I Doth Protest: Trying To Sort Today's Debacle Between The Phillies And The Marlins

In a season where Wilson Valdez played 18 innings in the infield, pitched the 19th, and became the winning pitcher after starting in the field for the first time since Babe Ruth, incredibly, that is no longer the strangest Phillies game of the season. That honor now belongs to today's Phillies-Marlins game which ended on a walkoff walk. Though it was not the 3rd walkoff walk of the 2011 season that made it bizarre and strange, but rather the 6th inning where Hunter Pence hit a deep fly ball to right that was initially called a double before being reviewed and (rightly) determining that there was fan interference on the play. Now whether or not Bryan Petersen would have actually made that catch is certainly suspect at best. It looked like his glove was closing as the ball was the falling down and it would ultimately bounce away from him, however, that is not for sure. What is known is a fan definitively reached over the wall and made sure Petersen had no chance of making what may have been one of the great plays of the day. That is certain.

Now if only it were that simple. Where the controversy occurs is how the umpires went about today's festivities.

That the exact written rules for instant replay are not available online do not make things easier in judging if Joe West acted properly or not. This is what we know. Instant replay is used for reviewing home runs. This was ruled a double turned to an out based on fan interference. A home run does not factor into that at all, although if the umps wanted to review to see if it was home run, then they can make the call that they made today.

Joe West said Charlie Manuel requested a review. Charlie Manuel said he did not request a review. The rules say a manager does not need to make a request for there to be a review. Judging from the video that it never appears Charlie Manuel approaches the umpires asking for a review certainly does not lend credit to Joe West's case. Jack McKeon, on the other hand, does appear engaged with the officials. It is highly doubtful he would be requesting the umpires see if that play should result in two runs for the other team.

Joe West would go on to say, "We’ve got a decision as to whether the spectator inference happened over the fence or before the fence."

The question here is about the process, not about the results of that process. It certainly appears that at the very best there was a stretching of the rules to get where they got to, and if not, then a lot of lying on the part of Joe West after the game. Whether or not they got the call right, I believe they did, but at the same time, it is a stretch to say that the Bryan Petersen making that catch is a given. According to Rule 3.16, "If spectator interference clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball, the umpire shall declare the batter out." It is unknown if the catch would have been made, but that fan reached over the wall and clearly prevented denied him that chance. But were the umps allowed to review it?

That's the question MLB will be asking when they rule whether or not to uphold the Phillies' official protest of the game. So much has been said, and the instant replay rules are not readily available online preventing me from definitively for sure, but given Joe West's comments, it certainly appears suspect. It's been 25 years since a protest has last been upheld. Regardless of it MLB should uphold the protest, it certainly would be shocking if they did based alone on their dealing with the umpires and historical precedence.

Can We Please End This Nonsense About Citizens Bank Park Being A Bandbox?

The Marlins poll question for the day:

"How would you classify CBP?"

A. Bandbox
B. Cozy
C. Hitter Friendly."

To which my answer would be D. Neutral.

"Oooh, oooh, Justin, but didn't you hear John Smoltz and the Marlins announcers and everyone else in the mainstream media?! Citizens Bank Park is such a bandbox!"

I hate to break this to you, I am sorry, but your heroes in the mainstream media are wrong. Citizens Bank Park is not a bandbox.

I invite you to play around with ESPN's Park Factors chart and see this for yourself. Compare it to the likes of Coors Field, Rangers Ballpark, AT&T Park, Petco Park, and Dodgers Stadium. Feel free to go back a few years and look at the long term trends. This is not a 1-year aberration. Here is a further analysis of this from October 2010.

It may seem unbelievable, but it is true. Citizens Bank Park is a neutral Major League Baseball park. Believe it, Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton, it is true. CBP is neutral. Now go find another lie to feed your audience as fact.

A Night Of Nakedness

Tonight's sports games really stripped their games down to the raw, naked core. No, really, that is what happened.

First there was a streaker at the Cubs-Marlins game...

I'd add try to find and link to unedited photo/video screencap revealing everything for you colossal perverts out there, but given that tan line, that is something I don't think the horniest of people want to see.

"Amusing things amuse little minds." - Chris Pronger talking about Ben Eager's reaction to Chris Pronger taking the puck after the Blackhawks won Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  While that was a throwaway line not meant to be used 11 and a half months later, it did hold true for what happened just a few hours after the Marlins streaker took to Sun Life Stadium like a bulb of gas.  The pea-brained Eager decided it would be a good idea to take 6 total penalties, 4 of which he sat in the penalty box for.  Outside of the fact that remembering one sentence, let alone a whole rulebook, is hard for Eager, I think I may have found another alternative explanation as to why Ben Eager took the penalties that he did.  Just look at what was waiting for him in the penalty box.

If ever there was a logical explanation for pure stupidity, this is it right here.

Click here to see the unedited/uncensored version of the photo, as seen on CBC.

Philadelphia Phillies Vs. Florida Marlins: Live Journal

May 29, 2010 was a special day in Philadelphia sports history. Not only were the Philadelphia Flyers playing in their first Stanley Cup Finals game since 1996, but Roy Halladay took his talents to South Beach for an unforgettable evening of baseball. Only 19 times previous had a MLB pitcher thrown a perfect game. Roy Halladay was going to make it 20.

But what you may not have known about that night is after the Flyers game, I went back and watched the perfect game and wrote down notes in a notebook, as if it were a live blog I were conducting. For the first time ever, I am sharing with you these notes and will publish in this blog as they happen during the game. Think of it as an old school AA live blog, except everything has been previously written. Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

Line up

Phillies
Victorino
Valdez
Utley
Howard
Werth
Ibanez
Castro
Ruiz
Halladay

Marlins
Coghlan
Sanchez
Ramirez
Cantu
Uggla
Ross
Hayes
Maybin
Johnson

1st Inning

Josh Johnson on the mound. Shane Victorino leads off the game with a fly out. 1st pitch swinging too. Consider that something I've never seen before. Isn't that what Jimmy Rollins is for? Okay, at least you are taking pitches, Valdez. Ooh, a double for Valdez. Now that's literally something I've never seen before. The Marlins have some noise makers for this game that sound literally like vuvuzelas. Well, Wheels called them a buzzing noise. They are inaudible through the TV because it is impossible to hear 2 people making noise from the stands through TV, so I don't know for sure. Ryan Howard flies out to end the inning: Now that's money well spent.

Halladay's turn at the mound for the first. Coghlan thought that was Ball 4. Imagine if it was. Bad acting job, bad acting job. Roy Halladay seems to be getting his pitch count worked early. At this rate, there is no way he finishes this game. Hanley Ramirez is a lazy ass. For the 3rd straight batter, Halladay has gotten behind in the pitch count. Ramirez left the plate early because he thought Strike 2 was Ball 4. Again, lazy. Inning over. At this rate, no way Halladay goes 9 innings.

2nd Inning

Phillies offense has been in a slump lately. Good thing there is no chance of that lasting long. Nope, not with these guys. They'll be out of it in no time. Werth grounds out, Ibanez flies out. So no time is obviously not right now, I see. Josh Johnson, now there is an early Cy Young candidate for you. Thank goodness the Phillies have Juan Castro as a defensive utility man. And he can hit too! This utility man does it all. Roy Halladay is one of MLB's best pitchers, but I think he also has to be considered one of MLB's worst hitters.

Yet another 3 ball count and long at-bat. I don't think Halladay has it tonight. I blinked and the inning ended. Yeesh Roy works fast.

3rd Inning

Shane Victorino is an imbecile. Whoa, another hit for Valdez? Is this even humanly possible for him? Chase Utley time. The owner of the Marlins is sitting there surrounded by empty seats. He actually is sitting there and sees how embarrassingly empty this ball park is, in large part because of his dumb ideas. I wonder what stupid idea he will come up with next? LOL MAYBIN! He misplays a routine fly ball and Valdez scores from 1st. A lulzy moment indeed. Ryan Howard: Earning his absurd contract one hard hit single at a time. Bleh, Werth. Why did the Phillies sign Raul Ibanez to a 3-year contract? He is extremely un-clutch these days. Is that even a word?

2 pitch AB. Yes, Tom, being a major league pitcher is a special thing. I love how Victorino caught that ball inches behind Jayson Werth. What happens if they collide? McCarthy: "He gets Johnson swinging." 9 up, 9 down for Roy. Not too shabby, but then again, Joe Blanton almost always has a point in the game where he retires 9 straight.

4th Inning

Sarge time! Maybin catches this fly ball hit his way. You have redeemed yourself well, Cameron. Single off the wall for Chooch. I count 3 people sitting in those seats above the Teal Monster. Did Halladay just strike out bunting? Brian Bocock could teach him a thing or 2 about hitting. No, really. Halladay is so bad that even lessons from Bocock would improve him. Does Victorino ever not pop out or fly out?

If Chris Coghlan is even remotely as good as we was last year, this former rookie of the year along with that Stanton kid could be something special in Florida. Oh, so that sound we can't hear is a tambourine! They gave away tambourines! Yeah, I've got nothing. Ah, Gaby Sanchez, such a friendly looking fellow. If there is a guy who is not going to get involved in a brawl of some sort, it's Gaby Sanchez. He wouldn't harm a fly. "Guy has a ball, a glove, and a tambourine. Your thought is what is wrong with the picture?" Probably the fact he has them all at a Florida Marlins game. Maybin fucked up at the plate this time. Then again, Roy Halladay has settled in real nicely. Forget all I said about pitch count in the 1st 2 innings. Quick note: Halladay has not allowed a base runner through 4. Probably won't be important in the grand scheme of things, though.

5th Inning

Valdez leads off by getting an out. Yep, that's the Wilson Valdez I know. Ramirez stepped up to make a play. When the guy is not being a lazy ass, he's a decent player. Oh, ho hum, 1-2-3 inning for Josh Johnson. Yeah, this guy is a good pitcher too.

Nice defense by Utley. He is, in fact, the man. 3 ball count to Uggla and Roy gets him to fly out. I could get used to seeing these Halladay-Johnson pitching duels. Man, they are fun to watch. I think Roy's innings are getting quicker and quicker as the game goes along.

6th Inning

Tom McCarthy and Sarge are talking about Milt Thompson, the hitting coach of one of the best offenses in all of baseball. That guy must have job security like you wouldn't believe. When Werth flails aimlessly, it really is a sight to behold. Ibanez goes down. Castro singles. He may be no Polanco, but he can fill in admirably and is not Bruntlett bad with the bat. And Ruiz kills it with a ground out.

7 strike outs for Halladay after Hayes goes down flailing. 5.1 innings and still no base-runner, maybe this will be special after all. Ball hit to Valdez who makes a great throw to get a flying Maybin. Roy is so amazing that that is probably the play of the game so far. And once Johnson goes down, McCarthy is so kind to mention that Halladay has retired all 18 batters.

7th Inning

Roy can't hit. Woohoo, single for Victorino. He's earning the money he got in arbitration this off-season. Wilson Valdez grounds into the world's easiest double play to end the inning. I'll say this much, if the Phillies ever need to rely on that useless turd Valdez to fill in for any long periods of time, this team is fucking screwed this year. Get well soon, Jimmy Rollins, because if you don't, this team is utterly hopeless.

Coghlan, Sanchez (who flew out on what would have been Ball 4), Ramirez (who also swung at a Ball 4). It's fucking surgical tonight for Roy. You are doing your best job to jinx this effort, TMac. A very fine one indeed.

8th inning

Clay Hensley in for Josh Johnson. As Halladay sits alone there in the dugout, I wonder, how he can watch the game and not psych himself out. Utley flies out to the deepest part of a deep ball park. More shots of Jeffrey Loria. Again, he is probably concocting some crazy scheme to get laughed at as we speak. Long at-bat but down goes Howard. And so does Werth. Quickly.

Halladay nearly hit Cantu. He promptly hits it hard to Castro who makes a throw to 1st to get Cantu. If that is Greg Dobbs playing 3rd this game, the perfect game/no-hitter is done with. You can begin to feel this night being special. Uggla strikes out. Pop up! Halladay is 3 outs away from history.

9th Inning

Come on Phillies! Either score a shitload of runs or get out of this quickly so Roy can pitch in the 9th and my heart can stop racing at 1,000 mph. 2 down and no one on for Ruiz. This has been the longest 0-2 AB in the history of mankind. Ground out. Roy Halladay has a chance at history now.

Mike Lamb pitching for Hayes. Lamb sends Victorino to the warning track to catch a fly out. This huge ball park is a great thing sometimes. Wes Helms is pinch hitting with Roy 2 away from greatness. Wheels can barely contain is excitement. 1 OUT AWAY! Ronnie Paulino is the last chance for the Marlins to break it up. 1-2 the count. Wheels is literally choked up in the booth. "Tambourines coming in handy now." That is what TMac thinks of in this situation? The damn tambourines! Ground to Valdez, THROW TO HOWARD IN TIME AND ROY HALLADAY HAS THROWN A PERFECT GAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just like in life, our Roy is perfect. Now excuse me while I sleep off the heartache of having to watch the Flyers play the worst Stanley Cup Finals game in the history of history. Goodnight, Journal.

Celebrate The Phillies Triumphant Return To 1st Place By Grabbing A Boob!

I'm fucking high on life right now. Wow. What a game.

(Hat tip to The Shibe Times)

Roy Halladay Is Awesome

There are several reasons why I like Roy Halladay other than the fact that he is an amazing pitcher. For starters, he is as hard a worker as any pitcher out there. Also, he is a humble guy and a class act the likes of which you do not find every day in major American professional sports. Case and point, Roy Halladay has decided to thank all of his teammates who helped make the perfect game on May 29, 2010 possible. From the Twitter account of Delaware County Times beat writer Ryan Lawrence.

That is simply awesome. I just hope he remembers to send one to Juan Castro.....

Update: Per Ryan Lawrence, Juan Castro will get a watch, as will essentially everyone was a part of the Phillies team that day, whether they physically played in the game or not (i.e. bullpen pitchers and bench players are getting watches as well). Also, per Matt Gelb, Milt Thompson is receiving one as well. For a little more about Roy's presenting of the watches, here is an article from Gelb's blog, The Phillies Zone

The righthander purchased around 60 Baume & Mercier watches to commemorate his perfect game May 29. He gave out the watches as gifts to everyone in the clubhouse — all of the players who were on the active roster then, the entire coaching staff, all clubhouse personnel (including bat boy Rob DiClementi), training and video staff as well as public relations officials.

The watches were enclosed in brown boxes with an inscription on the front: “We did it together. Thanks, Roy Halladay.”

“Unbelievable,” Raul Ibanez said as he opened his. “Wow.”

It’s not unusual for a pitcher to reward his teammates for a milestone like a perfect game. Halladay went beyond that.

Each watch was engraved on the back with the date of the game and the linescore. Every watch was personalized, the person’s name engraved on the back of their watch.

“That’s awesome,” Ryan Howard said, as he inspected the thick instruction manual that came with every watch.

[...]

A little more than an hour before first pitch, the players sat at their lockers, finagling with the watches. Halladay, from the corner of the room, watched and smiled.

Brad Lidge shook his head in disbelief. He wasn’t even in Miami the night Halladay threw the perfect game. Instead, he was pitching in a rehab game 100 miles north in Port St. Luice, Fla.

Like I said above, simply awesome.

This Is Still The Major Leagues

4.1 IP 6 H 6 ER 2 BB 4 K 1 HR’s allowed

That is Stephen Strasburg’s stat line tonight against the Marlins. This is the first time Strasburg has had to face a team for a second time. What did he do the first time against the Marlins? 6 scoreless innings.

Welcome to the Majors, kid.

Follow me on Twitter @kt1000

Soneone At ESPN Was Lacking A Brain Last Night

(Hat tip to Meech on Twitter)

Some Things Never Change

On a day with Cliff Lee to the Mets trade rumors and Chase Utley and Placido Polanco got sent to the DL and Greg Dobbs and Brian Bocock were called up, all is well that ends well.

Brian Schneider and Wilson Valdez each hit a 3 run HR for the Phillies in the early going of tonight's game at Cincinnati only to see that lead slowly chipped away at. By the 9th inning, it was 6-3 Phillies with Brad Lidge on the mound trying to get the save. One 3-run HR later, the game was tied and Brad Lidge had blown yet another save. With a little bit of help on a ground ball the very next pitch, the Phillies got out of the inning tied.

And it is at that point, the magic began happening. Enter Arthur Rhodes, a Cincinnati Reds pitcher who had not allowed a run in over 30 innings. Howard gets on base. Werth gets on base. Ibanez doubles Howard home. Francisco singles home Werth. Valdez squeezes home Ibanez. 9-6 Phillies. J.C. Romero pitched the 10th and got the save that Brad Lidge blew. But the night was not a complete loss for Lidge, he is the winning pitcher in this game! (hey, folks, this is why wins and losses for a pitcher are the single most pointless stat in sports).

Anyway, moving on to the Phillies biggest rival, the New York Mets. The team that started out so happy at the thought they might be trading for Cliff Lee had a valiant comeback to tie the game against the Marlins at 6 in the top of the 9th. Unfortunately for the Mets, the bottom of the 9th happened and Hanley Ramirez hit a walkoff.

The day may have started somber, but when it comes to on the field happenings, some things never change.

Now You Can Say You Saw Roy Halladay Pitch A Perfect Game Live At Sun Life Stadium!

Everyone and their mother know that Roy Halladay pitched MLB's 20th perfect game at Sun Life Stadium on May 29, 2010, so there is no use in talking about that anymore. But a whole lot more people are going to say they saw it live now!

Over 25,000 fans were there to see it live (click here if you want to read an awesome account of a Phillies fan who was there), but now, there are going to be quite a few liars among us. Why is that, you say? The Marlins are selling unused tickets! At the right price, you (yeah, you!) can say you saw Roy Halladay pitch a perfect game at Sun Life Stadium and have the ticket to prove it! From the Palm Beach Post.

Marlins President David Samson doesn't understand all the fuss about his team selling unused tickets from Roy Halladay's perfect game.

"It's not as though there's consumer fraud going on. There are people who are well aware of the result. We're not misleading anybody. No one is buying a ticket thinking they're going to the game. No one is saying 'I wonder who wins?' '

The Marlins sold 3,000 tickets in the first four hours Tuesday, mostly upper deck seats at about $15 each, for a game that was played Saturday in front of 25,086.

The decision to sell the unused tickets has attracted national attention - from debates on ESPN's SportsCenter to an endorsement from Dom Imus. One issue is that the unused tickets - which will be sold all year to meet demand - will count toward the team's final attendance tally.

"We're a low-revenue team trying to raise revenue. I would not have expected this to get any attention," Samson said. "It's baseball history. We're just selling tickets."

The Chicago White Sox sold un-used tickets from Mark Buehrle's perfect game last year, but that drew little notice because it was the home team's pitcher who threw the perfect game. Samson dismissed the notion that the Marlins were profiting from another team's feat.

Most sales have come from the Philadelphia area.

Now if I had gone to that game, then I might be a bit miffed that there are unused tickets being legally sold by the Florida Marlins organization, but I am not, and if a Phillies fan (or a baseball fan/collector in general) wants to purchase the tickets as a souvenir that will give them something to remember the game by, then I really can't say I have a problem with that. And people are buying them, so like it or not, it is working. Sure it could get a bit irritating that made up accounts of the game will be going around, but to those that just want a part of history, I do not see a problem with the unused ticket sales.

On Halladay And Perfection

Now that I have finally gotten the opportunity to watch Halladay's perfect game in its entirety, I can actually write about the game instead of just posting an image with a link to highlights.

Only one problem with trying to write about: I really do not have many words to describe it. It was as masterful pitching performance as there has ever been. Often times in no-hitters/perfect games, there are some hard hit balls that somehow end up in the gloves of the defenders. Take my night at Citizens Bank Park last Saturday watching Dice-K throw 7.2 innings of no-hit baseball for example. There were 3 or 4 really hard-hit balls that could have gone for basehits if not for a tremendous catch/play. Saturday night at Sun Life Stadium, there was nary a hard hit ball. The most notable defensive plays was a throw by Juan Castro from 3rd to get out Cameron Maybin by half a step, a diving stop at 3rd by Castro, and I'd even throw the oft-replayed last out as the #3 toughest defensive play. And that was just a slow-roller heading towards the hole, but slow enough for Valdez to scoop it up, turn around, and throw out Paulino with plenty of time to spare. If you want to add lucky plays, there was luck at the fly ball in the bottom of the 9th was hit in Sun Life Stadium and not Citizens Bank Park, where it would have likely been a homerun. Yes, venue for these types of things does matter. Yes, playing in a stadium with a real deep centerfield aided Halladay in his quest of history. But you play with what you have to play with. And Halladay did just that on May 29, 2010.

The Phillies lone run in the game came on a 3-base error in the 3rd inning by Cameron Maybin. Despite working Josh Johnson's pitch count rather well and getting hits, the Phillies could not do enough to generate runs on the Marlins' ace. For those that like pondering stuff, here is something to ponder. Including Halladay's perfecto, 6 perfect games have ended with a 1-0 score. In all 6 instances, the run was unearned.

On Saturday, Roy Halladay was perfect, in every sense of the word. He was flawless. He had 2 3-ball counts in the 1st inning. For the rest of the game, he had a combined total of 5. Roy Halladay was in a zone with Carlos Ruiz and nothing was breaking it on that hot, humid night in South Florida. The result: the 2nd perfect game in Philadelphia Phillies history and the the 20th perfect game in MLB history.

MLB Video: All 27 outs

MLB Video: The final out as called by the Phillies TV announcers, the Phillies radio announcers, the Marlins TV announcers, and the Marlins radio announcers.

Perfection, Thy Name Is Roy!

Link to perfecto sealing out

Originally Scheduled At Dolphin Stadium Land Shark Stadium, Super Bowl XLIV Will Now Be Played At Sun Life Stadium

If you've been reading up on the news today (or know anything about where the Miami Dolphins and Florida Marlins play home games) then you know that the Super Bowl is not actually changing venues, just the venue is changing it's name for the 6th time. That's right, Super Bowl XLIV will be played at Sun Life Stadium! From The Miami Herald

Officials from Toronto-based Sun Life Financial said Wednesday they hope their new stadium naming rights deal with the Miami Dolphins will result in significantly higher name recognition in the United States.

The impact should be immediate, because Sun Life Stadium will play host to the Jan. 31 Pro Bowl on ESPN and Feb. 7 Super Bowl on CBS. Dolphins chief executive officer Mike Dee said the NFL allowed the stadium to change the name in time for both marquee events.

``We've got great presence in Canada and internationally, but we've really lacked brand presence in the U.S.,'' Sun Life Financial U.S. president Westley Thompson said. ``Our efforts are to get our name out so sooner or later, you will know our name. This is another step.''

Priscilla Brown, Sun Life's senior vice president, said the naming rights agreement is for five years, with an option for a minimum of five additional years. An official close to the negotiations said Sun Life's rights fee is less than the $7.5 million reported by Sports Business Journal. The deal is believed to be worth at least $5 million per year.

``Miami was the total package,'' Brown said. ``Three teams playing here was a huge factor.''

The stadium plays host to the Dolphins, University of Miami football team and the Florida Marlins, but the Marlins will move to their own ballpark in 2012.

Sun Life Financial, whose U.S. offices are outside Boston, bills itself as a ``leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of protection and wealth accumulation products and services to individuals and corporate customers.'' Thompson said the company has $385 billion in assets.

Brown said the region is appealing to Sun Life because ``we have a number of agents who represent our products in South Florida and group offices [here]. The South Florida market is very important to the financial services industry. It's where most of the boomers, where most of the financial services profits will come from in future years.''

Wednesday's announcement was made in front of more than 150 fans at the stadium and included a performance by K.C. and the Sunshine Band. The name will be the stadium's seventh since it opened as Joe Robbie Stadium in 1987. Its other names: Pro Player Park, Pro Player Stadium, Dolphins Stadium, Dolphin Stadium and Land Shark Stadium.

The facility had been called Dolphin Stadium for the past two weeks. Land Shark Lager's eight-month naming-rights deal, which did not include a rights fee, expired after the Jan. 5 FedEx Orange Bowl.

Dee noted the agreement is ``the first naming rights deal done of significance in the post recession period. It was love at first sight.''

Was I the only one that didn't know the name went back to Dolphin Stadium after the Orange Bowl?

And I thought that the corporate sponsorship of The Center that hosts the Flyers and the Sixers was crazy. From the Corestates Center to the First Union Center (boy I miss the days of calling our sports arena the F.U. Center) to the Wachovia Center, and with the merger of Wachovia and Wells Fargo currently happening, it will likely be the Wells Fargo Center by the start of next season. And to think, this is a building that opened in 1996! It's crazy the lack of consistency of some of these building names, although I do think that now Sun Life Stadium in Florida. From the time period between January 21, 2009 and January 21, 2010, the name changed 3 times!

Fox Has Made A Rather Odd Selection To Call Saturday's Marlins-Phillies Game

Why Fox even booked the Marlins and Phillies is beyond me. Despite the struggles, most people would have guessed that the Phillies would have clinched by then, but I guess this is what happens in a year with only 2 interesting races and you need 3 games to book. Regardless, when Fox moves their top baseball PbP guys to football coverage, baseball coverage is given the cold shoulder and Fox literally finds whomever they can get their hands on to call the regional games in September. Well, this week is no different, as not only is Bert Blyleven doing the Twins game, but the Phillies game has quite a familiar PbP guy.......Tom McCarthy!

I know he did some Fox games last year (I don't recall if they did Phillies games or not), but it seems odd that Fox (and TBS for that matter) elects to use homer announcers on non-local broadcasts. McCarthy will be paired with Mark Grace for this Saturday game that starts at 4:10.

Your final regular season MLB announcing schedule (Awful Announcing)

Phillies NL East Clinching Live Blog Part 1

Hopefully this is part 1 of 1!

THE MAGIC NUMBER'S DOWN TO 1!!!

Phillies 7, Astros 4
Marlins 5, Braves 4

HELLZ YEAH, BITCHES!!!!

Possible live blog tomorrow of the potential NL East clincher. I have a paper due on Friday, hence the word possible. If I can get my ass working on it a bit despite my 5 clases, then I'll be satisfied enough to do the blog.

More On Victorino And Rapuano

I already have a post on this, and while I don't have much more to say, MLB (shockingly, I might add) put up a whole long article and the video of which I originally wanted you to see on this. Again, because of MLB Nazism, I can't embed the video so you'll have to bare with me. Click on this link and hit the large play button in order to watch the video, and I missed this at first, but to all those who disagree with me, Chris Wheeler hits the nail right on the head in this vid.

Rapuano said that after he called a ball on Rodrigo Lopez's 0-2 offering to Marlins third baseman Wes Helms, he saw Victorino waving his arms in disapproval. The umpire then stepped toward the outfield and gestured as a warning.

Then he saw Victorino wave his arms a second time. So without hesitation, Rapuano pointed again at Victorino and this time delivered the ejection signal.

"I gave him the chance to not do it again," said Rapuano, who has 18 1/2 years of Major League service time. "He's right in the line of sight and he's out in front of everybody, waving his arms in disgust of a pitch that I called. It is very simple."

Victorino recalled only gesturing once.

"I've got to hold myself accountable," Victorino said following the Phillies' 12-3 loss. "It's not something that you should be doing, but I've done it 1,000 times this year. It's not the first time -- and I'm not trying to show anybody up. Just things got built up from the half-inning before that, and it's just one of those things I let my emotions get the best of me."

In the bottom of the sixth, with runners on first and third, Ryan Howard was rung up on a close full-count fastball that Marlins starter Josh Johnson called the "pitch of the game." Howard -- and, evidently, some of his teammates -- felt it was low. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel also thought it was a ball, but one too close to take.

Victorino, after some initial confusion about the ejection, sprinted at full speed from center field to the area behind home plate. The 28-year-old waved off Howard and violently shoved catcher Paul Bako to get close to Rapuano before he was eventually restrained by Howard and Bako.

"I was like, 'OK, I might as well get my money's worth, I'm gone,'" Victorino said. "I definitely had no intention of touching [Rapuano] or anything like that."

Chris Wheeler 1, all those who doubt the call 0.

The point, for those who missed it, was why the fuck would be looking in centerfield at the time in the first place? It's because he knew he fucked up the call and was going to be out to get any Phillie who disagreed in an attempt to silence the naysayers (although he did not take into account 3 innings of merciless heckling from the Philly crowd afterwards). The article also goes on to state how Victorino was more hurt than anything that he would get his first career ejection from one of his favorite umpires, Rapuano, and that Charlie Manuel did not agree with the call, although the fact that Manuel did not blantantly argue the call tipped Rapuano off to the idea that Manuel agreed with him, when in fact, according to Manuel, he did not.

The Phillies need to forget about this mess (or use it as motivation, whatever works) and channel the energy for their upcoming series against the Cubs.

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.

The Marlins And The Dolphins No Longer Play At "Dolphins Stadium"

Keith's Sports Journal had a story on this last week and it was proposed that Dolphins Stadium could be renamed LandShark stadium. Well it turns out, that has become a reality. Yes, there actually is a stadium in the NFL named after a Jimmy Buffet beer! MLB.com has more.

When the Marlins return home from their six-game road trip, they will be entering a shark tank.

What's changed since the team embarked on their away swing to Colorado and Milwaukee is the name of their current home.

On Friday, Dolphin Stadium was officially renamed "LandShark Stadium," as part of a Miami Dolphins business partnership with singer Jimmy Buffett.

Land Shark Lager is a beer developed by Buffett, who is considering buying into the NFL's Dolphins, which are owned by Stephen Ross.

[...]

The name change to LandShark Stadium will last only through the remainder of the Marlins season and the 2009 NFL campaign. The 2010 Super Bowl will be played in Miami.

Since their inaugural 1993 season, the Marlins have shared their stadium with the Dolphins.

In 2012, the Marlins will be moving into their own retractable-roof ballpark on the Orange Bowl grounds in the Little Havana section of Miami. Before that season, the franchise will be renamed the Miami Marlins.

The Miami Marlins??? As if a name change and a new stadium is going to get them to draw more than the dozens of fans they average now. But onto the stadium name change, well, wouldn't the Dolphins and the Marlins sort of object to playing in LandShark Stadium? Oh, and you can definitley expect me to forget about this and continue to call it Dolphins Stadium. The name LandShark just seems so forgettable, if you ask me.