[Previous entry: "Project Baseball: Part 14"] [Next entry: "All Things Considered..."]
06/08/2005: "Project Baseball: Parts 15 & 16"
Philadelphia was the site for the latest installments of Project Baseball. And Citizens Bank Park is home to the world's largest picture of the Phillie Phanatic, in perhaps something of an homage to Che Guevara. My friend Will and I have thought for some time that Yankee Stadium should have an equally large photo of George Steinbrenner, only perched above the playing field, and with the ability to shoot lasers at any underperforming players.
So far as I know, this Phanatic, which doesn't face the field anyway, has no laser capabilities. If it did, David Bell would surely be covered in laser welts by now.
June 6
Diamondbacks at Phillies
Seats: Field Section 133 (behind third base)
Who I Went With: Nobody
Hot Dogs: 1
Beers: 2
Game Highlight: Running into Hank, the guy responsible for my employment at the Daily News, as I wandered around the park in the middle innings of a 10-8 Diamondbacks win that wasn't as close as the score indicated until the Phillies scored four runs in the ninth inning and left the tying runs on base when Todd Pratt struck out. Always nice to see a friendly face you haven't seen in a while, and had no reason to ever expect to in Philadelphia.
It Was Over When: Arizona's Luis Gonzalez helped a serviceman stay on his feet when the man was about to pass out from heat exhaustion during a pregame ceremony. Gonzalez held the flag for the national anthem as the Diamondbacks' trainer assisted the serviceman, then had two hits and scored two runs. I guess no good deed goes unrewarded.
Go To The Ballpark & See Something You've Never Seen Before: I've had ice cream in a hat before, but it's always been soft serve. This time, it was actual scoops of something called "Graham Slam" from Turkey Hill, graham cracker flavored ice cream with little bits of chocolate in it. Delicious when served in a plastic helmet. As for the game, the Diamondbacks scored five runs in the first, then two more in the second, so I walked around the ballpark for most of the middle innings before the Phillies' rally fell short.
June 7
Rangers at Phillies
Seats: Terrace Deck Section 431 (left field)
Who I Went With: Brad, Czar, Haggs, Kris, Ryan, Will
Hot Dogs: 2
Beers: 2
Game Highlight: With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning, the Phillies had an 8-4 lead and were poised to break the game open. Only thing was, pitcher Rheal Cormier was due up. Cormier, a lefty specialist, was scheduled to face the Rangers' slugging shortstop, Michael Young, to lead off the eighth, so clearly the situation called for a pinch hitter. Charlie Manuel, of course, lets Cormier hit. He strikes out, there's a chorus of boos, and then he gives up a homer to Young leading off the eighth, followed by more boos. The Phillies didn't give up another run, but only in Philadelphia could an otherwise solid win over a good ballclub like the Rangers be sullied so much by an incident of bad managing and terse fan reaction that it would be the most memorable moment in the game.
It Was Over When: Billy Wagner came into the game and had his best stuff. The Rangers' lineup is good enough to score three runs in any inning, so it was important for Wagner to slam the door.
Go To The Ballpark & See Something You've Never Seen Before: I've seen pitchers pinch run before, but I don't think I've ever seen one then stay in the game to pitch. In this case, Texas manager Buck Showalter made the curious decision to have lefty Ron Mahay run for Alfonso Soriano in the seventh inning. Mahay didn't wind up doing any actual running as the Rangers went quietly out of the inning, but the move looked particularly odd after Mahay gave up three runs in the bottom of the frame. Why not leave him in the bullpen to throw a few more warm-ups and have a starting pitcher or anyone else pinch run in that spot? It made no sense, and I've never seen it... until now.
Season Totals (16 Games)
Teams Seen (16 of 30): Angels (1-0), Astros (0-1), Athletics (0-1), Braves (1-0), Cardinals (1-0), Diamondbacks (1-0), Devil Rays (1-0), Mariners (0-2), Marlins (1-0), Mets (3-3), Phillies (1-2), Rangers (0-1), Red Sox (1-1), Reds (0-1), Tigers (0-1), Yankees (5-3)
Hot Dogs: 23
Beers: 11
Game Log
Home team in CAPS
April 5: YANKEES 4, Red Sox 3
April 6: Red Sox 7, YANKEES 3
April 13: METS 1, Astros 0 (11)
April 17: Marlins 5, METS 2
April 19: Devil Rays 6, YANKEES 2
April 27: Braves 8, METS 4
April 27: Angels 5, YANKEES 1
May 5: METS 7, Phillies 5
May 7: YANKEES 5, Athletics 0
May 10: YANKEES 7, Mariners 4
May 11: YANKEES 13, Mariners 9
May 15: Cardinals 4, METS 2
May 18: METS 10, Reds 6
May 25: YANKEES 4, Tigers 2
June 6: Diamondbacks 10, PHILLIES 8
June 7: PHILLIES 8, Rangers 5
Games decided in the 8th inning or later: 4 of 16
Home Runs (43)
Bobby Abreu, Phillies (off Ron Mahay)
Garret Anderson, Angels (off Mike Mussina)
Rod Barajas, Rangers (off Jon Lieber)
Wilson Betemit, Braves (off Tom Glavine)
Bret Boone, Mariners (off Carl Pavano)
Hank Blalock, Rangers (off Jon Lieber)
Mike Cameron, Mets (off Matt Morris and Danny Graves)
Sean Casey, Reds (off Tom Glavine)
Jose Cruz Jr., Diamondbacks (off Geoff Geary)
Victor Diaz, Mets (off A.J. Burnett)
Steve Finley, Angels (off Mike Mussina)
Cliff Floyd, Mets (off Mike Hampton)
Jason Giambi, Yankees (off Hideo Nomo)
Ken Griffey Jr., Reds (off Manny Aybar)
Raul Ibanez, Mariners (off Carl Pavano)
Derek Jeter, Yankees (off Keith Foulke and Matt Thornton)
Andruw Jones, Braves (off Heath Bell)
John Mabry, Cardinals (off Aaron Heilman)
Tino Martinez, Yankees (off Tim Wakefield, Joe Blanton, Aaron Sele and Matt Thornton)
Hideki Matsui, Yankees (off Matt Clement)
Doug Mientkiewicz, Mets (off Mike Hampton)
David Ortiz, Red Sox (off Carl Pavano)
Eddie Perez, Braves (off Tom Glavine)
Eduardo Perez, Devil Rays (2 off Randy Johnson)
Mike Piazza, Mets (off Tim Worrell)
Jorge Posada, Yankees (off J.J. Putz)
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (off Tim Wakefield and Jarrod Washburn)
Jimmy Rollins, Phillies (off Mike DeJean)
Reggie Sanders, Cardinals (off Aaron Heilman)
Richie Sexson, Mariners (off Carl Pavano)
Gary Sheffield, Yankees (off Matt Thornton)
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners (off Carl Pavano)
Jason Varitek, Red Sox (off Mariano Rivera)
Chris Woodward, Mets (off Eric Milton)
David Wright, Mets (off Danny Graves)
Michael Young, Rangers (off Rheal Cormier)
Three-Hit Games (17)
Garret Anderson, Angels (April 27)
Sean Casey, Reds (May 18 -- five hits)
Derek Jeter, Yankees (April 19)
Andruw Jones, Braves (April 27)
Kenny Lofton, Phillies (June 6, June 7)
Hideki Matsui, Yankees (April 5)
Kevin Millar, Red Sox (April 6)
Bill Mueller, Red Sox (April 5)
David Ortiz, Red Sox (April 6)
Mike Piazza, Mets (May 5 -- four hits, May 18 -- four hits)
Jorge Posada, Yankees (May 11)
Jose Reyes, Mets (May 18)
Jimmy Rollins, Phillies (June 6)
Gary Sheffield, Yankees (April 27)
Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners (May 11)
Three-RBI Games (16)
Garret Anderson, Angels (April 27)
Miguel Cabrera, Marlins (April 17)
Sean Casey, Reds (May 18 -- four RBI)
Shawn Green, Diamondbacks (June 6 -- four RBI)
Raul Ibanez, Mariners (May 11)
John Mabry, Cardinals (May 15)
Tino Martinez, Yankees (May 11)
Hideki Matsui, Yankees (May 11)
Eduardo Perez, Devil Rays (April 19)
Mike Piazza, Mets (May 5)
Placido Polanco, Phillies (June 7)
Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (May 7)
Jimmy Rollins, Phillies (May 5)
Richie Sexson, Mariners (May 11)
Gary Sheffield, Yankees (May 11)
Chase Utley, Phillies (June 6)
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