What A Baseball Game!

This is crazy. This doesn’t happen in any other sport. Think flight attendant piloting the plane.

This is great. I don’t really care who wins right now. I’ve got the Phils game on. It started six hours ago. They’re in the 19th inning. The Phils have run out of players!

Wilson Valdez is pitching. He has never pitched before–not in the majors, not in the minors. He got the first man out. He just plunked one on Scott Rollen.

The fans are going nuts.

Valdez, sensing the situation, went to manager Charlie Manuel and said, “I can pitch.”

“Are you sure?” Manual replied.

Two out now.

The guy playing third was the catcher. He, Carlos Ruiz, chased a foul over the tarp. Two other players have moved to unusual positions.

Oh my! Three out. Valdez goes an inning scoreless.

The fans, those few still left, are giving Valdez a standing ovation.

This is crazy. This doesn’t happen in any other sport. Think flight attendant piloting the plane.

In the bottom of the 19th the Phils loaded the bases then sacrificed home the winning run. Wilson Valdez picks up the win.

God, this is too good. Put another one in the win column for the Phighting Phils.

What A Comeback

Her TV was on. The sound was muted. A good fan does not abandon.

I’m guessing you didn’t see the Phils game Thursday night. Holy crap. What a game!

The best way to follow what happened–my calls to Helaine.

I called her when I got back to the station after dinner. I peeked at the score and tread lightly. The Phils were down early as the Dodgers scored three in the first.

“Blanton,” I said referring to Joe Blanton the Amish bearded starting pitcher. She is not a fan. Me neither&#185

I called again a little after ten. By then the Phils were being blown out. It was 9-2 and Helaine was telling me how everything had gone and was going wrong.

Her TV was on. The sound was muted. A good fan does not abandon. We commiserated. We said goodnight.

Back at the TV station our newscast had been pushed back by the Pats pre-season game. I finished my prep work with the Phillies playing silently on my iPhone.

They scored four in the eighth and shut down the Dodgers in the ninth. They still needed three to catch up.

The Phils came up in the ninth and loaded the bases without a hit.

I watched Joe Torre walk to the mound, talk to the pitcher and let him stay in. Very unusual. Pitching coaches talk. Managers pull.

Ben Francisco came up and drove in two, a very good outcome for the Phils helped by an error on what was a likely double play. Chooch, Carlos Ruiz, was up next. He slammed one off the outfield wall!

The Phils won!

When the Dodgers Jamey Carroll singled to left and Casey Blake scored for the Dodgers in the eight making it 9-2 FanGraphs.com put the Phils chances of winning at .4% or 250:1!

I called Helaine. “Put another one in the win column for the Phightin’ Phils.” It was said with a reasonably loud voice heard by everyone in the studio. I was excited.

Helaine took the TV off mute.

&#185 – I see when people are talking about me on the Internet. Google sends me email when my name’s mentioned. If I were a major league ballplayer that’s the last thing I’d do. I’m not sure I’d fire up a computer at all. I certainly would never listen to all sports radio. I don’t have thick enough skin.