Spring Training 2011 Stop #1: Clearwater

Our long northeast nightmare winter is over. It's 80 degrees and sunny, with the Phillies ready to host the Orioles in Clearwater. Cole Hamels, the youngest of Philadelphia's "Four Aces" got the start and, typical of an early Grapefruit League game, seemed more eager to work specific pitches in his repertoire than treat it totally as a regular game situation.
Above: Orioles manager Buck Showalter still loves that jacket.
Below: A Phillies logo you won't see at Citizens Bank Park.

Above: John Mayberry Junior, who caught my eye two springs ago, now among those trying to win Jayson Werth's old job as the Phils rightfielder.
Below: Of course, he wanted to see The Birds play!
Above: Ryan Howard, who with Werth gone and Chase Utley's knee barking, will have to shoulder more responsibility for the Phils offense, connects against the Orioles lefty Brian Mattusz in the 4th inning. "Outta here" to the left field Tiki Bar.


Last year, Manhattan College product Matt Rizzotti became one of the rising stars in the Phillies farm system (I caught him playing for Reading at New Britain in July). Nice to see him in a Phils uniform, taking over for Ryan Howard in the late innings.

Outfield prospect Michael Martinez, trying to make the Phillies after spending five years in Washington's farm system, lays down a bunt as part of the Phillies come-from-behind rally.
They scored twice in the bottom of the 9th for a 4-3 victory.

Comments

Mike McCann said…
Its fun looking back on these a decade later, knowing how the careers played out of those we see here. Hamels is a borderline Hall of Famers, Mayberry underwhelmed and Rizzotti never made the majors.
That's the beauty of sports. Spontaneous.
June 22, 2021 at 4:19 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rare Remnant of a Lost Ballpark

Image
When the subject of baseball in Brooklyn comes up, the discussion centers around Ebbets Field, the Flatbush venue most famously home to The Boys of Summer.  Those legendary 1940s and '50s teams that featured such historic and beloved players as Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. Ebbets Field hosted its last major league game in 1957 and was torn down during the winter of 1960. But decades earlier, just before World War One, the Dodgers were based in the Park Slope area and played at Washington Park.  Once they moved out, the land was occupied by another stadium, which housed a different franchise.  The upstart Federal League, which played in the 1914 and '15 seasons, had a Brooklyn team called the TipTops.  Owned by a local baking magnate Robert Ward, whose company produced TipTop bread, the club took over the abandoned lot along 3rd Street and built a new brick and steel venue. The only no-hitter in the Federal League's two-year r
Read more

Another Yankee Trade

Image
Yankee fans: here's a last look at shortstop Trey Sweeney .  The 2021 first round draft choice was part of the three player trade with the Dodgers that brings reliever Victor Gonzalez and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas to New York. Now seeking to rebuild their pitching depth after dealing for Juan Soto and Alex Verdugo, the Yanks deemed Sweeney expendable.  While the Louisville native showed promising power in his three seasons with the organization -- he batted only .248 to go with his 36 career homers -- Brian Cashman has committed to Anthony Volpe and Oswald Peraza as his young middle infielders.  So Sweeney became a trade chip. ( My images of Trey Sweeney are from the Somerset/Binghamton AA games on July 15th and September 19th, 2023. )
Read more

Will He Wear Zero in the Bronx?

Image
The Yankees bolstered their starting rotation with Thursday's signing of Marcus Stroman .  The Long Island native, who spent 2019 and '21 with the Mets before moving onto the Cubs, brings a 77-76 career record to the Bronx, along with a recent loyalty to uniform number (?) zero.  If he requests that, he'd become the third Yank to wear it, following the path of Adam Ottavino and Domingo German.  Of course, neither of their Yankee tenures ended all that well -- Ottavino struggled badly in 2020, before reviving his career with the Red Sox and Mets; German's alcohol and domestic violence issues sabotaged such Yankee highlights as last year's perfect game. Can a number truly be lucky? You can understand kids in little league or high school ball wanting to wear 2 in honor of Derek Jeter or 7 for Mickey Mantle.  But is there an heroic ballplayer associated with 0?  The closest I recall comes from pro football, where the Oakland Raiders Hall of Fame center Jim Otto wore 00
Read more