We had good news/bad news at the baseball game today. The Phillies played what will be their opening day roster against mostly regular NY Yankees. The good news was that it was a perfect day for baseball - temperature in the low 80's, sunny, little humidity and no wind. The bad news was the Phillies lost 14-1. The starting pitcher didn't make it out of the 1st inning with the Yankees scoring 9 runs before the Phillies even came to bat. It was all downhill from there with a host of minor league pitchers who were not scheduled to pitch today giving up another 5 runs on the way to a lopsided defeat. With only one more spring training game to go, it was not a great way to get ready for opening day next Monday.
My sister Eileen and two of her friends (all Yankee fans) joined us for the game. They were happy with the outcome. We all went out to dinner at Olive Garden after the game and had an excellent meal.
The Phillies play the Tampa Bay Rays tomorrow, then get on a chartered plane for Cincinnati right after the game. The first game of a long (162 game) season begins on Monday and we will see what happens. They won 71 games last year and, on paper, they appear to be an improved team this year. My observations in spring training are that their starting pitchers were not overly impressive, the relief pitchers were pretty good, hitting looks marginally better and defense about average. As the eternal optimist and loyal fan, I am cautiously predicting 75 wins this year, however I would not run out and place any bets that they will do so. They may even do better if everything comes together. If not, there are a lot of good looking young players in the minors almost ready to move up. The future looks bright but the team is not there yet.
There aren't many other baseball pictures that haven't already been taken this spring, but here a few more as things wind down.
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