10 years too late

Greg and I did not attend Game 1 of the NLDS this evening. We did not win the lottery opportunity to buy tickets for the first round of the playoffs to watch the Cardinals and Phillies; I'm sure that we'll be watching all of the postseason at home this year.

But in 2001 ...

Eternal optimist I am about the Phillies, I bought tickets for Game 1 of the 2001 NLDS. The tickets were $18 each. There was a $4 service charge. Yes, $40 for two playoff tickets. The seats were in the 700 level, but who cares? I was convinced that we were going to the playoffs.

The Phillies ended the season two games behind the Braves; it wasn't even a possibility for them to win the wild card. Alas, my dreams of attending a Phillies playoff game were on hold until 2007.

I love the letter the organization sent to inform me that a credit would be placed on my credit card for the unused tickets. It includes so many gems, from the spot-on ...

--Jimmy Rollins had a magical rookie season, leading the league in stolen bases and triples along with playing spectacular defense.

--On-site work has begun for our spectacular New Ballpark opening in 2004.

... to the "what were they thinking."

--Robert Person emerged as a #1 starting pitcher.

--Rookies David Coggin and Brandon Duckworth solidified their spots in the pitching rotation for years to come.

I found my decade-old tickets and letter while cleaning out some paperwork this summer. I probably shredded some crucial information that I'll need someday, but I'll still have my first pair of playoff tickets.

A legendary pitcher signs deal

And I'm not talking about Jonathan Papelbon surprisingly signing a one-year $9.35 million contract without a protracted or acrimonious delay. No, I'm talking about the return of a Philadelphia legend: Brandon Duckworth, who signed a minor league deal with the Phillies.

In his initial stint as a Phillie, which lasted from 2001 until he was traded for Billy Wagner after the 2003 season, Christine and I called him Mr. Stinkypants just because he usually stunk up the joint. But we said it with affection and look forward to reliving those days - without the stinking up the joint part - even though he signed a minor league deal without an invitation to spring training.

That doesn't bode well for anyone hoping for a Duck Pond reunion this summer.

Like a kid on Christmas

I love the All-Star game. It brings back so many childhood memories. I used to tape the games and then replay them to keep score after I bought the game's program. As soon as the teams were announced, I'd load them into whatever video game I was playing at the time and play a game with the newly minted All-Stars. I'd even watch the celebrity softball game.

The other day, Christine and I were at the mall, and baseball card vendors had set up tables throughout the corridors. We stopped at one - reliving another childhood memory - and looked through the 10 cent bin for funny SoxandPhils cards. We found three and got a deal - a quarter instead of the marked price of 30 cents.

We pulled out a a Carl Everett "Glory Days" and a Shea Hillenbrand "Rising Stars." Before he went crazy and fought umpires, Everett was an All-Star for the Sox in 2000, his first year with the team. Before he went crazy and fought managers, Hillenbrand was somehow voted into the starting lineup as a Red Sox in 2002.

For the Phillies, all we could find was Brandon Duckworth. I know, not an All-Star. But his card proclaims him a "Star Rookie" even though he hadn't yet pitched an inning in the majors.


Real Phillies All-Star: Chase Utley, who always lets his play do the talking for him, responded in kind to the Mets fans who snuck into Yankee Stadium to boo the best second baseman in baseball during introductions tonight for the Home Run Derby. Channeling his inner Pat Burrell, Utley responded: "Boo? Fuck you."

Unfortunately, when it came time to hit, he couldn't channel his inner Ryan Howard and hit just five home runs without advancing to the second round. I thought he would have done better with the short right field fence, but I guess I forgot he doesn't elevate the ball enough.

[Video credit: IrwinRSchyster]

The first time the Sox visited Philly ...

This starts an occasional series where I look at some of the amusing baseball paraphernalia I salvaged from my parents' attic.

There seemed to be fewer Red Sox fans in the stands at Citizens Bank Park last week. Perhaps the Phillies strategy of selling Red Sox tickets only to those who bought multi-game packs worked. But back in 1998, the Phillies made no bones about marketing to Red Sox fans. Heck, they even promoted Red Sox players for the series. Look at this:

That's not a program from Fenway; it's the official Phillies magazine I bought at Veterans Stadium. Besides the cover story on Pedro Martinez, there's a nice story on Terry Francona. (He, unlike Pedro, was a Phillie then.) There's also a story about the young, upcoming Bobby Abreu and the new Phillies Web page, Phanland. They have a screen shot of it, and one of the headlines is that the Phils are resuming talks with J.D. Drew. I wonder how that turned out.

I have this program because not only was it Boston's first trip to Philly for interleague play, it was the first time Christine and I went to a major league game together. It was a bad game, as you can see I got bored with keeping score. Stupid Steve Avery.

Our outfield that night: Troy O'Leary, Darren Lewis and Darren Bragg. Kevin Jordan hit cleanup for the Phillies. Their double play combo was Mark Lewis and Desi Relaford.

Surely the Phillies were looking to better things ahead, like when their farm system would start developing MVP-caliber talent, such as the legendary reliever Kyle Kawabata. And Brandon Duckworth, whose claim to fame was being part of the Billy Wagner trade. Oh, and getting quacked at on his Baseball-Reference page. And when he was stinking up the joint for the Phillies, we called him Mr. Stinkypants. The Phillies did have a real grim, determined-looking prospect in the system at that time. His name? Jimmy Rollins.


I hope you enjoyed this. The Phillies are off, and the Sox start a series with the Diamondbacks. I'm working an all-nighter and may not be able to update. Hopefully the Sox can take care of business.