John Gonzalez: Phils make Birds seem like old news

It must be autumn. All the signs are there. The temperature is falling and so are the leaves. The Phils are frustrating all comers and making another push deep into the playoffs. And the Eagles? They're back to driving everyone mad.

There's such a difference between how people perceive and react to the two teams right now. Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, the fans were nervous for a while (and with good reason) but they were fully behind the Phils - even when things got hairier than Zack Galifianakis. Almost everyone was decked in Fightin's red, making for a beautiful milieu against their ever-twirling white rally towels. It was cold, but the chill only froze their smiles in place when Jimmy Rollins delivered the Phils from defeat in the ninth inning.

That's what happens when the Phillies win in spectacular fashion and take a three-games-to-one lead in the NLCS. That's what happens when a second-straight World Series appearance isn't a distant dot on a far-off horizon but rather a looming landmark that you can see plainly without squinting. It excites people, makes them happy.

The same cannot currently be said about the Eagles. October and the front-end of their schedule isn't their thing. Traditionally, they like to disappoint early and surprise later on. So far, they're on schedule.

Monday, Andy Reid did his Andy Reid thing and said the inexcusable loss to the Raiders was "a great lesson to learn," adding "you can't take weeks off or days off in the NFL." I bet you loved hearing that. I wasn't at his news conference, but I'm guessing he regurgitated something about needing to do a better job. Just a hunch.

Down the street, not far from where the underachievers practice, the overachievers defended their World Championship and supplied the fans with another glorious comeback. Charlie Manuel did his Charlie Manuel thing and said a core group of players with good chemistry can win for "many years." Forget hot chocolate, gloves or a jacket - Ol' Cholly will warm your heart.

"We needed some kind of philosophy to get us through every day, and I think that's where excellence and success comes in," Manuel said. "I talk a lot about excellence and I talk about the elite team and how to play."

The Fightin's are just that - elite. The Eagles? I don't even think Joe Banner would try to make that case at the moment.

We're in a love triangle now - the crazy kind they dream up on the daytime soaps. The Eagles are the woman we've chased for years, the one who ties our stomach in knots and breaks our heart almost hourly. The Phils are the opposite - sweet and kind and quick to comfort.

Maybe you still dig the bad girls. I used to be that way, too, but it got old after a while.

Pete Carroll: "It's time for the boys in blue to bounce back tonite! No one said this would be easy." Too bad the Dodgers aren't facing a team coached by Charlie Weis. A little failure by the other guy goes a long way.

Let me get this straight: Chip Caray and the TBS announcers don't give the Phils enough respect. Joe Buck and Tim McCarver at Fox don't give the Phils enough respect. And a few of the Phils own broadcasters annoy some of the fans, too. Are there any announcers that are OK, or have we simply decided to set our phasers on "complain"?

According to the Phils Twitter feed, Philly's Chris Matthews was at the Bank Monday night with his NBC coworkers Chuck Todd and David Gregory. Too bad they didn't bring Maria Menounos along. Sniffle.

Got an e-mail from a dad who, sadly, prevented his son from bringing the following sign to the park: "My mom uses the same fertility drugs as Manny. I wouldn't be here without them - neither would he."

Mickey Morandini threw out the first pitch. Can't you just hear Harry Kalas saying his name with that smooth, protracted delivery? . . . I was going to describe Craig Sager's velvet jacket from Game 3 as eggplant in hue, but I asked someone in the press box and I was told it was chartreuse. Everyone in the area agreed. My mistake. Should have gone my own way. Some of you couldn't wait to correct me, and the e-mails flooded in. Who knew Philly employs so many interior decorators? I haven't gotten that many critical e-mails since I made fun of Toby Keith. (Thinking about another Toby joke. Thinking. Thinking. Letting it go.) . . . Speaking of music that makes your ears bleed (sorry - couldn't help myself), Kate Fagan referenced Mr. Greengenes in a Phils story Monday and now people are upset because she wasn't overly obsequious. "I'm getting killed with e-mails from their fans," she told me. I'm shocked as you are. Who knew they even had fans? . . . Slogan suggestions keep trickling in: "Just Two It," "Anudder One" and "2Pac (Phillies Again Champs)" were some of the better ideas. Someone else wanted to go with "We'll never boo again." Good luck with that. Anyway, keep thinking. Like the Phils, we're not quite there yet.