Delusional former Phillies pitchers

I am going to miss Adam Eaton. He always did say the darnedest things, such as this summary he gave MLB.com of his last two years in Philadelphia:

"What went wrong?" Eaton asked. "A lot of things went wrong, but a lot of things that went right, too. I helped them get to the playoffs two years in a row, and obviously we won the World Series last year. That's a big thrill of mine, but obviously I still want to compete in that World Series atmosphere. That's what I aim to do.

"It's bitter for the fact that I wasn't able to compete in it, but sweet in the fact that I watched those guys perform the way they did at such a high level at the right time. It's a huge sense of pride in being a part of that."

Yes, in Adam Eaton's mind, not only did he deserve to win the Cy Young Award last year, but he was just as important to the Phillies World Championship as Cole Hamels was. I'm sure he will remind himself of that as he watches balls fly past him and out of Camden Yards this year.

That last line just clinched a prediction I jokingly made last week: Adam Eaton will come up big in a game against the Red Sox down the stretch, knocking them out of the playoffs.

Another former Phillies pitcher, who does have a legitimate claim to playing a vital role in the championship, had some interesting comments. Geoff Geary, part of the Brad Lidge deal that made the Phillies world champions, says the Philly fans threatened him and his fiancee.

Cue the "Philly fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus" cliches:

"My last year before I got traded, there were fans who were threatening my life and threatening other people, saying they were going to follow me home and beat up my fiancée at the time," he said. "Most of the fans are supportive, but the drunks and the people that are obnoxious, those are the ones that are like rabid dogs."

Even so, there is a part of Geary that wishes he never would have left Philadelphia. And its fans.

"Everybody says when you win the World Series, you basically own that town for a while," he said. "I don't need to take advantage of that situation, but it would be really cool to be sitting on a soapbox, looking down with 25 of your best buddies and saying, 'Yeah, now what? Say something negative about me now.'"

Is it that bad in Houston you're still worried about getting even with the Philadelphia fans? I think Geary better start worrying more about the Cardinals and Cubs and lose his preoccupation with the Phillies.

And to think I used to like the guy because he was not ashamed to say he likes Twisted Sister.

Rainy memory

Something occurred to me as I mowed the lawn in the rain today. We're going to our first regular season game tomorrow; it's against the Cubs and it could rain. That combination will always conjure a memory for me.

Last May, Christine's co-worker had tickets he couldn't use so we went to a Saturday afternoon game we hadn't planned to attend. It was a pretty good game: Freddy Garcia actually lasted six-plus innings. Although he and Geoff Geary blew up and gave up six runs in the seventh, the Phillies came right back with six of their own to retake the lead in the bottom of the inning. Brett Myers pitched two innings in a non-save situation in what was a turning point toward him being a dominant reliever.

But for us, an off-field incident will always stick out. There was a rain delay that lasted more than an hour. We sat through it, and the place emptied out for the end of the game.

In the ninth inning, as the rain was pouring down again, Aramis Ramirez fouled one back all the way up to our section. In our row. Since there was no one else left in the row at this point, I ran down the row and dove, coming up banged and bruised but with a game ball. Unfortunately, a kid was a few seats and rows away. He wasn't a cute little kid - more like a teen and he was nowhere near the ball. But that didn't stop a drunk in the section from suggesting the ball belonged to the "kid." I wussed out and gave the ball away. {I tease Greg about this, but he definitely made the right decision. We didn't need a fight over a ball.}

I'm still kicking myself for that. It would have been the second ball I ever got at a park - the first in regulation. In the early '90s, I brought my glove to batting practice at Yankee Stadium. I was there real early, camped in the right field corner. Someone hit a lofting fly right to me. I camped under it, but someone jumped over me and snagged it. Determined, I moved up to the wall and soon a ball was roped there. I reached across a bunch of kids (none of them had gloves and had no chance at it) and wound up with the ball.

Later, I had Pat Kelly sign the memento while I interviewed him for my high school paper when he was signing autographs at a local mall. I wore my Red Sox windbreaker and used my Red Sox pen.

Tonight's games: Christine and I are heading to the city for a party tonight. I know we have to miss the end of the first nationally televised Yankees-Red Sox game and probably all of the Cubs-Phillies game, so we probably won't update until after Sunday's game.