The 'Jimmy' on the card is Jimmy Rollins, who found juicing, thanks to his wife, during the off-season. Watching a Single-A game on Philadelphia TV was odd, especially when the game featured not one but three rehabbing major leaguers. And no, the stands were not overflowing. Instead, it looked like just another drowsy night in the minors.
Of the three rehabbers, Carlos Ruiz did well enough to have headed to Atlanta to be activated for tonight's game with the Braves. Just in time, too, as Schneider goes on the DL. Chase Utley flashed his sweet swing with a home run, but he still has a way to go. The good news is that he is again in the line-up tonight. Roy Oswalt looked much as he did before he left for Mississippi, which is to say that his velocity was down and his fastball was flat. He is supposed to start on Tuesday in St. Louis but still looks as if his back, or something, is bothering him.
The three were gone in the sixth, when the pace of the game slowed to something like that of a Yankees-Red Sox match-up. Single-A ball takes a great deal of patience.
The NHL has announced that Citizens Bank Park will be the site of the 2012 Winter Classic. The Flyers and the Rangers are scheduled to take part in the game, which will be held on January 2, 2012.
