It's Casey Kelly's world and we're all just living in it. The phenom retired the side on 10 pitches, seven strikes. After falling behind leadoff hittr Tucker Roeder 2-0, he threw three straight strikes. Then came a grounder to second and another swinging strikeout.
That'll be it for Casey, he'll finish his day in the bullpen.
His catcher, Victor Martinez, was impressed:
Victor Martinez said he was shocked when he learned Casey Kelly was a part-time shortstop last year. "You can't tell," he said. "He's very refined."
That's what I like to see. I also like to be reminded of where our teams have come from. When I saw the Daily News feature on the Phillies progress over the last decade, I clicked on the sidebar first that was just a list of their payrolls over the years. I couldn't believe that it was as low as $27 million in 1999, but then I saw that was the gist of the main story:
Curt Schilling and Paul Byrd each won 15 games in 1999, tying for the club lead. Chad Ogea, however, went 6-12. Bobby Abreu was tops in batting average, Mike Lieberthal in home runs and Rico Brogna in RBI. Wayne Gomes was the closer in a bullpen that included Steve Montgomery, Amaury Telemaco, Jim Poole and Yorkis
Perez.
A lot has changed in just 11 years.
Then: Veterans Stadium. Now: Citizens Bank Park.
Then: 77 wins. Now: A team with a roster full of All-Stars that is gunning for its third straight World Series appearance.
Then: An Opening Day payroll of $27,297,000, parsimonious even for that era. Now: A projected payroll of $143,502,500 when the Phillies start the season on April 5.
A lot of change, indeed.
Other games: The Red Sox beat Boston College in a nail biter, 6-1.
Phillippe Aumont isn't helping to quell the fans' pining for Cliff Lee, giving up a three-run homer. He couldn't finish his inning, and the Phils trail Florida State University 5-4 in the 4th.
I miss real games. I don't miss trying to post as they occur.
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