The Greatest Game Ever Played.

No, I'm not talking about golf. And I'm not naive enough to say that last night's 19 inning Phillies game was actually the greatest game ever played. But the sport of baseball in general is. Nothing is as unpredictable as this game. 2,430 of them are played each year and the game has been around since 1846, and yet at any given point in time there's a distinct chance you'll see something you've never seen before. There is no clock, there is no sudden death, and there is no tie. And that's what makes the game so special. So when the Phillies take the field at 7:05 on a Wednesday night and I'm hoping that I can get home and get my first decent night's sleep in over a week, I have no idea what kind of a treat I'm in for.

• Second longest (continuous) game in Phillies history timewise (6 hrs, 11 min). Four minutes shy of the record! 45,706 people started out there, but I'd estimate about 1/3 of them were gone by the 10th, and another 1/3 left on the Bruce HR. All in, if I had to guess, I'd say less than 10,000 were there to see Ibanez drive the ball to center and Jimmy trot home. If you know someone who claims to have been there, chances are they're lying (except me, you know me!)

• A bad day from Roy Halladay beats a good day from just about anyone else. The Reds were a singles machine for much of the first 7 innings which ran up Roy's pitch count and did some damage to his WHIP, but not a single ball was hit all that hard. A handful of well placed slap hits through gaps led to 3 runs, which was only the 3rd time all year that Roy had let up more than two.

• In 2010, that Jay Bruce HR is the straw that breaks the camel's back. In 2008, the Ryan Howard return shot is a foregone conclusion. It's nice to see shades of 2008 again...

• The stolen bases are a bit concerning. Three guys stole 2nd off Chooch last night and none of the plays were really all that close. 

• 9 1/3 IP, 5Ks, 1 Hit. That's the combined stat line of Kyle Kendrick, JC Romero, David Herndon, Danys Baez, and Wilson Valdez. The crowd groaned as each of them ran in from the bullpen, but collectively they got the job done. 

• Defense saved this game. Jimmy Rollins, whose defense has been questioned on more than one occasion this season, makes no fewer than 3 plays from short that completely save the game. Ryan Howard stretches and scoops everything that comes near him at first base. David Herndon makes a play in the 11th with the bases loaded that goes down in the scorecard as (1-3), but is far from routine and he's the only guy on the field with a shot at getting the out. 

• As the innings wear on, you go through a roller coaster of emotions. 1-3: Well, the offense is hitting tonight, that's certainly better than the last time we saw Travis Wood! 4-9: Man, Roy is really getting dinked and dunked here. There's a good chance this one get's away from us! 10: That HR is the game... no wait! 11-13: Come on! It's been almost an hour since the last time either team got a hit! 14-17: This could be something special. 18-19: This IS something special. Confidence --> Pessimism --> Annoyance --> Optimism -->Pride --> Feeling like you witnessed history.

• The Upper Deck was completely cleared by the 15th. The Rooftop wasn't far behind. Doc's Patients came down from their perch and parked right near us. Another two or three innings and I could have seen them closing Ashburn Alley and the outfield all-together just to get the place clean for the 1PM start today!

• Baez was told he was done after 3 innings, at which point he said "No." Usually that trick only works for Roy Halladays, but Charlie was out of other options. At that point, Valdez would have likely came in the game anyway as they were completely out of other options. The fact that Baez went the longest outing of his career, and threw 73 pitches earns him a complete reprieve from any negative comments until at least the All-Star Break. 

• Valdez throws 10 pitches, 5 for strikes. Romero throws 16, 4 for strikes. I would suspect that JC Romero is dangerously close to being cut... if he wasn't a lefty.

• Around the 11th inning, it became pretty clear that a position player was likely to pitch. Chances are Charlie had already sent today's starter, Cliff Lee, home for the night and with Oswalt coming off a recent injury, Hamels being a creature of routine, and Worley already complaining about tiredness, there were no other options. When Baez goes 5, it's only delaying the inevitable. My first thought is that Valdez is the likely candidate. He has a cannon for an arm at 2nd and there is literally no one else on the team who has pitched. I later heard on Twitter that Valdez had thrown a few years back in a Dominican League game and that Ross Gload had tossed one in 2008, but with a torn hip muscle he wasn't an option.

• Chooch moving to third was the surprise of the night, though. I thought I remembered hearing that he was a 2nd baseman in some past/minor league life, but BaseballReference only shows 1B and OF as positions he's played. Moving him to 3rd and putting Polanco at 2nd was a shocker for me. Watching him motor down the third base line after a foul ball was baseball at it's finest.

• I can't help but think that the Reds had another pitcher available. I haven't heard any word on it, but they only tossed 7 guys and they used 21 players total. Assuming 4 starters weren't available, was Carlos Fisher really the last guy they had left in the pen? When he stepped to the plate in the top of the 19th I was shocked that they were going to march him back out there for a 6th inning.  He was visibly done.

• Before stepping foot on the mound, Valdez is already having a career night. 3 for 6 with a double, and two amazing take out slides at second base. I give the guy crap all the time for his propensity to ground into a double play, but he's otherwise fundamentally sound. I could see him coaching somewhere when his career wraps up. 

• But then the guy threw 90MPH. 90! Tim Wakefield keeps finding work and I'm not sure he's ever sniffed 90! Valdez even shook off signs from catcher Dane Sardhina! According to his post game interview, he mixed a high 80s fastball with a low 80s sinker. He got the reigning NL MVP to fly out, he pegged Scott Rolen to much delight, and he got Jay Bruce (who was 3-7 with 3 RBI at that point) to pop up. Unbelievable and worthy of this T-shirt (coincidentally, it was available WELL before last night's game.)

• According to ESPN, Wilson Valdez is the first person to start a game in the field and earn the win as a pitcher since Babe Ruth. Yes, Wilson Valdez will forever find himself as part of a trivia question that includes BABE RUTH. 

It might be premature to say that last night's game will be the one to define the season, but my knee jerk reaction is to say it already has.

For even more tidbits of information and statistical oddities, check Jason Stark's column over at ESPN.com