opening day haiku-a-day

It's almost nine here. I'll be leaving for the ballpark in about an hour, with some stops along the way. Checked the weather, wet and gray here in the valley, and it is indeed for rain this morning, showers this afternoon in Philly. Then checked my email and there was today's haiku-a-day:

today too
today too...
cheating clouds
---Issa

Let's cheat these clouds!

hola coca-cola park

Phillies' batting practice before the first game ever in Coca-Cola Park, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

It was cold, it was windy, it was sunny for the exhibition game this afternoon between the Phillies and their new Triple-A affiliate IronPigs. A whopping 10,188 fans jammed the park, designed to hold 9,100. By noon half of the seats were already filled for the 2:05 game. Gov. Ed Rendell was among the many featured guests on hand, wearing a 1993 World Series jacket and calling on the Phillies to give him reason to buy a new one. The famed Bach Choir of Bethlehem sang the anthem, a great touch. I had on sunblock but it was useless against the windburn that I came home with. Kyle Kendrick pitched five strong innings for the Phillies who scored early on a 2-run homer by Geoff Jenkins, then added 3 more. By the end of the 3rd, most of the Phillies starters were out of the game. Final score in an exhibition game that was much too long: 5-3. More about the new park another time. It was a good day for the baby IronPigs, who had lots of enthusiastic new supporters on hand.

exhibition game

bright sunshine
red jerseys--
yummy, yummy

That's about all I got out of the inning or two I caught on TV of yesterday's game with Toronto. It really was a sight but why oh why does this team have so many slow starters!

Pre-Season at the Mac

Rowland at bat for the Giants

Another pre-season Bay Bridge Series, this time at the McAfee Coliseum. The A's starting pitcher was Justin Duchscherer, newly converted to this role. He wobbled a bit in the first, giving up a run but settled down thereafter, zeroing out the Giants. On the Giants side, AAA pitcher Matt Palmer mowed down the A's in order until the 4th when Emil Brown hit a 2-run homer to get the A's ahead. After 65 pitches Palmer was replaced by Fortunato, who had an unfortunate 6th inning with a couple of outfield errors that drove in 3 runs for the A's. The A's scored once more in the 7th to make it 6-1. In the 9th, the Giants got several hits from closer Houston Street but were only able to drive in one run. A's 6, G's 2. Though this was another meaningless game, a few bright spots for the A's: Keith Foulke had another outstanding inning and could contend with Street for the closer role (along with Alan Embree) and Emil Brown gives the A's some much-needed offensive power. One more day of meaningless play before the Homer Opener on Tuesday.

Between Innings at AT&T

What does one do on a cold, drizzly night of pre-season baseball? Well, mostly we shuffle around, a bit more than usual, during and in between innings. Tim Lincecum pitched very well, K-ing out the A's every inning. Got a glimpse of Gonzalez, the kid we got in the Haren to D-backs trade. He got the only hit off of Lincecum. As for the A's minors pitcher, Greg Smith, he did pretty well against the Giants. Left after 4.5 innings. Too cold, too wet, too boring.

limeport

Limeport Stadium in Limeport, Pennsylvania. Simply the best.

watching the sky
in a bad mood...
almost opening day

I thought it was the cold, gray weather making me gloomy yesterday. Then I realized it was that another lackluster spring training was coming to an end and that a lackluster April usually follows. That's pretty much been the way of this team. Everyone screams pitching, pitching, pitching, but it's usually the hitting that doesn't show up in April. No reason to think that this year will be any different, especially with the killer schedule the Phils have for April. Grrrr.

read the book

I got hold of a copy of the Chris Coste book at just the right time, when I could actually justify taking the time to read it. And it's a quick, engaging read. The 'rookie' wrote it himself and his voice comes through strong and clear as he relates the story of his slow-cooking rise to the big leagues. Coste seems to be a good guy who had an impossible dream and stuck to it, thanks in part to the support of his wife Marcia, daughter Casey, and faithful agent, and a strong baseball network built up while toiling in independent and minor league baseball.

Raised in a single-parent household in Fargo, North Dakota, he knew at seven that he wanted to be a big leaguer. Talent, perseverance, luck, and health all played a role in his finally reaching his goal at age 33 and being injected into an improbable Wild Card race.

For me, some of the best parts of the book deal with his years in the independent league, playing for the brand-new Red Hawks of his native Fargo. This Sunday we've got the brand-new IronPigs playing their first game, an exhibition with their parent team the Phillies, in their sparkling new park. Local support and enthusiasm here too are running high.

When Coste gets to his actual time in the bigs, the story gets a bit pancaked. Maybe he's saving that for another book. This is an inspiring, albeit PG-13, version of a life in baseball, good for kids, fans, and non-fans alike. The raw has little room in the story, but that in no way detracts from its authenticity or humor. Or its message of hard work and dogged determination.

Once in the bigs, Coste went about acting as if he belonged, while staying humble. His mates on the 2006 Phillies, and we're talking about the likes of Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Aaron Rowand, quickly dubbed him Chris Clutch. Doesn't get much better than that.

Of course, the Philadelphia fans, too, fell in love with the blue-collar Coste, who responded in kind. Is there a movie in the wings? Better have a good theme song, if there is. Read the book!

at last

north at last---
plane on the tarmac
first pitch swinging

"My name is Drew and I want to be your next Kendrick." That was rookie Andrew Carpenter yesterday, a finesse righty, who earned a heap of attention for how he pitched against the Yankees. A 19-game winner last year for Single-A Clearwater, Carpenter was not invited to the major league spring training camp this year. Meanwhile, the hunt for bullpen help goes on.

All you need to know about the 76ers: They started the season 18-30 and have since gone 19-5.

late haiku

opening day---
looking for the game
where the hell is it?

I didn't even bother today. I did think about calling a friend in Japan but got caught up in work. Myers turned in another good outing today, against the Yankees. Is there really another game down in Florida tomorrow? Then 3 exhibition games? At least A's and Sox fans have had games that count.

Pat Gillick is still talking about acquiring more relief pitching. Names mentioned: Steve Klein and Mike Stanton. Ohmigosh.

opening dud

If there had been a radio broadcast of the opener this morning in Tokyo, I might feel differently about it. But ESPN on television was the only choice. I took a quick look but Steve Phillips and Gary Thorne (double ugh) quickly drove me away. They go in circles about everything. Yawn. Besides, I have no patience for television in the morning.

The other thing about the TV coverage, I had to see company logos on the players. Now if this whole venture weren't about the money, MLB would have orchestrated opening day in a Latin American country. Or in the Czech Republic or Italy or somewhere else in Europe where baseball is being seeded. Japan doesn't need to have the Sox and the A's open, especially when its own season has barely begun.

After tomorrow's game, the two teams return to the States and have more spring training games before hooking up again in Oakland to finish the opening series. What is that all about! The US opening, by the bye, will be Sunday night, when the Nationals host the Braves in their new D.C. ball park. The next day the Nats will be in Philadelphia to open the season there. Makes no sense.

For a good look at baseball and softball in Europe, check out www.mister-baseball.com. Welcome to the world of the Szentendre Sleepwalkers and the Bratislava Fighting Flies, both in the Eastern European play-offs last year. When I heard that the Phillies recently signed an 18-year-old SS in the Czech Republic, it brought back staying in a small hotel in Brno just after Easter 7 or 8 years ago. One morning at breakfast I was bemused to hear everyone around me talking baseball. A European youth league was having a tournament in the city.

wowwowwow

Till yesterday the Celtics were 3-0 vs. the Sixers. Fast forward to the 4th quarter last night, with the Celts up 80-69 and looking to be on their way to a season sweep. Then Andre Iguodala took over the game and led his mates on a 19-0 run for an 88-80 lead. For over 7 minutes, the Sixers held the Celts to no field goals. Final score: Sixers beat the Celtics 95-90. Iggy is turning into a star before our eyes, while Thaddeus Young may be one of the sweetest 19-year-olds around. Once again a great game for the Sixers, who are looking better and better for the play-offs. Like the Phillies, these guys simply do not give up. Meanwhile, in Memphis the Nuggets were winning their second straight since losing in Philadelphia. Go, AI!

boing-boing

Things with bounce: Miguel Cabrera's new 8-year $152.3 million contract with the Tigers, J-Roll's vibrating king-size bed, SS prospect Jason Donald who came "nameless" off the bench and hit two 3-run homers yesterday in Dunedin in a 15-7 Phillies' win over the Blue Jays. Second time round the Jays' fans gave him a big O, but Donald will still be heading for Reading once spring training ends. The R-Phils are starting to look loaded. Cabrera's deal puts the Tigers among the big spenders and no doubt made RyHo grin. One week to go.

bunny baseball

This reproduction German postcard circa 1911 is from the great Easter! book of vintage postcards by Darling & Co. Check it out.

Happy Easter to all!

9 to go

Down to single digits. Only 9 days till the first pitch of the 2008 season. So it's good to see that the pitching has picked up, with a week of solid performances from Myers, Hamels, Moyer, Kendrick, and, yes, Eaton. Even J.D. Durbin stepped it up, though it may be too late for him. Too bad. He seems like a likeable guy, if an odd mix of spit and humility. If he clears waivers, maybe he'll end up in the Lehigh Valley with a call-up to follow.

Clever headline on the front page of yesterday's Inky---"Primary fabric: Blue surge", a reference to booming registrations in state Democratic ranks.

ESPN's Sam Alipour has a good interview with catcher-author Chris Coste:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=alipour/080318&sportCat=mlb

iron peeps

It's official. Iron Peeps take first! The winner of the Peeps Spring Bonnet contest held by the Morning Call is seven-year-old Ian Royer. With his sister Grace, he put together a baseball-themed "bonnet" that shows a baseball diamond with peeps at bat, peeps on the bases, peeps in the outfield, and peeps in the stands, all of it anchored to an old baseball cap. The name of the home team: Iron Peeps, a nod to the "just-born" Triple-A IronPigs. The perky yellow marshmallow peeps, of course, are made by Just Born, the Bethlehem-based candy company. All in all, a clever combination of spring, local ball club, and local product. Way to go, kids!

http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/all-peepsbonnetwinners.6322796mar21,0,5570809.story

sock it

Stamps on a baseball card received the other day. The quotation shown in the snippet is by Babe Ruth, talking about batting: "All I can tell you is, I pick a good one and sock it...."

The Chris Coste book was released on Tuesday. Just as good for Coste, it looks as if he'll be coming north this spring as back-up catcher.

thank you, allen iverson

Allen Iverson came back to Philadelphia this evening for the first time since he was traded on 19 December 2006. And what a return it was. The game went down to the last seconds. Iverson had a chance to tie it with 7.4 on the clock, then two other Nuggets had the chance to do it, but Iguodala came up with the ball and the Sixers won a thriller 115-113. Exciting but sad. In truth, the Nuggets maybe needed this game more than the Sixers. The Nuggets, with a far better record, are still out of the play-off picture in the West. The young Sixers, meanwhile, have been playing themselves into the play-offs in the hapless East. This though they reached .500 only tonight.

Who would have known months ago that this match-up would actually mean something? In a sense, things were stacked against the Nuggets. All that love for AI and the home team made for an intense evening.

Fittingly, the two stars of the game were Iverson and Andre Miller, the two main players in the trade, one of those rare trades involving a superstar where both teams actually benefit. Oh, yes, happy birthday, Andre Miller. Miller led the Sixers with 28 points, Iverson the Nuggets, with 32.

I might have been content with the Iverson press conference, held just after 6, which I caught on Comcast. Oh, how I have missed AI's nightly postgame conferences, which were invariably, in some way, illuminating. Today's conference was that and more. Iverson looks and sounds more mature. As always, the guy is candid, insightful, honest, and will strip himself bare. Don't forget a disarming sense of humor and a boatload of good looks. On the court he's as compelling and fearless as ever. Pound for pound there's no one like him. And he absolutely gets it, gets what the fans are about.

When Iverson came out for the pregame shootaround, he bent down and kissed the Sixer logo on the middle of the floor. He had "Thank you, Philadelphia" written on his sneakers. And he got a long and emotional standing O when announced. Thanks, AI. It was awesome watching you all those years in Philadelphia. At his press conference, AI said in disbelief, "I'm still in the league and my Sixers uniform is a throwback." Yes, we all thought it would go on forever. But someday your jersey will be hanging in the rafters.

that's the way...

Tix for the 3/30 exhibition game between the brand-new IronPigs and the Phillies arrived yesterday while down in Clearwater Cole Hamels was turning in a thing of beauty. Charlie's grouchiness seems to be paying off. Victorino looks like he's kicking it into gear, Jenkins even cranked a homer. Castro came on for Hamels in the 7th, loaded the bases, allowed a run but then got out of it. After that it was shutout work by the bullpen. Ah, the stuff of summer dreams.

Weather? We got weather. The opening day weather watch is in full swing. Last I heard it was brilliant sun and a high of 45 for the 31st in Philadelphia.

props to the yankees

As I write, the Yankees are finishing an exhibition game with Virginia Tech. What makes this special is that virtually the whole squad flew north to Blacksburg, VA, on the only off day of spring training to play the game. After the massacre last spring at VATech, George Steinbrenner donated $1,000,000 to the school. Before today's game all of the players visited the memorial to the slain students and teachers. Kudos to the Yankee players and organization.

bye-bye, dodger blue

So yesterday the Dodgers played their last game in Vero Beach and famed Dodgertown is now history. The exit from Florida unfolded with half of the team + manager Joe Torre in China, playing exhibition games with the Padres. Maybe it was fitting that bleeding-Dodger-blue Tommy Lasorda, who is filling in for Torre with the split squad, presided over yesterday's farewell to Dodgertown. Another bit of baseball history gone---not that most baseball fans would even much notice. Next year both Dodgers and Indians are moving to Arizona for spring training. The Reds are rumored to follow. Arizona is building new stadiums for the teams. The parks I've seen in AZ are nice but lacking in character. Most seem to be in manufactured towns in the desert. It's an odd way to go about building community.

yea, sixers!

Easter puts me in mind of the beautiful wooden Greek-Catholic churches of eastern Slovakia. This is St. Michael the Archangel in Semetkovce.

As for the Sixers.....

5 games in 7 days! And what did they do? Beat Milwaukee on the road on Sunday. Lost at home to the Celts on Monday. Beat the Pistons in Detroit on Wednesday. Traumatized the Bulls in Chicago on Friday, coming back from a 16-point deficit in the 4th. Then beat the Spurs at home on Saturday. Not bad, not bad! But no time to rest, even if the next game isn't till Wednesday. Wish I were going to be there to see Allen Iverson and the Nuggets come to town. Yea, Sixers!

on the other hand

On the other hand, MLB gave the Yankees permission to sign comedian Billy Crystal to a one-day minor league contract so that he can play in a spring training game, which he will do tomorrow. C'mon now. I don't care how big a fan Crystal is. Well, they say that spring training games don't mean a thing. Hey, in future it could be another way for MLB to rake in the money: sell the chance to fans to participate on the field in ST. One fan per team per ST. Highest bidder wins.

another shabby story

Major League Baseball is reportedly threatening to pull its annual grant to the historic Cape Cod League unless all of the league teams that use the names of MLB teams buy all future uniforms and souvenir merchandise from more expensive MLB-licensed vendors. Effective immediately, that would include the upcoming season. Teams would be prohibited from selling items, such as teddy bears and mugs, not available from those vendors. MLB is also requesting an 11% royalty on sales from existing inventory by the six league teams affected. The Cape Cod League operates on a yearly budget of $1.5 to $2 million a year. The MLB contribution is $100,000. Shriek if you want about intellectual property, this sounds like simple greed. Surely there is some other, less punishing way of dealing with the matter.

go, sixers!

This afternoon I could at least listen to the Sixers blowing by the Bucks instead of the Blue Jays beating up on Kyle Kendrick. In recent weeks the Sixers have proved themselves to be a feisty, resilient young team, who are definitely fun to watch. Tomorrow, though, they entertain the Celtics, the first in a string of games against the big boys. Hope that the measuring stick does not turn into a big club.

repeat after me

"It's still early, and it's only spring training." But listening to today's game with the Indians, another team, like the Dodgers, moving next spring to Arizona, was brutal. I am torn between wanting to hear baseball and despairing at what I hear. In truth, the only important thing is for everyone to stay healthy.

I've just realized that ESPN's spring training schedule reflects the usual bias, with lots of Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, and Dodgers featured. Interesting that the Phillies will not be shown once, despite being the reigning NL East champions and having the 2007 and 2006 MVP's. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the Rockies, too, are being scorned. So far I've caught a couple of innings of two different ESPN games, one with the Red Sox, the other, I think, with the Dodgers and Yankees. Sutcliff and Thorne announced for one game and a couple of innings was all I could take. Steve Phillips was on the other game, with another similarly irritating guy.

the 33-year-old rookie

Chris Coste's new book, The 33-Year-Old Rookie, How I Made It to the Big Leagues after 11 Years in the Minors, is due out March 18. Check the usual places for your copy. This is Coste's second book--and yes, he wrote both of them by himself. The first, Hey, I'm Just the Catcher, was self-published and chronicled his time in the Northern League. The new one, published by Random House, is about finally making it to the majors two years ago with the Phillies. All Phillies fans are hoping that Coste will be able to make it a trifecta, with a Hollywood ending.

wild pitch with the wild thing

Good news for Phillies fans! Wild Pitch with Mitch Williams debuts this season on WPHT (1210-AM), the flagship station for Phillies' radio broadcasts. The half-hour show will be broadcast from Citizens Bank Park, Mondays through Thursdays, just before Jim Jackson's pregame show. Wonder if Williams' Southpaw Salsa will be one of the sponsors?

Todd Zolecki had an interesting piece on strike-outs (Strikeouts? Who Cares about Strikeouts?) in this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer. It offers some mantras for calming that antsy feeling caused by watching your fave guys K.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillies_zone/

gripes and whines

Add Prince Fielder (Brewers), Jeff Francoeur (Braves), Jonathan Papelbon (Red Sox), and Nick Markakis (Orioles) to the list of aggrieved young big-leaguers. All have had or are having public/private disagreements with their clubs about how much they will be getting this year. John Smoltz of the Braves, always ready with advice, had this to say to Cole Hamels: cool it. Joe Kerrigan opined that an older player should take Cole aside and explain to him that that's how the system works, that it's his own players' union that set things up like this, and that in the end, if he stays healthy, he'll be making untold millions. Seems like the young guys want it both ways and want it now. A dose of real world economics might help but that ain't going to happen. All I say is, stay healthy and perform. And opening day can't get here too soon.

davey lopes

Hearts and prayers go out to Davey Lopes, ex-Dodger and current first base coach with the Phillies. The Phillies announced yesterday that a routine exam in spring training had revealed prostrate cancer. Lopes will have an operation later this month and is expected to be back with the team after a 6-week recovery. Get well and hurry on back, Davey! You are the best at 1st! And a cool old-school baseball dude!

Under Davey Lopes, a master of the steal, the Phillies last year recorded a 89.7 per cent success rate for stolen bases. That's a major league record. Ex-pitching coach Joe Kerrigan was on TV yesterday, wearing some heavy-duty Buddy Holly glasses and putting out some different numbers. Kerrigan had been breaking down the Phillies hitting and found that last year the team offered at the first pitch only 20 per cent of the time. Comcast then posted some awesome numbers for 2007. With the count 1-0, as a team the Phillies hit .390, at 2-0, .358, at 2-1, .355, and at 3-1, .392. Credit was given to hitting coach Milt Thompson and to those players, not all, who had bought into his teaching. Hope they're buying this year, too.

Seeing Kerrigan made me think about others not yet in the game. Pitching guru Leo Mazzone was on the radio the other day talking about being at home, ordering the MLB package on TV and waiting for a call. Barry Bonds' agent is touting his client. Mike Piazza is pondering retirement. Kyle Lohse and his agent seem to have lowered their financial expectations, as perhaps have Eric Milton, Jose Mesa, and a handful of other pitchers out there still looking for a team.

more money matters

Today's mail brought a reminder: 4 weeks till opening day.

This time it's Cole Hamels, who is not happy with the $500,000 salary given him by the club, calling it a "low blow". That comment cracks me up. And I can easily hear Hamels making it in his stream-of-consciousness way. But c'mon now, the guy's making $500,000, not to mention his signing bonus, after less than 2 years at work. To his credit, Hamels said he understood that it was a business, that the Phillies are business-savvy, and that they want to keep him and Howard and Rollins and Utley together for years.

But he also said he would remember it down the line when he was up for arbitration or contract renewal. This also made me laugh. I mean, how likely is it that getting what he wanted this year would make him warm and fuzzy about future demands? To put things in perspective, the Yankees paid Chien-Ming Wang $489,500 last year after he went 19-6 in 2006. The Devil Rays paid Scott Kazmir, who went 10-8 in 2006, $424,300 in his last year before arbitration. Last year, his first full year in the bigs, Hamels went 15-5 and made the All-Star team. Now entering his second full season, he'll likely be eligible for arbitration next year.

Gotta love, though, the supreme confidence that Hamels shows. When asked about his goals for the season, he didn't hesitate: no-hitter, 20+ wins for the season, Cy Young (though he knows that will be difficult with Santana and Haren now in the NL), and World Series. The sky's the limit for the young stud, if he stays healthy. Go out and pitch and the money will be yours.

same as it ever was

So Adam Eaton pitched his first spring training game yesterday, against the Yankees, and in the first inning gave up a three-run homer to Shelley Duncan and threw way too many pitches. OK, it was the first game of spring training but all in all too much of a flashback to Eaton 2007. Please snap out of it, Adam! Eaton's outing seemed to set the tone for the pitching day, which was lame. And the offense followed suit. I watched a couple of innings on TV while outside here snow was blowing horizontally across the windows.

Eaton, quoted in this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer: "I'm getting paid extremely handsomely, probably more than I'm worth." Ah, self-effacement.

Cole Hamels didn't look much better today vs. the Yanks. And the sloppy play on the field yesterday and today was pretty irritating, with guys were getting picked off, missing the cut-off man, and in general making mental mistakes. Yeah, yeah, it's only the start of spring training.

Bright spot in today's game, again: Carlos Carrasco, who came in to pitch 3 scoreless innings. So far the kid is looking good.

national pig day

In honor of National Pig Day, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the new triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, are putting their single-game tickets on sale today. Though not an official holiday, March 1 is National Pig Day. It was started in 1972 by a Texas art teacher named Ellen Staly, who wanted to acknowledge the intelligence and good-nature of the domesticated pig. The day is now celebrated with a variety of events at zoos around the country. The Iron Pigs will also be having a day of piggy events geared to children and adults alike. Sounds like fun except for the pig roast. Really, could they not have had a fish fry?