My first of 10 Phillies games occurred Sunday afternoon, as the Phils played the rubber game of their weekend series with the Minnesota Twins. My thoughts..
- Beautiful day for a ballgame! Always a little cooler near the river, with a nice breeze blowing in Citizens Bank Park. Odd various clothing seen in the stands- from jerseys ( tons of Bryce Harper shirts) to ski caps ( for kids 12 & under, a light blue Phillies ski cap was the giveaway) and jackets.
CBP has some new additions, so we strolled around the ballpark before the game:
- The gigantic old Liberty Bell, which once hung in center field at Veteran's Stadium, is now on display outside the stadium behind home plate. It brought back a lot of memories, of historic homers hit at the Vet, watching the bell light up. i can still remember when Greg ( The Bull) Luzinski hit the bell one summer evening with a home run blast. He was the only player to hit the bell.
- Pass and Stow, the new beer garden located off the third base gate, is a nice, clean area for fans to gather. Other than beer, looks like they serve the basic ballpark favorites. shake Shack is nearby as well.
- We toured the new team store by Ne Era. Hundreds of Phillies' caps are on one wall. Taking the elevator upstairs, we saw the many shirts, jerseys and hoodies.
- The Yard was full of kids playing wiffle ball, as was the Bullpen area where kids can warm-up and wait their turn at-bat. Smiles everywhere. Fans had cabin fever all winter and in was finally nice to have baseball back.
- 39,000-plus in the yard. The Phillies showed they could tough-out a win, as they beat a good Minnesota team, 2-1. The Phils only had an infield hit and really didn't hit the ball hard through six innings. Harper, who struck out twice but also had a pair of walks, affects the line-up so much as he gets on base. Rhys Hoskins should benefit the most with Harper hitting in front of him. Hoskins hit a towering home run in the sixth inning, a balll that plopped into the flower box as twin Twins leaped against the left field wall trying to snare the fly ball.
- With the bullpen failing this week, Hector Neris had a chance to win his old job back as closer. He had a clean ninth inning, striking out the final two Twins to seal the victory. I still don't trust Neris, recalling his implosion last season in Dodger Stadium where he gave up three consecutive homers.
Unless the club signs free agent Criag Kimbrel, expect a n on-going merry-go-round in the bullpen. I bet everyone- form Ramos to Morgan to Neshek- get a chance to close before the summer is over.
- So many options of ballpark food at the Bank now, from the normal hot dogs and cheese steaks to Shake Shack, Chic-fil-A and specialty foods. I went with a hog dog with mustard which was OK. The Bavarian soft pretzel was fresh but I didn't like the taste. Next time it's back to Super Pretzel.
- Before the game I reunited with my friend, Ray Didinger outside the WIP Sports Radio booth. Ray just finished his morning shift with Clan Macnow. He was just as friendly as always, as we talked about his outstanding play, "Tommy & Me" ( which is coming back to Theater Exile in August) and the Eagles.
Ray hopes they either draft a running back or acquire speedy Duke Johnson form Cleveland. He likes Jordan Howard from the bears but sees the birds as needing more running back depth.
I asked Ray about the rumors of the kelly green uniforms coming back in 2020 for selected football games. He said it's still up in air, but would make sense ( Ray is for the kelly green to return) for financial reasons.
Ray and Glen hang out at the ballpark on Sundays during home games. I'll see them again on Sunday, June 9 before the Phillies-Reds game.
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The Sixers finally won a game over the weekend, beating the awful Bulls in Chicago. They locked up the # 3 seed in the Eastern Conference over Boston. i still don't have much confidence in the lackadasical squad or Coach Brett Brown. I think they will make it to the second round of the playoffs, but realistically, can they get past Boston, Milwaukee or Toronto?
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R.I.P. Flyers
The players remain delusional, as Claude Giroux made the comment over the weekend that he thinks the Flyers are "close to being a dangerous team." What world is he living in? It's hard not to make the playoffs in the NHL, but somehow the Orange and Black did just that. They need a permanent new coach, and somehow need better players. Getting off to a fast start next season is a must.
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