TUESDAY, MARCH 14, 2017
It turned a little chilly today. The temperature topped out at 63 with a stiff wind blowing out of the northwest, or in the ballpark left field to right field. They said it was ten miles an hour, but the gusts seemed like more. The flags on top of the stadium were blowing straight out. I bundled up in a sweat shirt and a jacket. I operate on the theory that I can always take it off, but I canât put it on if I donât have it. I didnât do my laps today, the wind is fierce along the right and centerfield concourse. I wimped out. Looking out at the Braves taking batting practice, they didnât bring many names that I recognized.
A lot of people would say that todayâs game was all about the hitting, but it wasnât. It was really all about the pitching. Eickhoff started the game and it was by far his best outing to date. He pitched 5 scoreless innings allowing just 3 hits and one walk. He struck out 5. McClure is slowly getting the starters stretched out. Benoit, Luis Garcia, Gomez and Rodriguez all followed with scoreless innings. In the end, they pitched a five hit shutout. I thought that Eickhoff and Gomez looked particularly sharp. Eickhoff kept changing speeds very effectively.
This was the Phils day. For the most part, they were the kids trying to make the team. Only Hernandez, Joseph and Galvis were regulars and they only had one hit between them. I guess the kids thought they had something to prove. They collected 11 hits including 5 extra base hits. Stassi must be aware of all of speculation as to whether he will make the team that goes on these chat room sites. He came out like a man on a mission with a homer and a triple in 4 attempts. The homer was his fifth of the spring. Actually, Stassi didnât start the game. He came in the first inning when Joseph got hit in the hands by a pitch. Quinn also had two hits and a stolen base. Keep your fingers crossed, Hernandez stole another base today. Thatâs his third this spring and I canât remember him being caught stealing yet.
Williams may be reverting to his old ways. There was a runner on first and Williams worked a walk. The and ball four got away from the Braves catcher. The runner on first went all the way to, third, while Williams leisurely stood at home plate taking off his foot guard and then trotted down to first. Since the catcher, when he did finally get the ball, made a throw to third, Williams might just have been able to get to second. Then there was a hit and a runner scored and Williams had third made, except for one little thing. He way over slid the bag and was tagged out. Iâm not sure you can change that kind of lackadaisical, sloppy play.
Odds & Ends: The mystery of what happened to Juan Samuel has been solved. He is coaching for the Dominican Republic⢠Minor league games started today. Two games at home and two away⢠I was glad for Daylight Saving Time today, it kept me in the sun⢠Featherstone and Quinn pulled off a perfect hit and run⢠A sea gull buzzed the stands and dumped a load on one of the spectators⢠A little bag of Cracker Jacks cost $3.25 at the park⢠The next home game is Friday, St. Paddyâs Day. Everybody, including the Phils wears green. It should be a big crowd⢠The attendance today was 8,736.