It Was a Weekend Filled With Baseball

I took in Orioles game number two today, and it was night and day versus Opening Day.  The ballpark was not very populated, shall we say.  There were entire sections that had no fans in the seats.  But that is ok, Camden Yards was gorgeous as usual today.  Not a cloud in the sky, people with Easter bunny ears on, and Jason Hammel had a no hitter going into the 8th inning.  It was really exciting and I'm glad I went.  One of the good things about living near Baltimore is that you can go to ball games pretty much any time you want.  Many big market towns do not allow this luxury.  So I am going to go to many more this summer, hopefully.

Now let's talk about the unpleasantness of the weekend.  The Phillies dropped two games to the Pirates at PNC park, in walk-off fashion.  They are 1-2, and this is the first time they have been below .500 in 1,080 days, or since April of 2009.  I'm not panicking, but the offense is abysmal.  That said, let's move on to the next series.

Here are some cards of current Phillies I got at the show last weekend.

Ryan, Ryan, where for art thou Ryan?  Well, he is home rehabbing is Achilles.  He is desperately needed in the lineup.  June, maybe.  Without him there is really no real power.  Love this card though, especially with the throwback uniform on the throwback card.  Total throwbackage.

Shane Victorino had a good series, and has fared well as a leadoff hitter, his role while those that are injured are on the DL.  Cole Hamels starts the home opener tomorrow.  The game is at 1:05, I'll be at work, and loving every minute of MLB.tv.

I also picked up a J-Roll rookie-ish card. Jimmy played solid defense in this series, but his bat didn't quite come alive.  I have to say I don't like him as a 3 hole hitter, but these are the things we have to do until Utley and Howard return (probably mid-season).

I genuinely feel bad for Red Sox fans. You guys did not deserve that today.  I cannot imagine how horrible a loss like that feels, especially since it puts you at 0-3.  It's ok though, the Yanks are 0-3 too.