get no more than one day off at a time. But don’t worry, we’ll be ready. We’ve worked too hard to stop playing now. Everybody in this locker room wants the same thing, and we’re not going to slow down now.

This whole experience has been great, but we’re not finished. Of course, we wish we were starting the Series at home so we can get energy from you guys. We’re expecting it to be pretty loud. Being from Hawaii, I haven’t heard too many cowbells, so it shouldn’t bother me too much.

Finally, it’s here. The lights. The game. We’ll be ready to play.

Getting off the plane and seeing the fans, with cameras everywhere and police on the runway, was awesome. It was neat hearing about the night we clinched and the partying down Broad Street. It says how hungry this city is. I can only imagine what it will be like if we do win the World Series. We’re one step away.

There’s been a lot going on off the field. I’m trying to get my family here, and get everyone tickets. It’s an exciting time not just for me, but for my family. It’s all positive. It all comes with what’s going
on now. My parents want to come, aunts, uncles, my fiancee’s side of the family. All my friends from home want to come. A lot of them said, ‘If you get to the World Series, we’re coming no matter what.’ I look at guys like Derek Jeter, who have played in the postseason every year. I can imagine what it’s like for them. This is our first time, and we may never get back, so you want as many people to share the experience with you.

I’m
amazed at what’s gone on here, especially in a time with economic
struggles. There’s so much going on in the world, but the city has
really embraced us. Everybody is going to stores and buying Phillies stuff. It says what this team is doing for our city. It’s exciting, and we’ll just ride it.

Being here to share this moment with all my teammates and their families is incredible. My daughter Kali’a is here and my fiancée is enjoying this with me. I wish my parents could’ve been here, but my dad had some things to take care of. They’re home and I’m sure they’re excited. I’m sure I’m going to get all kinds of phone calls to get tickets ready for the World Series, so the rest of my family can come. It’s an exciting.

This has been an emotional ride for me, and I want to dedicate this to my grandma. I know she’s watching over me. She made me the person that I am. What you see in me is what you saw in my grandma, always happy and smiling. She wasn’t loud and excitable like me, but she was always smiling. She knows we’re not done.

I want to stay focused. We’re one step away. We’ll enjoy the moment tonight, and have a nice long ride home and enjoy every single second of it. I can imagine what it’s going to be like when we land, how excited the people are going to be. It’s going to be fun.

This means a lot, but they don’t want to stop here. They want a championship. They don’t want us to just get close. If we don’t win that championship, they won’t be happy. Be ready to go. We can win the World Series, no question.