The Phillies burst into the 2020 season last night with the zeal that some of the rioters and looters of just about 6-weeks ago burst into and out of stores in major cities like Philly. More about the stores later.
In a close game early on, the Phils couldn’t muster up some offense to get on the board. The team didn’t score their first run until the 5th inning. The Marlins broke a 1-1 tie in the 6th open by plating 4 runs in the top of the 6th to take a commanding lead and never looked back.
Harper begins Season 2 in a Phillies uniform, Phils start their 138th season:
Embed from Getty ImagesCutch, Realmuto, Bruce, and Segura all turned in 0-4 at the plate last night. Harper had 2 SO and went 0-3 with a walk. Chances are you aren’t going to win when you see numbers like these. It couldn’t be pressure from the fans in the stands, there wasn’t anybody in attendance last night.
Aaron Nola was sharp into the top of the 6th, but was pulled after giving up a HR to Jesus Aguilar. The Marlins were a woeful 1-7 with RISP, and the Phillies 0-3. So it could have been worse for the Phils in this game. Even with no fans and no distractions the game lasted 3:10 minutes. I’ve been reading more and more about the MLB wanting to shorten games still, but why? Is anyone complaining? Is the fan not happy with the value he is getting from his or her ballgame ticket? No, I have never heard anyone complain, except maybe for the casual fan who wouldn’t be watching much anyway or someone with ADD, their attention only goes on for so long. So what is the big pressure to change baseball?
Give me a big old American flag on Opening Day or Night, but don’t show me BLM branded onto the pitcher’s mound or players taking a knee:
Embed from Getty ImagesSpeaking of changing baseball, back to the rioters and looters from about a month ago across the country. The MLB is trying to make itself look ‘hip’ and cool by having ‘BLM’ branded on the pitching mounds all over the country. What does this mean though? Is it giving credence to an organization that is tied with Marxist principles and flat out un-American? Just about a month ago, a leader in the BLM organization said that they will ‘burn everything down’ if they don’t get their way. Is this the message that the MLB wants to spread? One can only wonder. While every decent living person in America knows that life is sacred and should be cherished, there is no need to have a ‘BLM’ brandished on the pitcher’s mound. Many fans were upset to the point of giving up on the MLB and baseball, something which baseball may not see until fans start coming back to the ballpark.
I use to like baseball and other sports because they didn’t get into politics, just like politics don’t get into sports. But last night, and on Opening Night, baseball and the MLB crossed the line, they’ve put themselves square in the middle of politics and controversy. Something that I am not looking for from a baseball game or any other sport that I watch. I don’t need the MLB to try to teach me a civics lesson. Just as they wouldn’t put anything religious out there for people to chew on. Why this? The MLB has morphed into a strange organization.
I don’t know if I will last the whole season covering the Phillies and writing about it in this blog or on twitter, the whole offering from the MLB has left me underwhelmed. We’re still in a pandemic, the rule changes and the way the game is played during the pandemic and the way the MLB has morphed into this behemoth of strangeness has left me with a much different feeling about the league. Sort of the way the MILB use to put on a tasteless stunt of some type at various times over the years to attract fans. I am on the fence about all of this now and it’s looking like I want to get down off it and not watch something that is verging on ridiculous.
