OK, where do I start?
After all this time of wondering what it was like to be in the clubhouse when the players are going nuts and pouring beer and champagne all over each other, I finally got to witness it firsthand. And to tell you the truth, it’s a lot like a couple of the really good parties I help throw when I was in college. Only we had a band play and someone started a bonfire, which was kind of cool.
Nevertheless, no one ever won anything at those parties so there was no spraying beer and champagne all over the place. I guess that’s why they put that plastic sheeting in place, which gave the clubhouse a more intimate/sky lodge-type aura. It was nice.
But what is not nice is that even after taking two showers I still think I stink like champagne and beer. Maybe the scent is just embedded into my nostrils or something, but I suppose that’s just the hazard of the job – occasionally (rarely) a kick-ass party will break out where cases of champagne and trucks of beer are wheeled in. Meanwhile, no one will actually drink the beer (they are professional athletes, after all), but instead they will pour and spray it on anyone or anything that moves.
And if some dude gets a hold of the hose that they use to water the field, look out…
It’s on.
Anyway, you know it’s was a good party when mirthful catching instructor (and all around good guy) Mick Billmeyer noted that he had more beer on him than in him, and Pat Burrell’s English bulldog, Elvis, was one of the first to arrive in the clubhouse.
Afterwards, Burrell surveyed the scene from the field as the party raged and the fans screamed from the seats and stated aptly, “This is what it’s all about.” He also took a moment to remember mentor and legendary Phillies coach, John Vukovich, which could have been the most poignant moment of the day.
But parties end and when they do it’s time to get down to business. In that regard, GM Pat Gillick, assistants Ruben Amaro and Dallas Green didn’t waste any time. Even before all the beer had stopped flying into air and dried into everyone’s skin, hair and clothes, the team’s brass huddled in the coach’s room across the hall from the clubhouse, undoubtedly to discuss what comes next.
Setting the roster The first thing the Phillies will have to do – aside from learning who their opponent will be – is cobble together a playoff roster. With a 10 a.m. Wednesday deadline to submit the roster, it still hasn’t been decided if the Phillies will take 10 or 11 pitchers into the NLDS. My gut is 11, but we should have a better grasp on this figure tomorrow when the team meets at the park for a workout.
Anyway, the 25-man roster:
Catchers: Carlos Ruiz; Chris Coste Infielders: Ryan Howard; Chase Utley; Jimmy Rollins; Greg Dobbs; Tadahito Iguchi; Abraham Nunez; Wes Helms Outfielders: Pat Burrell; Aaron Rowand; Shane Victorino; Jayson Werth; Michael Bourn Pitchers: Cole Hamels; Kyle Kendrick; Kyle Lohse; Jamie Moyer; Adam Eaton or J.D. Durbin; Brett Myers; Tom Gordon; J.C. Romero; Clay Condrey; Geoff Geary; Antonio Alfonseca
*** I'm not basing this on anything other than idle talk, but it appears as if the Phillies will play all day games in the NLDS.
*** I will have more later regarding the Mets and what we were writing about the Phillies and Charlie Manuel earlier this season. Look for that during the Padres-Rockies game.