6/7/2011 PHILLIES VS LOS ANGELES DODGERS
W 3-1
Dollar Dog Night
with Sam Fields
June baseball is here. Perfect weather. Utter relaxation. That nice smooth feeling that no matter what hits you in life, no matter how utterly shit for brains the world seems to get every single day, you have that familiar baseball rhythm in your life. Yup, the grass is green, the air feels nice against the skin, and another night in the ballpark. One of the best nights, in addition to when they give you free crap, is the vaunted dollar dog night. While there never will again be a 10 cent beer night, dollar dog night is a decent way to spend a Monday night.
With this night, I had seen every single member of the Phillies' starting pitching rotation. Cliff Lee, the folk hero of the 2009 World Series, a Yankee slayer in a failing effort against the behemoth, was on the mound. Yes, Cliff Lee, who's wife taught us the reason you never ever spit on women. Cliff Lee, who turned down $30 million from New York to come to Philadelphia instead. The vaunted, invinsible, Cliff Lee. Okay........ Cliff isn't having a hot year so far. But it's only June! Cliff Lee in September and October can only be stopped by kryptonite.
Arriving on my own after the famous walk of victory up Broad Street, I quickly made my way over to the 3rd base entrance to grab veggie dogs, because as I explained in an earlier entry, the best way to eat a ton of hot dogs successfully is to make sure they're not actually made out of hot dog. And it being dollar dog night, the dregs of society made their appearances. Trying to get dinner was a process. It involved standing in line, and lunging aggressivly when the dogs became available. Oh, don't get between a hungry James and his dogs, especially when he hasn't eaten yet.
A new fan group I hadn't spotted yet: "Francisco's Benny Franks" where the dudes all dress as giant hot dogs. They could of picked a better player, but I appreciate giant weiners just as much as any guy.
Dollar dog night also brings out some fairly annoying people. The Phillies used to do college nights, where people from any particular college could get discounted tickets, but discontinued when too many brawls broke out by drunk frat boys. Oh lord, there were some dumb people. The people right behind us blabbed the whole game about how bored they were unless they saw a home run. The Phillies are winning, who cares? One lady hit me in the back of the head with her hands, and said, "Oh! I'm sorry! I'm Italian, so I talk with my hands." (Okay, you can't help it...)
Two birthdays, right behind us. Two. So lots of loud, confetti, happy birthdays. I asked both of the older gentlemen "How old are you? 28?" They giggled. The ultimate crowd pleaser, underestimating their age.
Tonight, the Phillies played the Los Angeles Dodgers. Oh, how the franchise that both broke the color barrier in the late 40s, destroyed a Mexican community in the '60s, and rose to be the heart and sole of LA by now has fallen big time. How did Major League Baseball approve an absolute corporate criminal like Frank McCourt to be an owner? The guy who tried to fire his wife in a divorce proceeding and took out personal loads against the team to enrich himself? I absolutly believe that owners ought to be purged from the professional sports and the teams owned by the players. Exhibit Number One: Frank McCourt.
After he Phillie Phanatic did his ceremonial pelvic thrusts at the Dodgers players to curse them (Woh onto thou who receiveth Phanatic crotch bump) the teams rocked back and forth with excellent pitching performance by Lee. He struck out 10 batters, and the Phillies scored timely runs to win 3-1. A Marine did a ceremonial changing of 3rd base in the 6th Inning. Uh, what? I think me and sam were the only ones not giving a standing ovation. ("Are we supposed to stand?" I said.)
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| Shane Victorino, no longer a blueclaw, walking. |
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| The Great Band of All Time, The Baseball Project doing 7th Inning Stretch |
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| What's with the red spot? |
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| Sam, who is an occasional guest blogger on here |
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| Victory formation |
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| James with a stomach full of dollar dogs |
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| High Hopes! |
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| Apple Pie in the Sky Hopes! |
To those out in TV land, the Oregon Ave Octopi will be playing the West Philly Waste on Wednesday June 29th at 7pm at 4900 Kingsessing. Come out and see us rock the casbah!
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| Championship caliber team |
Game Stats
PHI
Pitching:
Starter: LHP Cliff Lee (117 Pitches, 80 Strikes, 7 Innings, 7 Hits, 1 Walk, 10 Strikeouts, 3.62 ERA) W (5-5)
Relief: LHP Antonio Bastardo (14 Pitches, 9 Strikes, 1 Inning, 1 Strikeout, 1.17 ERA) H (5)
Closer: RHP Ryan Madsen (19 Pitches, 13 Strikes, 1 Inning, 2 Hits, 1 Run, 1 ER, 2 Strikeouts, 2.08 ERA) S (13)
Lineup:
1. CF Shane Victorino (2 At-bats, 1 Run, 1 Hit by pitch, 1 Walk, .275 AVG)
2. 3B Placido Polanco (4 At-bats, 1 Hit, 1 RBI (32), 1 Left on base, .319 AVG)
3. 2B Chase Utley (3 At-bats, 1 Run, 1 Walk, 2 Strikeouts, 3 Left on base, .224 AVG)
4. 1B Ryan Howard (4 At-bats, 1 Hit, 1 RBI (47), 1 Strikeout, 2 Left on base, .248 AVG)
5. LF Ben Francisco (3 At-bats, 1 Walk, 1 Strikeout, 2 Left on base, .224 AVG)
6. C Carlos Ruiz (4 At-bats, 2 Hits, 1 Double, 1 RBI (12), .244 AVG)
7. RF Domonic Brown (4 At-bats, 1 Hit, 3 Left on base, .300 AVG)
8. SS Wilson Valdez (3 At-bats, 1 Run, 1 Hit, 1 Double, 1 Strikeout, 1 Left on base, .246 AVG)
9. SP Cliff Lee (1 At-bat, 1 Sacrifice, 1 Left on base, .185 AVG)
--- PH Raul Ibanez (1 At-bat, .241 AVG)
--- Relief Pitcher (Bastardo)
--- Relief Pitcher (Madsen)
LAD
Pitching:
Starter: LHP Ted Lilly (88 Pitches, 59 Strikes, 5 Hits, 2 Runs, 2 ER, 1 Walk, 4 Strikeouts, 4.13 ERA) L (4-5)
Relief: RHP Blake Hawksworth (12 Pitches, 8 Strikes, 1 Inning, 2.95 ERA)
Closing: RHP Mike MacDougal (23 Pitches, 11 Strikes, 1 Hit, 1 Run, 1 ER, 2 Walks, 1 Strikeout, 2.21 ERA)
Lineup:
1. SS James Carroll (4 At-bats, 3 Hits, 1 Left on base, .308 AVG)
2. 2B Aaron Miles (4 At-bats, 2 Hits, 2 Strikeouts, 1 Left on base, .282 AVG)
3. LF Marcus Thames (4 At-bats, 1 Strikeout, 5 Left on base, .158 AVG)
4. CF Matt Kemp (4 At-bats, 2 Strikeouts, 1 Left on base, .317 AVG)
5. 3B Juan Uribe (4 At-bats, 2 Hits, 2 Strikeouts, .228 AVG)
--- PR Dee Gordon (1 Run, .000 AVG)
6. 1B Casey Blake (3 At-bats, 2 Strikeouts, 1 Left on base, .267 AVG, Ejected in 6th Inning for arguing called strikeout)
--- 1B James Loney (1 At-bat, 1 Hit, .245 AVG)
7. RF Jerry Sands (2 At-bats, 1 Walk, 1 Strikeout, 1 Left on base, .207 AVG)
--- PH Andre Ethier (1 At-bat, 1 RBI (29), 1 Left on base, .324 AVG)
8. C Rod Barajas (4 At-bats, 2 Strikeouts, 2 Left on base, .208 AVG)
9. SP Ted Lilly (2 At-bats, .000 AVG)
--- PH Tony Gwynn, Jr. (1 At-bat, 1 Hit, .218 AVG)
--- Relief Pitcher (Hawksworth)
--- Relief Pitcher (MacDougal)
--- PH Dioner Navarro (1 At-bat, 1 Strikeout, 1 Left on base, .196 AVG)
James's 2011 Baseball Season
Starting Phillies Organization Pitchers:
RHP Roy Oswalt 1
LHP Cole Hamels 4
LHP Ryan Edell (AA) 1
RHP Joe Blanton 1
RHP Eddie Bonine (AAA) 1
RHP Roy Halladay 1
LHP Ryan Feierabend (AAA) 1
RHP Vance Worley 1
LHP Jesse Biddle (A-) 1
LHP Cliff Lee 1
Opposing Pitchers:
RHP Bud Norris (Astros) 1
RHP Chris Young (Mets) 1
LHP Scott Barnes (AA Akron, Indians Affiliate) 1
RHP Shaun Marcum (Brewers) 1
LHP Andrew Miller (AAA Pawtucket, Redsox Affiliate) 1
RHP Jair Jurrjens (Braves) 1
RHP Josh Johnson (Marlins) 1
RHP Rick VandenHurk (AAA Norfolk, Orioles Affiliate) 1
LHP Jorge De La Ros (Rockies) 1
RHP Johnny Cueto (Reds) 1
RHP Mike Pelfrey (Mets) 1
RHP Scott Copeland (A- Delmarva, Orioles Affiliate) 1
LHP Ted Lilly (Dodgers) 1
Other:
RHP Nic Ungs (Somerset Patriots)
RHP Luke Massetti (Pennsylvania Road Warriors)
Total Games: 14
Non-Phillies Org Games: 1
Phillies Minor League: 2-2
Phillies: 4-5
Overall: 6-7
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