I have decided not to talk about the Phillies until they can win a game. But last night I went to my first game of the season. Phillies vs. Pirates. Class A Short Season style.
As I bought some Dippin' Dots ice cream toward the end of the game, I realized I was eating the "Ice Cream of the Future" while watching the Phillies of the Phuture. And the Phuture looks bright (or very dim for the Pirates).
The Williamsport Crosscutters (that's us) beat the State College Spikes in the season opener 15-2. The Crosscutters scored 8 in the 5th inning and 5 in the 9th. Some of the players that impressed me:
-Leandro Castro, OF: Went 5 for 6 with the game's only home run as well as 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Just turned 20 5 days ago, but I'm not sure where this guy came from. I guess we signed him as an undrafted free agent at some point
-TJ Warren, OF: Listed as an outfielder but was the DH last night. He went 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 4 RBI. He was a home run away from the cycle. He was our 8th round draft pick in 2006. He's 20 years old
-Jean Rodriguez, C: Was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI. At 22 he could be our catcher of the future if Lou Marson ends up getting traded.
We had 19 hits in the game, so most players looked pretty good. Although one disappointment for me was Anthony Hewitt at 3rd base. He's 20 years old and was our first round pick last season. He went 1 for 4 and was unimpressive at 3rd.
The pitching was nothing spectacular. Our starter was named Siulman Lebron which I think is pretty nasty. He pitched 5.2 innings giving up 6 hits, 2 earned runs, 1 walk, and he struck out 5.
Team team as a whole is pretty clutch, batting .500 in 20 at bats with runners in scoring position. The 15 runs we scored were very much aided by the Spikes' 4 errors though (originally 5 but the official scorers took one away at some point).
I don't think I'll be going to the game tonight because it is in Williamsport. But who knows. What else am I doing right now? 18-year-old Jonathan Pettibone will be starting for us tonight. We picked him with the 110th overall selection in the 2008 draft. Whether or not I go to the game tonight, I am definitely planning on going Sunday because it is back in State College. I love the minor leagues.
Oh and Dippin' Dots. "Ice Cream of the Future?" The stuff started being sold in 1995. It's 2009. I definitely love it, but at some point you just have to ask yourself, WHEN IS THE FUTURE?!?!
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Dippin' Dots: The Baseball Biography
ReplyDeleteIf Dippin' Dots were a Major League prospect, it would have been traded, along with cash and player to be named later, in 1996 for a #2 starter who played for a team staring down 60 wins. He would spend the next year in the minors, while the fans and announcers of the 60 game winners, would talk about how he was the "ice cream of the future." During that 1997 season, he would be brought up when starters went on the DL. He would play well, with a Batting Average of .267, and 5 or 6 homeruns in order to get the fans more excited about this future. In 1998, he would be brought up early following a superb Spring Training, only to subsequently get hurt, and spend the next month on the DL. He would start a rehab stint in AA, and hit under .220, with a significant drop in power. By 2000, he would have become a journey-man minor league ball player, with the ego that accompanies the "ice cream of the future" status, but with little talent. In 2002, he would be 29, and would be brought up after two starters go on the DL, he would have an outstanding first ten games, conjuring up the hope so evident in his first few seasons. He would stay up for all of July, before leveling off to a player who hit around the Mendoza line, and being sent back down. He would be shipped around the minor leagues, hopping from town to town, before finally settling in Durham, North Carolina. He would play for the Bulls, and inexplicably fall for a woman who looked like Susan Sarandon, even though no one could possibly by her as a sex symbol. In 2006, he would make it to the major leagues and play an entire year as a back up, posting solid numbers of .291, with 3 hr, 27 rbi, and 43 runs, as a solid slap ball hitter with absolutely no power. In 2007, he would release a book, called, "The 33 Year Old Ice Cream." In 2008, he would be the same slap singles hitter, but people would like him a little bit less. By 2009, no one would remember why he was on the team in the first place. In April 2009, Bob Ley would do an Outside the Lines segment, remembering when Dippin' Dots was supposed to be the ice cream of the future. By May, Mike and Mike would talk about how overrated Dippin' Dots always was. Finally, in June, a young man will write a blog, telling Dippin' Dots the future has passed for him, and Dippin' Dots will complete the 2009 season before retiring in shame. Dippin' Dots' story will be a reminder of potential lost. Fortunately Dippin' Dots will have the last laugh, because his agent was Scott Boras, and though he has never had a fan like him, he will have made about $100 million more than he was worth.
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