A good leader always keeps his head held high. A great leader plays just as hard in desperate times as he does in joyous times. An MVP candidate, which no one in the NL but Pat Burrell can claim to be, excels during the darkest hours of the darkest night.

When I claim that Pat can not spell Q-U-I-T, I’m not referring to his decision to pursue his academic studies at the “University” of Miami, but to his famous work ethic that has made him so popular with Philadelphia fans. It has never been more evident that in yesterday’s afternoon game against the Philadelphia A’s (who traditionally play their home games in Oakland). Losing 5-0, no baserunners on, down to the final out in the 9th, nursing a bad hangover (assumedly since it was a day game), having lost 5 of the previous 6, Pat steps in and crushes an offering and hustles for his second triple of the week. A meaningless at-bat in a lost game can become meaningful when you have an MVP-in-waiting ready to inspire his team. I anxiously await the repercussions of this inspirational act as the Phils head down deep in the heart of Texas.