Flyers vs Penguins, AAA Baseball, Drunk in Public

So, I'm sitting here not knowing what to do with myself. No Phillies baseball the past two days, and I already don't know what to do with myself. I have no idea what I did to pass the time from October 29th until April 5th this year. I think I blacked out for like 6 months and came to in spring training.

With no Philly baseball tonight due to the rain, I was able to watch the Flyers/Penguins game, if you wanna call that a game. Don't get me wrong, I don't know much about hockey. I just started watching it last year, and started following the Flyers because Indy doesn't have a pro team and I read all about them on The 700 Level and The House That Glanville Built. It only made sense. Plus, Riley Cote is a fucking beast and I love seeing him whoop that ass.

Sadly, I won't be able to see the game on Friday night as I've got 3rd row box seats to see, brace yourself, the Indianapolis Indians take on the Louisville Bats. Triple A ball at it's finest. Basically, it'll be a drunken time and we've got 12 people going. We pretty much bought the entire row out. Twelve 21-23 year olds, the majority of them will have been drunk since mid-afternoon, at a minor league baseball game. Every time we go, people hate us. We usually clear out half the section before the 5th inning. Double fisting $8 beers and sneaking in bottles of liquor strapped to our legs. Faces painted, profanity flying. Heckling players. Oh god, how people hate us. And, thanks to the internet on cell phones now a days, I can get any information I need on any player to use for heckling. Last years batting average? Check. Hometown? Check. College? Check. Mother's maiden name? Check. Let's just say, we cause a scene. Moral of the story? We're "those guys."

Sadly, I won't be able to see the Phillies game on Friday, live anyway. I'll have to catch it on mlb.tv on Saturday in the archives. It'll be the first game of the year that I'll have missed. However, this game is one I just can't pass up. Andrew McCutcheon is the star of the Indians and is ranked the 12th best prospect in the country, so it'll be cool to see him a few times before he gets called up to the Pirates.

RIP, Harry K.

It's a sad day for sports fans all across Philadelphia, and Philadelphia fans all across the country. It was announced today that the legendary voice of the Phillies for 38 years, Harry Kalas passed away. So many generations of Phillies fans grew up listening to Harry's calls, and his legendary call of Michael Jack Schmidt's 500th career shot is still simply incredible to listen to. So many good things have been said about the life and career of Harry K in the last few hours, and they're all well deserved, but still do not do justice to the man with that great play by play voice. He was so much more than just an announcer to so many people, whether it was to the Phillie players, Phillie fans, colleagues, or sports fan all across the country.

I wasn't nearly as familiar with Kalas as most fans, despite being a Phils fan my entire life. I was never really able to hear Harry call live games until MLB.tv came out and I could watch every game with the Phillies feed. Regardless, I still felt a big loss today when I turned on ESPNews and saw the breaking news on the bottom line.

I've heard so many great things said about Harry from people who knew him, and from people who had just met him briefly and spoke with him for minute. He would always make time to talk to fans.

So, as I sit here watching the Phillies take on the Nationals in the 3rd inning, I just have to smile when Sarge and Wheels talk about Harry so fondly. Whether it's remembering his Michael Jack longball calls, or talking about Harry's love for those white shoes, I just smile. I sure hope the Phils can pull out a victory today for Harry, because I'm sure he's watching down and calling the game, we just can't hear him.

RIP, Harry. You will be missed dearly. My thoughts and prayers are with the entire Kalas family and the Phillies organization and family.

The Booing of Brett Myers

It's not secret that Brett Myers may be a little bit of a head case. He's one crazy son of a bitch. When he's good, he's as good as they come. When he's bad, well, you know...

He looked good in the opener for the first, oh, 2/3 of an inning. Then that single by Chipper and a moonshot by McCann. And then Francoeur and Schafer went yard in the 2nd frame. And then he settled back down again, and was good for 4 more innings.

Now, I'm not saying that these Phillies should get a free pass on booing all year long or anything, but booing Myers early in that game after giving up a few long balls? It's game 1 of 162. They just won a world title like 5 months ago. And you're booing in the 2nd inning? Come on, I know it's Philadelphia, but really? Sure, it wasn't everyone. It was the booze talking for a lot of them. And I'm sure The Bank was chock full of bandwagon "fans." But that's not what Myers needs.

Now, I'm not saying Myers needs to be patted on the back and have his tears wiped away and for us to tell him he did his best and everything is gonna be ok, but all booing is going to do with this guy is hurt. It's not gonna help him. Give him a few more starts. Give it til May or June. If he's got an ERA of 6.00 and is only averaging 3 innings per start, ok. But if he gives up a few homers and is shaky in the first or second inning but still is able to turn in quality starts, let it slide. He's not our ace. He's a great #2, but he doesn't need to pitch like Hamels for us. He doesn't have to go 7 innings with 2 ER and 8 Ks per start. If he can go 6 with 3 ER, that's just great. We've got a great bullpen and one of the best back end combos in the game to close it out in the 8th/9th. So, if Myers turns in 6 innings, we've got plenty of guys to work the 7th before the Bridge to Lidge, and Lights Out himself.

What a Glorious Day

It's Opening Day 2009. I'm watching the Mets in Cinci, Indians in Arlington, and I'm waiting for the Yankees to take the field in Baltimore. It's great just watching baseball in general. I've almost forgotten about last night's loss already. Just being able to watch a meaningful baseball game is priceless. I'm constantly checking my fantasy teams and just plain enjoying this day.

Last night, however, was not as great. I was counting down the hours, minutes, seconds all day long until Brett Myers toed the rubber. I thought it was going to be perfect. I was sitting in front of a TV, wearing a Chase Utley jersey, Phillies shorts, and an alternate cap, watching the defending World Fucking Champions take the field at the bank. Myers was on the mound and I told myself that he was going to be a different pitcher this year. He was going to be the Myers of the second half of last year. He was going to have a great year, in a contract year. And then Brian McCann launched an $8 cab ride that landed in the 2nd level. Ok, Brett, shake it off. And then Francoeur. (Quick Note: Did you see his new stance? Me too.) And then Jordan Schafer. (Quick Note: Did you know he's the 99th player ever to go yard in his first ever MLB at bat? Me too.) Thankfully, Myers was able to keep his composure though and he looked good after the 2nd inning. 6 k's, 0 walks, and 4 ER in 6 innings isn't anything to lose sleep over in the first start of the season. The 'pen managed the last 3 innings without giving up any runs.

And then it looked like it was going to end well. 2 on, 1 down for Ryan Howard in a 3 run game. This is the stuff dreams are made of. He looked bad going after those sliders, but he worked the count full. And then, there it was, a big, juicy fastball right down the pipe. And Howard froze. Called strike 3. Ok, still one out left. Ibanez is up with 2 on, 2 outs. Alright, Raul, show us why they brought you in. Knock in a run or two. Keep us alive. I just knew it was going to happen. The defending champs couldn't go down like this on national TV, at home, in the GOLD TRIMMED JERSEYS! But they did. And just like that, my phone lit up from all of the friends I have who are Braves fans.

But, no need to fret about this game. We have 161 more of them left, and they all count for the same in the win/loss columns, whether they're game #1 or #161. I just had my expectations set so high for this game that it was quite the let down.

So, time to gear up for tomorrows contest. Moyer against Vazquez. The ageless vet against another newly acquired Brave. And hopefully the offense will get in gear. Lowe is tough, and I think it's a pretty good step down from Lowe to the rest of the Braves rotation.