Blame Peyton Manning and Chad Pennington

(Guest posted by James Craven of The O Files)

So, why are wondering that the Phillies and the Marlins are playing a four-game series that begins tonight (7/16) instad of a three game series tomorrow (7/17)? Simple, squatters' rights.

Let me explain. Last September when the baseball schedules came out, the Phillies and the Marlins were slated to have four off days following the All-Star Break. There were three games to have been played on September 21, 22 and 23 in Dolphin/Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphins/Dolphin/LandShark Stadium/Park/Stadium in Miami Gardens.

Fast forward to April, and the release of the 2009 NFL Schedule. September 21: Indianapolis Colts at Maimi Dolphins. Ruh-roh. The Dolphins own the stadum, and forced the Marlins to move that game to tonight, citing eniment domain (they own the stadium). The Marlins for the moment are renters until 2012 when their new park opens at Little Havana on the site of the old Orange Bowl Stadium, and change their name to the Miami Marlins.

There's your answer.

Taking A Look At The Ball Parks Thus Far This Year

This always fascinates me, quite frankly. The answer to the age old question of which ball parks are bandboxes and which ones are no homerun zones. Well, I have the answer below, thanks to the wonderful HitTracker. Listed below is the name of the ballpark, the team that calls that park home, and the number of homers per game. Which is a bigger bandbox? Citizens Bank Park or New Yankee Stadium? Which is deader? CitiField or PETCO Park? What parks are right in the middle? The answer is below as we start with the homerun launching pads and end with the homerun graveyards.

1. New York Yankees - New Yankee Stadium - 3.53
2. Philadelphia Phillies - Citizens Bank Park - 3.03
3. Texas Rangers - Ameriquest Field - 2.74
4. Baltimore Orioles - Oriole Park at Camden Yards - 2.54
5. Milwaukee Brewers - Miller Park - 2.42
6. Arizona Diamondbacks - Chase Field - 2.38
7. Tampa Bay Rays - Tropicana Field - 2.33
8. Toronto Blue Jays - Rogers Centre - 2.32
9. Cincinnati Reds - Great American Ball Park - 2.27
10. Minnesota Twins - Metrodome - 2.26
11. Chicago White Sox - U.S. Cellular Field - 2.15
12. Houston Astros - Minute Maid Park - 2.12
13. Los Angeles Angels - Angels Stadium - 2.10
14. Florida Marlins - Land Shark Stadium - 2.09
15. Colorado Rockies - Coors Field - 2.07
16. Boston Red Sox - Fenway Park - 2.03
17. Chicago Cubs - Wrigley Field - 2.00
18. Cleveland Indians - Jacobs Field - 1.94
19. Detroit Tigers - Comerica Park - 1.82
20. Washington Nationals - Nationals Park - 1.81
21. St. Louis Cardinals - Busch Stadium - 1.78
22. Seattle Mariners - Safeco Field - 1.67
23. New York Mets - Citi Field - 1.66
24. San Diego Padres - PETCO Park - 1.63
25. Oakland Athletics - McAfee Coliseum 1.61
26. Los Angeles Dodgers - Dodger Stadium - 1.44
27. Kansas City Royals - Kauffman Stadium - 1.40
28. Pittsburgh Pirates - PNC Park - 1.28
29. San Francisco Giants - AT&T Park - 1.27
30. Atlanta Braves - Turner Field - 1.13

What strikes me the most is the huge gap between New Yankee Stadium and Citizens Bank Park, and then the gap between Citizens Bank Park and all other 28 stadiums. Maybe it was me being a biased Philly fan, but I would have bet a lot of money on Shitty Field being in the bottom 5 of this list, but once again, what the heck do I know? And I would like to personally thank the New York Yankees for building their new stadium as they have officially replaced Citizens Bank Park as the laughing stock and of MLB.

Ballpark Detail - 2009 Season (HitTracker)