One thing is certain: They won’t make it easy; they never do. Get your preferred antacid ready.

Addendum: On a side note, I was reading this article about Larry Bowa (now the Dodgers’ third base coach) and how proud he is of the Phillies’ success, especially Jimmy Rollins, whose development owes much to the former Phillie shortstop and manager. Almost as a throwaway thought is the idea that Bowa, while his reign over the Phils’ dugout was contentious to say the least, actually did a lot to erase the pall of losing that was cast over this franchise for the better part of 15 years before his return. You know what? He did.

Bowa’s fierce opposition to losing might have rubbed some guys the wrong way; those players were moved elsewhere and the young squad that remained shook off the yoke of failure and have delivered winning seasons ever since. So while Bowa never did get them to the postseason, that might have been a function of not having a Cole Hamels at the top of the rotation or a Billy Wagner or Brad Lidge at the end more than anything else. I think he deserves a lot of credit for the winning attitude this team now has.

There’s plenty of blame to go around on last night’s embarrassing loss to the Bears. At least we found out the Eagles are no Super Bowl team at the moment. Better to find that out now than later, I guess.

The defense settled down and crushed the Bears piddling offense in the second half; but that was after giving up three touchdowns (one on a short field after a turnover) in the first half, letting Kyle F. Orton slice and dice them like Joe Montana. By the end of the game, Orton was responsible for four turnovers and looked terrified of the pressure Jim Johnson was bringing, but it’s the first half sloppiness that cost the Eagles. So you could blame the defense for this loss.

Speaking of turnovers, usually a 4-2 advantage in that category equates to a win. But the Eagles were outscored 7-6 on those turnovers. So you could blame their inability to take advantage of the constant gifts Chicago kept giving them.

DeSean Jackson played like the superstar he may become in the first and fourth quarters (racking up lots of receiving and rushing yards and a TD reception) and the rookie he currently is in the second and third quarters (muffing a punt that led to a Bears TD, letting another one go which he should have fair caught, forcing the Eagles to start deep in their own end, and running the wrong route resulting in an interception). So you could blame Jackson for the loss.

David Akers missed two field goals from 50 and 47 yards, respectively. Both had plenty of leg and both looked like he kicked them right where he wanted to, but both were affected by the swirling wind off Lake Michigan. So you could blame Akers for the loss.

Ultimately, the only way to account for all of the above inadequacies is coaching. Andy Reid did not have his team prepared to deal with the adversity of four key offensive injuries. He was not prepared to adjust to the winds of fate, both literally and figuratively. I counted two instances when Reid should have thrown the red flag in the first half to challenge the spots on a couple of first down plays, but he didn’t and the Bears ended up scoring touchdowns on both drives.

But worst of all was his idiotic play calling when the Eagles had first and goal from the 4 yard line in the fourth quarter. After advancing the ball down to the 1 yard line on first down, Reid and/or Mornhinweg called the same running play up the middle three straight times, got stuffed on all three and turned it over on downs. The replays showed on all three attempts that Jamal Jackson moved his man far enough out of the way for McNabb to have successfully fallen forward into the end zone on a QB sneak. Instead, in the time it took to hand the ball off to Buckhalter on each play, the Bears linebackers filled the gaps and stopped the run.

Donovan McNabb is 6’ 5”/240 lbs. The ball is three feet from the end zone. Math was never my best subject, but even I can figure that one out. The chest contusion excuse is pathetic. If he’s not healthy enough to get hit, why was he in the game? With Brian Westbrook out, McNabb was unquestionably the best player on the field. With the game on the line, the ball should be in his hands.

So you could blame Andy Reid for the loss, their 2-2 record and current standing in last place in the NFC East; and I do.

Take a deep breath and relax: The Phillies are NL East champions.

Clinching the division a day earlier than last season, the city and its fans worldwide can take it easy on Sunday, focus on the Eagles, and not worry to much about who the Phillies will play in the division series: the Brewers or the Dodgers.

If I had my druthers, it would be the Brewers. I don’t like the idea of cross-country travel during an already dangerous five-game series, and it would also mean the elimination of the hated Mets. Icing on the cake.

Everyone and their uncle is going to pick the Cubs to win the NL Pennant, and that’s fine. But the truth is it’s a crapshoot; and the Phillies, who won their series with the Cubs 4-3 this year, have just as much chance as anyone else.

Looks like they won’t start their division series until Wednesday at the earliest. I’ll post my team awards sometime before then.

To paraphrase the late Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy has outsold the Encyclopedia Galactica for two important reasons: It is slightly cheaper; and because it has the words DON’T PANIC inscribed on the cover.

While Brett Myers continues to kill the Phillies down the stretch, returning to the same form which got him demoted to triple-A earlier this summer, the Mets seem unwilling to take advantage of the Phils’ missteps, blowing a game they should have won about five different times last night.

The situation is simple: Unless the Mets win four in a row, if the Phillies take two-of-three from the lowly Washington Nationals this weekend, they win the NL East.

So, as much as the baseball gods love to taunt us Philadelphia fans, we are best served at this point by following the advice on the cover of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: DON’T PANIC.

The MRI of Brian Westbrook’s ankle revealed no damage to tendons or ligaments, meaning it was just a bad sprain and he could be ready in time for the Eagles’ Sunday night game in Chicago, though October 5 against the Redskins seems more likely.

In fact, if the Eagles defense plays half as well as it did yesterday, Kyle Orton and the Bears “offense” won’t be a factor. Even with Westbrook on the bench, 17 points should be attainable and should be enough to escape the Windy City with a win. So sitting him down for a week of extra healing time seems prudent. Then again, the way this usually works with Westbrook, he’ll be listed as questionable all week and then put up a 130 yards.