I Finally See The Rocket Launch

Well, it took until his 24th year in the bigs, but i finally got to see "Rocket" Roger Clemens pitch on Wednesday night in Baltimore. He certainly was not the same pitcher of 5, or even 2, years ago, but it was nice to see one of the greatest pitchers of all time. It's too bad he had to be in a Yankee uniform, though.

John Patterson & Buffett Night at the Pfitz

I realized I hadn't written about my P-Nats in a while, and we have had an exciting first couple days of the homestand here at Pfitzner Stadium, so no time like the present!



John Patterson made a rehab start here on Thursday. He didn't look too sharp, but he will have another chance on Tuesday. Having the big-league guys here working on recovering from injuries has been one of the best parts of the job.



Last night was very festive at the Pfitz for Jimmy Buffett night. We broke out the Hawaiian shirts and parrot hats and enjoyed a beautiful Friday night. Island Gerry, a one-man Jimmy Buffett songster, was here doing live music. And I was roped into a cheeseburger-eating contest for a between-innings promotion. And, of course, I won(only by a bite or two). Can't wait to see what tonight brings!

Philly Trip

We had a blast this past weekend as we headed up to Philly to celebrate Mari's birthday and go to a Phillies game. And except for the traffic(can't get away from that!), we all had a good time. We got to tailgate a bit before the game, and then enjoyed a great view behind the plate as the Phils beat the Tigers 6-3. Of course, going to a Phillies game always invokes memories of all those games at the Vet in my childhood. I got a pretty good pic of where the Vet used to be(see below, along with the never-dying original Spectrum).


I also dragged Staci and Ian to Allentown to try to make a contact with the IronPigs. I swung and missed with that, but at least I got a hat with the cool newest IronPig logo on it. And I know what the drive to work would be like from Quakertown.

28 Years Later

Sunday will be 28 years since my first professional game. Unlike most things, however, it does seem that long ago. So much has changed in baseball and, of course, in my life(I was only 5 at the time). What a thrill that I got to see 3 future Hall-of-Famers in Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, and Phil Niekro, along with Pete Rose, who should be. And the first home run I ever saw? Big Bob Horner, one of the most prominent bashers of the day. And one last bit of trivia: the logo that you see above is "Phil and Phillis," which was prominently used by the Phillies during the 1976-79 seasons. Here is the info from that game:

Game Played on Sunday, June 10, 1979 (D) at Veterans Stadium
ATL N 3 0 3 1 1 0 2 0 0 - 10 15 3
PHI N 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 - 3 8 2

Umpires: Jim Quick, Ed Vargo, Paul Pryor, Satch Davidson
Time of Game: 2:32 Attendance: 58707

Starting Lineups:

Atlanta Braves
1. Royster 2b
2. Matthews rf
3. Horner 3b
4. Burroughs lf
5. Bonnell cf
6. Pocoroba c
7. Frias ss
8. Lum 1b
9. Niekro p

Philadelphia Phillies
1. Rose 1b
2. Bowa ss
3. Maddox cf
4. Luzinski lf
5. Schmidt 3b
6. McBride rf
7. McCarver c
8. Harrelson 2b
9. Carlton p

Happy Birthday Mari!

One of my best, and my longest, friend Mari celebrates her birthday today. Mari and I have been friends for over 19 years now, and everytime her brthday rolls around, I think of her 15th birthday, celebrated in her parent's basement with those damn New Kids on the Block records playing. It was right aorund then that we became good friends, and we have remained that way ever since. So have a good day, Mari and we'll drink it up next weekend in honor of your 15th..err, 33rd birthday!