OK, it's been awhile, but I've been busy with my fantasy baseball teams (my league's draft is tonight and i had drafts for two other leagues Sunday and Monday night), so I have an excuse. I'll post the results soon, in case you're curious.
I think this is my favorite picture of the Vet implosion. Good riddance.
There's a good (if a tad overly wistful) post about the end of the Vet over here at The Bambino's Curse (which is one of my favorite baseball weblogs -- I love the design too). Another good one is this post at Mike's Baseball Rants (another favorite). My first baseball game was at the vet, but I don't really remember much of it at all. One thing I do recall is having to leave early because my younger brother, Peter, didn't like all of the noise. And if I remember correctly, my dad bought me a little stuffed Phanatic doll on the way out because I didn't want to go. But anyway, memories (ah yes, one of these days I'll tell the story of the first and only World Series game I ever attended -- the Phils infamous 14-15 game 4 loss to the Blue Jays in 1993) aside, the place was a shithole and I'm glad it's gone.
OK, my draft's starting in 30 minutes, so that's it for now.
I've changed the colors for the site a bit -- I've gone old school maroon-and-pale-blue in honor of The Vet going down Sunday. Not that anyone would notice the color change seeing as I haven't gone public with this thing yet. Soon enough...
Anyway, they aren't letting anyone near the big implosion, but you will be able to catch it on TV. I think 7am is a little early for me, though, so I'll have to just see the replay on SportsCenter. For those of you who will be watching at home, there's a pretty cool little info sheet on how the implosion will happen here (it's a PDF, though, so you'll have to have Acrobat Reader to view it).
The Phillies remembered Tug McGraw yesterday, St. Patrick's day, and wore green caps in honor of him. Personally, I think they should have cracked out the old school green uniforms. I saw Puff Daddy (I think it was Puff Daddy.. er.. P.Diddy, excuse me) wearing one in a rap video once -- I'm guessing he was unaware of the historical context. Oh well, someone's gotta spend $350 on a jersey that was only ever worn by players once, right?
Ugh, this can't be good. I guess it's no big surprise that there isn't any mention of this on the Phillies official site for the park. Fear not, however, because the Phanatic Build-A-Bear Workshop will be fully operational. Thank god.
OK, so i didn't update all weekend. Frankly, there hasn't been much to write about. Well, nothing substantial at least. Here are a few tidbits:
I have a question: does this look like a stadium that's two months away from completion? That's the most recent photo gallery available, by the way. Notice that the webcam is down as well. And when ESPN showed pictures of the stadium (exterior shots only) during their telecast of the Phils-Yankees spring training game last Friday and there were still cranes and construction equipment everywhere. Hmm...
Hey, guess what? Eric Milton has a new tattoo! Don't care? Neither do I. Actually, the article talks a bit about the trade that brought Milton over here and Twins manager Ron Gardenhire shares his thoughts about the scrap that his team picked up in the deal, so it's not a completely useless read.
Much more interesting are the tidbits about the Phils in today's Prospectus Triple Play over at Baseball Prospectus. There's a bit about the promise Cole Hamels is showing ("a left-handed Mark Prior," according to BP injury guru Will Carroll) and prospect Ryan Howard, who seems to be stuck in a logjam at 1B, what with Thome occupying the position for the next five years and all (not that that's a horrible thing, as BP isn't too high on Howard anyway).
Oh, and the Phillies played two split squad games today. One against the Pirates and another against the D-Rays. Lost 'em both. Good thing spring training doesn't count for anything, eh?
The big story in Clearwater continues to be the status of Jim Thome's finger, which, according to the team, won't be needing surgery. He'll be out three weeks and should be able to make opening day. from the article:
Hand specialist Randall Culp examined Thome, who has a broken right middle finger, in Philadelphia yesterday. No surgery is required, which means Thome doesn't need a pin inserted into his finger. The upper portion of the finger will be placed in a splint for two weeks.
All of this talking about "hand specialists" makes me think of the team's 1999 home opener, when they had the first U.S. recipient of a hand transplant throw out the first pitch. The guy obviously wasn't in shape to be throwing the ball a full 60' 6", so it only went about half the distance. You can read all about it in this article, although they don't mention what made the event so memorable -- the Philly fans booed the poor guy. The first recipient of a hand transplant! That almost beats the time they booed Michael Irvin after he was nearly paralyzed by a neck injury.
Anyway, yeah, I got a little off track there, but what else is there to talk about during Spring Training, right?
What better way to start things out than with a one-fingered salute?
Yeah, so Jim Thome broke his middle finger Friday and is out at least 3 weeks. Worst-case scenario is he's out 8 weeks. Not good for someone who's supposed to anchor the team offense this year. The Phils managed to make it through much of last year without any major injuries, but this year they might not be so lucky. If anything is going to break them this year (other than Larry Bowa, that is), it's going to be injuries. Who knows -- I mean, Will Carroll gave this year's team a pretty good report over at Baseball Prospectus, so perhaps I'm worrying about nothing.
Billy Wagner, coincidentally, also had problems with his middle finger earlier in camp. "It's the fickle finger of fate, I guess," said the ever-prescient Ed Wade. Pretty good one there, Ed, ever consider a career in stand-up? Dork.
yeah, test
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i'm using one of the default styles right now. i'll change it soon, i promise.
