Here we are again

We don't do sentiment here. We appreciate and, conversely, call out people and things, but sentiment isn't our bag. Not anymore. Not since spending time in the kitchen and watching what the chef does with the soup. So baseball opening day/night has no special allure here. It means no days off since December, lose your vacation days and sleep on the floor in the office. The kids? Show 'em a picture of daddy.

But baseball gets folks all weepy. Americans love to wax on about baseball. Yes, it's true. It's also true that there are companies that exist solely to produce that saccharine sweet baseball-as-a-metaphor-for-life bullbleep. You know, that NPR/Field of Dreams tripe about ghosts walking out of the corn or holding your dad's hand as you walk into Fenway or something like that.

Man, it just makes me want to throw up.

Why, you ask (or even if you didn't I'm going to write it anyway)? Perhaps it's because the reality of life has made a bigger impression than the fairy tale. For instance, my first exposure to baseball came at Veterans Stadium and Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. At the Vet the design was so bad that nearly every seat in the house sucked. I can remember walking in there for the first time in 1976 and thinking that we'd be better off watching the game at home on TV - at least then I'd be able to see what the players looked like. At least then I wouldn't have some jackass spill beer down my back as I nursed a nose bleed brought on from the altitude of the crappy seats.

Or in Baltimore, a neighborhood stadium with sardine can-styled parking, National Bohemian beer ads everywhere, and drunk cab driver on the dugout leading the cheers for the weeded crowd that needed to yank out the ganja one last time so that the he would be numb for when the police billy clubs rained down on him after being tackled for running out on the field.

You're crazy if you think going to places like that doesn't have an effect on a kid prone to over-thinking everything.

Even now it seems as if baseball is personified by odd behavior. Like Billy Wagner exposing himself after being asked about throwing a slider, Charlie Manuel's stories about Billy Martin, or Brett Myers just being Brett Myers.

The truth is I prefer the reality to the produced fairy tales. I appreciate it. Just like the put on part - you know, the crap about how time starts on Opening Day - the truth is so different from real life. Accepted behavior and norms are pulverized with a fungo and no one goes to jail for it.

Who doesn't appreciate that?

So let's wax on...

A few years ago the Vet was closed and mercifully blown up. Personally, I think the park got off easy. I would have preferred torture or waterboarding instead of implosion, but it all worked out in the end.

Anyway, all these things are selfish. It's a charmed life hanging at the park and sleeping on the floor. It could be worse - it could be the Nationals instead of the World Champs.

Look for the live blog updates tonight. I'd do it on Twitter, but there is nothing more annoying than way too many obsessive tweets.

That will leave a mark

So am I prophetic or just a jerk? Is there extra points in predicting the undoing of the bullpen, or is that just too easy with this Phillies' club?

Is this the way it's going to be all summer with this shooting gallery of balls flying around the bandbox with this pitching staff?

What's with all the questions?

Anyway, Tom Gordon got lit up more than my mick uncles on St. Patrick's Day. In fact, I thought I heard someone shout, "INCOMING!" after every one of Flash's pitches.

I hid under the table here at seat 92.

Oddly enough, the PA system began blaring, "Disco Inferno" at the end of the inning.

Burn, baby, burn!

Coincidence? I think not.

Just like that it's 11-6 heading to the bottom of the ninth. Flash's line:

Not good.

Rollins to the rescue

So Jimmy Rollins came to the rescue for the Phillies again. Better yet, the Phillies' offense saved the pitching staff from some trouble... again.

The reigning NL MVP capped off a big rally in the seventh with a two-out homer with one out to knot the game at 6. People laughed, jumped, yelled, waved flags, threw paper and pounded themselves on the head as if the Ayatollah had just died.

Yes, people really want this baseball team to win games.

Knotted at 6 and headed for the late innings, it seems as if the Phillies are sitting pretty. They have scored 6 runs without mounting much a sustained rally at any point of the ballgame, and have done so with some shaky pitching on top of that.

Pitching and defense? Nah... The Phillies do it with homers and walks.

Anyway, Rollins came through. Flash Gordon is on in the ninth. Perhaps this is where the thinness of the team's bullpen gets it into trouble?

Man, what's with all this negativity?

I want my two dollars

Don’t you just love it when you find money in your pocket? I found $2 in the pocket of my pants this morning and I have to admit it was a nice little treat. Sure, $2 will barely get me a half-gallon of gas, but it adds up. I’ll take it. Interestingly, the two, one-dollar bills look weathered and worn as if they went through the wash. My money has been laundered.

Be that as it may, Brett Myers appears to have gotten a little sullied up in the fifth inning. After four straight goose eggs, the Nats finally solved him in the fifth with four runs on three hits, an error and a hit batsmen. The big hit of the inning – in my estimation – was when pitcher Matt Chico laced a fat curveball to center field for a one-out hit.

Otherwise, Myers threw a lot of pitches to the barrels of bats. When Myers fell behind, the Nats made him pay… that’s the way it goes.

Myers’ line: 5 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HBP, 86 pitches.

Let’s call it auspicious.

Often, it’s the little things when things begin to unravel. Ryan Madson came in to relieve Myers and allowed a two-run homer with two outs to Lastings Milledge following an infield single from Cristian Guzman.

It was a close play, but it led to trouble.

Trouble is what the Phillies are in right now after Ryan Howard, Pat Burrell and Pedro Feliz followed up Chase Utley’s leadoff homer with strikeouts.

A sort of a rally

The Phillies serve free lunch on Opening Day every year, but since I don’t dig on meat and I’m not too keen on grey broccoli either, I brought my own lunch/dinner. Right now I’m eating a lovely fruit mix of bananas, apricots, papaya, golden raisins with a few raw almonds in there… Mmmmmmm.

Myers pitched himself into a bit of a jam in the second when Nick Johnson, the son of Larry Bowa’s sister, doubled to left-center. Johnson missed all of last season while recovering from a broken leg, but he’s better now and sure to pick up hitting right where left off.

Johnson is very, very good. The Nats are much-improved with Johnson in the lineup, but now they have to figure out what to do with Dmitri Young.

Myers plunked Paul Lo Duca – much to the delight of the packed house – to put two on with one out and then walked Willie Harris with two outs to load the bases. But Myers figured his way out of it by picking up his second strikeout of the inning on Matt Chico.

That’s 36 pitches through two innings for Myers – 22 strikes.

The Phillies got a two-out double in the second from Jayson Werth, but left it there.

Former Daily News beat writer Marcus Hayes is here. The DN really has suffered now that Marcus isn’t doing the day-to-day stuff… the new guy is a total hack.

League leaders in sacrifices

Brett Myers made it through the Nats in the top of the first very easily. He threw 13 pitches – mostly fastballs – and got back to throwing strikes after starting off two of the three hitters with first-pitch balls. As one can guess, I’m really into the theory behind first-pitch strikes. I’m not a huge stats guy, but the first-pitch strike one makes a lot of sense.

Jimmy Rollins belted a sixth-pitch strike to the wall in left for a standup double and then moved to third on a nice bunt by Shane Victorino. The scorer gave Victorino a sacrifice, which is the correct call, but I suspect he was bunting for a hit. The thing is Victorino bunted it toward third at Ryan Zimmerman who will vacuum up anything. He’s good.

Rollins scored on Chase Utley’s long sac fly to deep center. That means the Phillies lead the league in sacrifices. That’s hardly a Moneyball type stat, though it got the Phillies a run.

That’s 1-to-zip at the end of the first frame of the season.

Opening day for some

The Phillies have the left-handed lineup out there this afternoon, meaning they're prepared to take on lefty pitcher Matt Chico of the Washington Nationals. At first glance Chico seems to be an odd choice for an Opening Day starter until one realizes that it is not Opening Day for the Nats. Fotr some silly reason they had to play a single game against the Atlanta Braves last night on ESPN to open up their brand-new ballpark, and then roll up to Philly to start the season in earnest.

What the...

Why not just let the Nats open the season at home or - even better - allow them to play a week on the road before returning to The District for an opening series.

Crazy.

Anyway, the lineups:

Phillies 11 - Rollins, ss 8 - Victorino, cf 26 - Utley, 2b 6 - Howard, 1b 5 - Burrell, lf 7 - Feliz, 3b 28 - Werth, rf 51 - Ruiz, c 39 - Myers, p

Nationals 15 - Guzman, ss 44 - Milledge, cf 11 - Zimmerman, 3b 24 - Johnson, 1b 25 - Kearns, rf 16 - Lo Duca, c 10 - Belliard, 2b 1 - Harris, lf 47 - Chico, p

Seen and heard on Opening Day

Opening day is the day of optimism, hope and believing that your team has just as good a chance as every other team. It’s about renewal and spring and all of all that other Field of Dream/catch-with-your dad hokum that people like to associate with baseball.

Happy Opening Day! Some like to say.

Bah humbug!

For the regular baseball writers, Opening Day is like going to church on Easter or Christmas in that it’s filled to the rafters with media types who won’t be back again for the rest of the year. They aren’t the devout – they only come out for the big games or when it’s fashionable. Mostly though, they just get in the way.

But that’s all well and good. It was a lot of fun seeing the whole gang back together and to catch up with folks that we hadn’t seen since the last game in Washington last October.

Anyway, the second game of the year is always the best one – the crowd dissipates and the regulars get to spread out a little more.

***
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the press box and set my bag at my work space in from of my regular seat for the past four years (seat No. 92) was the dry erase board with the day’s lineup written down. In the third slot it read:

6 Howard 1B

Followed by:

26 Utley 2B

My first reaction was, “Cool, will you look at that. That looks kind of good… it will get the reigning NL MVP up to bat in the first inning.”

Then I thought, “Uh-oh. I’m going to get asked about this… a lot. I bet Charlie is going to have to talk about it a bunch, too.”

Sure enough, Charlie talked about his lineup during his pre-game meeting with the writers where it sounded like he had one of his Japanese manager premonitions where he “felt” like the move needed to be made. And sure enough, as soon as the lineup was posted live on the Internets the IMs and emails came with some ferocity.

Yeah, just what I needed – more questions. I get that stuff at home, I don’t need it at the ballpark, too.

Kidding (kind of) aside, the general reaction seemed to be, “wow” and “cool” or “interesting.” Noting that Ryan Howard, as the No. 3 hitter, picked up two singles and a walk, it seemed to work out fairly well. Better yet, with Chase Utley hitting behind Howard, Manuel says it allows him to try more things. For instance, he gave Utley the green light to attempt to steal second on a 3-1 pitch with one out to No. 5 hitter Pat Burrell in the fourth inning. Burrell took ball four, but the point was made.

***
Ever aware scribe Mike Radano noticed that Pat Burrell walked to the plate with new entrance music. In fact, he walked over to seat No. 92 to point it out and directed me to his blog.

Check it out.

***
Word on the street is that Todd Zolecki lost his lucky Minnesota Golden Gophers cap in Clearwater.

***
The Lancaster Crackers Jr. are back for another season in my Rotisserie baseball league and based on past seasons I think I need some help.

Here’s the roster

C – Ramon Hernandez
1b – Nomar Garciaparra
2b – Ray Durham
3b – Scott Rolen
ss – Juan Uribe
of – Bobby Abreu
of – Corey Patterson
of – J.D. Drew
UT – Chipper Jones
Bench – Adrian Beltre
Bench – Aubrey Huff
Bench – Chad Tracy
DL – Chone Figgins

Pitchers
Barry Zito
Roy Oswalt
Cole Hamels
Jake Peavy
Tim Hudson
Francisco Rodriguez
Trevor Hoffman

All suggestions and comments regarding this team are welcomed. It appears as if I need some relief pitching… sounds like a common theme for 2007.

New Season begins with old streak

Part of the allure of baseball’s Opening Day is the idea of renewal. For at least one day every team is in first place and every team has a chance to win the World Series. It’s that baseball-as-a-metaphor-for-life wispiness that pervades public radio and Roger Angell’s dispatches from The New Yorker. All baseball fans get caught up in that saccharin sweet romanticism at one point or another. It’s hard not to.

But this year’s Opening Day for the Phillies was marked by the notion of continuation or extension rather than rebirth. Actually, the baseball world had its eyes trained on the Phillies opener against the Cardinals to see if something that began last season could break the invisible force field of a new season in an idea that flies in the face that everything Opening Day represents.

We’re talking of the streak, of course.

Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins coolly carried his epic, 36-game hitting streak that was momentarily halted for five months only to pick up right where he started. With a flair for the dramatic, Rollins dramatically added on to his streak by lacing a double to right field on a 3-0 pitch in his very last at-bat of the day to make 2005 morph into 2006. In fact, the build up to that final pitch offered to Rollins was so mind numbingly exciting that it made nearly everyone in the park forget that the Phillies lost by eight runs.

Think of it: Rollins’ streak could have ended if the pitch was just mere inches away from home plate. Rollins could have drawn a walk – a very good thing for a leadoff hitter to do – but his chance at making a run for immortality would have vanished into thin air faster than the trot from home to first base. He could have done his job yet been penalized for it.

Of course, it didn’t happen that way, but Rollins, unselfishly, says he would have taken the walk.

“If he would have thrown one I couldn’t get, I would have taken it,” Rollins said earnestly. “I wasn’t going to give the at-bat away. Luckily, he gave me something to hit.”

Do you believe him?

No, me neither.

Yes, we believe Rollins’ goal is to help the Phillies win games so they can finally advance to the playoffs. And yes, we believe that he is sincere in this sentiment. But if reliever Brad Thompson kept the 3-0 offering anywhere in the vicinity of the 215 area code, Rollins was going to swing.

Believe that.

That’s not a knock on Rollins. Au contraire. The very idea that Rollins is just as excited about his streak as the fans are is quite refreshing. Want to talk about it? Just walk up to Jimmy and ask him about it, he won’t be hiding in the training room to dodge the questions and attention. This is a once-in-a-lifetime feat. Why shouldn’t it be fun?

“It’s fun to talk about it,” Rollins said. “It’s brought a lot of attention to the team, which is the best part. As far as the streak goes, I’m not any more excited about it now than I was. I was blessed to be in this position and you have to be willing to accept that if you are in this position. That’s one thing I think I’ve been doing. You have to be willing to talk about it.”

Better yet, Rollins said if the streak becomes the focal point of the game and helps brighten the looming dark cloud brought about by the Barry Bonds steroid controversy, then bring that on, too.

“Hopefully, I can be a major part of what's going on in baseball," Rollins said. “Barry Bonds is going through a situation. He's from the Bay Area, which is my hometown. Two stories are running together. Barry's trying to accomplish something. I'm trying to accomplish something. He's in a controversy. Right now, I'm on everybody's good side. Hopefully, I can keep that going and going, and everybody can concentrate on what's good about baseball.”

Certainly that can never get old.