I recently found this old postcard advertising a fantasy camp in Clearwater in 2001. It was a rough night. The Phillies lost to the Mets, the Sixers lost to the Celtics, and the Flyers lost to the Senators.
The IronPigs, however, beat the Reading Phillies in an exhibition game at Coca-Cola Park, played in frigid conditions. It was odd to see the park, which is almost always packed, last night almost empty. I thought the people sitting bundled up in the stands were nuts. I thought the fans in Philadelphia who booed Cole Hamels were dumb and boorish.
In the third, Hamels had one of those weird out-of-sync innings that happen in baseball. It was all singles, including two to the pitcher, walks, and bloop hits that found the holes. The Mets capitalized to the tune of six, Hamels was lifted, and the dumb fans booed. Wouldn't have happened to Halladay, Lee, or Oswalt, though Hamels and Blanton are so far the only ones who have delivered. They are the only ones with the rings. But I guess this is what happens when a team gets popular. You get a lot more lunkheads filling the seats.
