Get down tonight

The chatter around the ballpark today has been for closer Brett Myers to settle on appropriate enterance music before the ninth inning. Apparently, Myers was upset that KC & the Sunshine Band’s “Shake Your Booty” was played as he came into last night’s game. Frankly, as I have written in earlier posts, this is pure silliness. Firstly, if Myers had an inch of ironic humor in his ever-expanding body he’s leave the KC & the Sunshine song.

Better yet, instead of some pretend phony toughness delivered through the majesty of song, maybe it would be more of a mind scramble if Myers entered the game to Lesley Gore's "Sunshine and Lollipops?"

In the same vein, I have always believed that if a player was going to take the time to select a song in which to choreograph his appearance in a baseball game, that player should also perform an interpretive dance or performance art piece using the song on their way to the batters’ box or mound.

If the song is “Shake Your Booty,” by all means, shake your booty.

Regardless of any of this, Myers should just worry about getting outs. If he continues to do that people will be writing songs about him.

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The Phillies announced that they had traded for veteran slugger Russell Branyan this afternoon.

Nope, I didn’t get it either.

Either way, skipper Charlie Manuel said that the team has long had an interest in Branyan, a power-hitting lefty with a bad batting average and a lot of strikeouts. Nevertheless, Manuel wanted an extra slugger for the bench and that’s exactly what Branyan is.

“We just felt that at the moment we have 13 pitchers and only 12 position players so we’d like to have another bat,” general manager Pat Gillick said. “Consequently, Russell is a guy with tremendous power and gives Charlie another alternative is we have a pinch hitting situation.”

The Phillies had hoped that Branyan would be in the park for tonight’s game against the Marlins, but (surprise!) he flight was delayed heading to Philadelphia. When Branyan makes it to Philly, the team will have to adjust its 25-man and 40-man rosters and the early speculation is on option-ready reliever Geoff Geary heading to Triple-A Ottawa.

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Rugby and triathlon legend Bill Boben was seen in the crowd for tonight’s game.

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Thirty-three years ago today (“…effective at noon…”) Richard Nixon resigned as president of the United States.

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Tadahito Iguchi has a hit in 11 of the 12 games he’s played in since joining the Phillies. In fact, Iguchi has filled in quite nicely for All-Star second baseman Chase Utley. But when Utley is healthy and returns to action, don’t expect Iguchi to move over to third base in order to remain in the lineup.

According to Gillick, the budding Iguchi situation is something for Manuel to figure out.

“Right now, Iguchi is either going to play second base primarily or his secondary position is shortstop so we’ll see how that goes,” Gillick explained. “When Chase comes back, that’s a problem Charlie is going to have to work out. Right now, when Chase gets backs he’ll be in the lineup.”

Yeah, but what about third base?

“I would say it’s a very remote, remote possibility. It’s a different position third base in that you have longer to read the ball at shortstop and second base as opposed to third base which is a reaction position,” Gillick said. “A lot of times people that can play the middle of the diamond have a tough time moving to the corners.”

So before it could even begin, the Iguchi to third base experiment has been scrapped.

Keep on dancing

Since the first time I went to a Major League Baseball game in 1976, I’ll guess that I’ve been to over 1,000 games. Add in little league games, legion games, high school and college to go with a bunch of minor league games and it could be another thousand ballgames.

Whatever the actual total is, it’s a lot of games.

Yet of all those games I’ve seen exactly one – ONE – no-hitter. I watched a few on TV, but as far as being in the park to witness a no-hitter that honor goes to Kevin Millwood when he blanked the Giants at the Vet in 2003. I saw Eric Milton get to within three outs of getting one and Vicente Padilla come four outs away. I also saw one-hitters from Jim Gott/Roy Lee Jackson in 1982 and Randy Wolf at the Vet against the Reds in 2001.

I’ve seen more cycles at the Bank (David Bell and Brad Wilkerson) than no-hitters, ever.

Nevertheless, I thought I was going to witness one last night, though in the end it really didn’t get that close.

Cole Hamels, of course, carried a perfect game into the seventh inning and came within nine outs of finishing the no-hitter. That’s close, but still an inning away from it really getting interesting. Regardless, in facing one of the better hitting teams in the Majors (the Brewers lead all of MLB with 51 homers) Hamels seemed like he was the Harlem Globetrotters with the bucket of confetti and the ball on the string against the Washington Generals.

Quite simply, Hamels can pitch the way most people breathe, eat or go into out-of-control credit debt.

But what’s most interesting about this fact is that Hamels knows he is very, very good and doesn’t mind saying so. Better yet, he does this without arrogance or coming off as too overbearingly cocky. Instead, he’s just refreshingly confident and candid. In the clubhouse after the game last night, Hamels was asked if he thought he was going to get the no-hitter and if he believes he will get one in sometime soon in the future and he didn’t even hesitate with the answer.

“Oh course,” he said. “I try to think that every night… ”

Or:

“Of course. Every year I go out there and try to get at least one.”

It doesn’t sound outlandish that Hamels will someday toss a no-hitter, but then again people used to say it was just a matter of time before Steve Carlton threw one, too. When his career had ended, Carlton had six one-hitters to his credit and zero no-hitters.

***
Last night Brett Myers pitched in the third game in a row and his fifth of the last seven despite the Phillies holding a comfortable four-run lead and a bullpen full of relievers waiting to get a little work in. Manager Charlie Manuel has always maintained that he views four-run leads as save situations in cozy Citizens Bank Park, but even so using Myers in such a situation was a little curious.

Sure, Myers is stretched out and pitched around 200 innings for the last few seasons, but there has to be a delicate balance for how much a reliever can pitch…

Right?

Nevertheless, when asked if he would be ready to go today if he got another call in the ninth, Myers was succinct.

“Yep,” he said.

Meanwhile, much has been made about Myers’ choice of entrance music that is played over the PA as he makes the jog from the bullpen to the mound for the ninth inning; though it wasn’t queued up for last night’s outing because no one thought he’d get into the game.

Anyway, Myers wants “Children of the Grave,” the White Zombie version of the Black Sabbath song, to be played as he comes into the game. Apparently, in some sort of faux machismo, Myers believes Rob Zombie and the gang get the crowd “pumped up.”

“Doesn't it have that aura about it?” Myers asked.

Uh, no. No it doesn’t.

If you're going with Sabbath, it has to be "War Pigs."

However, here’s an idea – instead of some pretend phony toughness delivered through the majesty of song, maybe it would be more of a mind scramble if Myers entered the game to Lesley Gore's "Sunshine and Lollipops?"

Better yet, I have always believed that if a player was going to take the time to select a song in which to choreograph his appearance in a baseball game, that player should also perform an interpretive dance or performance art piece using the song on their way to the batters’ box or mound.

Hey, it’s a game, right? Let’s have some fun.

Here we are now, entertain us.

More: Lesley Gore – Sunshine and Lollipops