MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017
There was no Phillies game today, so after having lunch at Frenchyâs Outpost I stopped by the minor league complex as the games were starting. It was a nice, sunny day with the temperature just over 70. I was surprised at how full the parking lot was when I got there. Of course, since the Phils werenât playing, the parking was free. When I got there, I saw that the AAA and AA teams were playing their Pittsburg counterparts. Viza was pitching for the Phils. I donât know who was pitching for the Pirates, none of the Pirates players had names on the backs of their shirts. Being a little out of my element in the minor leagues, I decided to stay with the AAA game, mostly because I knew the Phils players at that level. Most of them had been in the major league camp. Another reason was that they were playing the AA game on one of the fields with no scoreboard. I wondered about that, but one of the scouts said that they played on that field because both home plates were together, on the same side of the Paul Owens building. They could watch both games easier.
The lineup for the Phils was Hoskins 1B, Kingery 2B, Mora SS, Featherston 3B, Williams LF, Tocci CF, Cozens RF, Alfaro C, and Viza P. I guess I was surprised that Crawford wasnât in. Most of the rest of the lineup was who would be expected. When I got there in the first inning, the Phils were already down 1-0. Viza was struggling with his control and walked another as I leaned against the backstop. Fortunately, he settled down after that. In the bottom of the first, Hoskins hit a two run homer. Viza pitched 3 and two thirds inning and settled down and found his control. He was followed by Windell who had pitched one and two thirds shutout innings while I was still there, but was still pitching when I left. Kingery made another error. How good a fielder is he supposed to be? It seems I have seen him make 4 errors this spring.
I talked to three different guys who apparently went to a lot of the Reading and Lakewood games. It appears that were really into the minor league scene. As many of my old forum friends know, I really donât watch the minors much below AA. I just feel that the attrition rate is too great to spend much time on. It seems for the guys that I talked to, they got as much fun out of this as I do in following the Phils. One guy was excited because he thought Moniak would be coming to Lakewood. It would be interesting to have one of these guys participate in the chat rooms.
I stayed until the bottom of the 5th and then left to go to the Diamond Outfitters to look at a electronic tablet case that I had seen on Sunday. I didnât have the tablet with me on Sunday, but I brought it with me today. When I approached the stadium entrance, there were a couple of groups standing outside taking pictures. My quest for a tablet case was in vain. The ones they had were too small. With that, I headed home.