Guest Feature from Kevin Lagowski
Guest Feature from Kevin Lagowski
Blowing it in Pittsburgh
When you take the time to attend a Major League Baseball game featuring your favorite team, especially one that involves significant travel and a deliberate effort of planning a trip around said game, the very least that you can hope for is that, even if your team loses on a given day, their performance won't be a total affront to the game of baseball itself.
Unfortunately, on Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Phillies failed to clear even this low of a bar.
Let me back up and tell you about the trip as a whole, though, rather than just going through gory details of Sunday's 6-4 Phillies loss that you're sadly well aware of.
I've seen the Phillies play at PNC Park on a number of occasions, with the most recent one being in 2019. We have some friends and family in the area who we've been going to visit from time to time, and I try to shoehorn it around when the Phillies are in town. Even before seeing the Phillies play in Pittsburgh, however, I did go to a few games against random Pirates opponents simply to soak in the ballpark. And that's because it's right there with Wrigley as my favorite place to watch a game, and it’s frequently cited as being in the upper echelon of MLB stadiums on every list you ever see thrown out there. Simply put, if you're a baseball fan and haven't been out to this place to see a game, drop what you're doing and go.
If you want to wait for your favorite team to swing by, that's fine, but you don't even really need that part of it. Heck, maybe it's better to make your maiden voyage a game between two teams you don't care about so you can just enjoy the experience without worrying over the outcome. Fun fact: the first game I ever attended at PNC was a Pirates/Cardinals game in 2003, where Randall Simon (just one month removed from whacking a sausage) drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th after baseball genius Tony LaRussa intentionally walked Brian Giles AND Reggie Sanders to get to him. Eat it, Tony.
Oh, right, I was telling you about this trip. I'm not going to lie, it was kind of difficult, because we brought our boys (ages 2 and 7) and that always changes the equation. For the weekend games at least, they do a really nice job with the block party they have going on outside the park. Get there early, get a balloon animal for your kids, all that stuff. Try to trick — I mean show — them that baseball is fun at an early age by having their developing brains make some connections. On another note, I always like to see the various statues that parks feature to commemorate the team’s history, and Pittsburgh’s selection is pretty solid. Check them all out if you go visit, especially Roberto Clemente, of course. I’ve made the lap to see them all previously, but didn’t this time since we had the kids in tow. You’ve got to pick and choose based on your travel party, I’ve found. In addition to the block party they had going on, the whole Phillies series was also "Yinzerpalooza" weekend at the park, because Pittsburgh is weird. I'm not sure if you saw the shirts they gave out Friday night, but they looked pretty dope. Then they had a David Bednar bobblehead on Saturday, so there were probably some people sweating it out about him possibly getting traded. Finally, they had a pierogi plush on Sunday for kids, so my boys are now both proud owners of Potato Pete (photo courtesy of my wife).
Inside, there's plenty of cool stuff for the kids to climb all over, a very nice merch store, a couple of beer gardens, and a general welcoming atmosphere. Food options are pretty standard, with Primanti's being a prime draw. I wanted to get one, but we ended up not passing their only stand, so I was kind of bummed. I'm a fan, even though a growing contingent of folks seem to think they're overrated. To each their own. Somewhat oddly to me, you can get Chickie’s and Pete’s crab fries at multiple places in the park, and I grabbed a Yuengling. It felt like I was home. I did get an Iron City Light later on for some local flavor, though. You’re not missing much if you’ve never had it; it’s fine. Anyway, I tried to appease my older son by buying him a foam pirate hook (in lieu of a foam finger) at the team store because we both thought it was a good keepsake. As for the crowd, it was about half Phillies fans, which you could probably tell by watching any of the series on tv. No real animosity here between the Phils and Pirates and their fans, though, since 30 years of being in different divisions and zero playoff history have made it pretty chill. These same people are Penguins fans, though, which boils my blood.
A friend of mine texted me the lineup about two hours before the game with the comment "nice turd lineup,” so I already knew what garbage was awaiting me: a top 5 that's all gone cold at the same time and a bottom 4 that looked like a B squad at extended spring training. Just great. Despite that, the Phils led 2-0 and Cristopher Sanchez had a no-hitter through five innings. I'm on Phillies Twitter and got their thoughts on Rob Thomson giving Sanchez the hook, of course, but I don't know what was said on the TV or radio broadcasts. I did hear later that Sanchez was dealing with a stomach bug but, honestly, even if a guy is bleeding from his eye sockets, he needs to stay in the ballgame if he's throwing a no-no. Seranthony Dominguez went on to blow the lead in 0.1 seconds, but that only set the stage for the failures to come, such as the pop-up that fell in and whatever in God's name that 9-2-4-2 double play was in the top of the 10th to essentially guarantee that the Phillies would lose, even before a player I never heard of hit the walkoff winner. I did say "game over" and stood up to leave as the ball was in the air, fyi. It was either going out or hitting far up enough on the wall that it was going to score the runner from second base. How the Phillies got through 10 innings without using Realmuto or Stott in a game that was there for the taking is beyond me. It's cool, though, the #6 - #9 hitters went a combined 2 for 14. Solid work, Rob. Who could have guessed that would happen?
More than an unfortunate loss, this one was borderline unforgivable, and it's equally maddening that the Phillies dropped 2 of 3 to a Pirates club they should have had a pretty easy time with, especially since Wheeler and Nola pitched the first two games of the series. Just an ill-timed faceplant by this team, especially when throngs of fans journeyed to the inferior part of the commonwealth to cheer them on, expecting to come home with nothing but victories. But credit to the Buccos I suppose for capitalizing on their opponents' brain dead game management and fielding boners to win the series. As much as the Phillies' talent alone should get them into the playoffs, sometimes I wonder how they're even in the running when you look at some of these performances.
It was kind of a nightmare getting out of the game and back to our car, pushing a stroller through masses of people and over the Andy Warhol Bridge (the Roberto Clemente Bridge is closed for repairs), but we made it and I think I only heard one disparaging comment about the Phillies, which probably was from a Phils fan and not a Pirates fan actually. After the game, I drowned some of my sorrows at Cinderlands Warehouse, which is about a 10-minute drive away. Cool place.
Over my several trips out there, I've decided that Pittsburgh is a decent enough place to visit, with plenty of restaurants, bars, shops, and sights to entertain you for a few days regardless of your age, family situation, etc. And you can't go wrong with the ballpark. They really did it right. I'm not trying to knock Citizens Bank Park, which is pretty good too, but it's limited by being in the sports complex with nothing else around it. We sacrificed some things for convenience, and it is what it is. I wouldn't trade our local complex for another setup (although the Sixers want to ruin it), but it's just nice to take in what other cities have to offer.
This game was just one part of a 3-day family excursion to the ‘Burgh, so it wasn't going to make or break the weekend for me. The trip went great overall, and this baseball experience at PNC Park was once again an enjoyable one, as expected.
Except for the Phillies part of it.
Tweets of the week.
I guess these are technically Xs of the week now?
Piccone is right as usual, the Phillies offense has all the talent it needs. All the potential in the world.
https://twitter.com/_piccone/status/1686454837527855127?s=20
Had a lot of fun on the Crossing Broadcast this week. Pagan reminded me about the Jon Hamm-narrated Trea Turner hype video, which looks insane in retrospect.
https://twitter.com/CrossingBroad/status/1683954972193439747?s=20
It’s hard to be a Philllies fan sometimes. But damn… at least we aren’t Mets fans.
https://twitter.com/Derek9306/status/1685405289728630784?s=20
The story of the Phils season so far, to me: the high-priced veterans keep disappointing and the younger guys keep stepping up.
https://twitter.com/OscarBudejen/status/1686236880239562752?s=20
There’s a lot of literature about there exploring whether “being clutch” is a real attribute or just luck of the draw. I can’t tell you what the answer is. But I can tell you that if the bases are loaded, Alec Bohm is the guy I want at the plate.
https://twitter.com/a2dradio/status/1686180992468373504?s=20
Exclusive new artwork from Dhwani Saraiya.
Zack Wheeler, ladies and gentlemen:
This week in 2008.
The 2008 Phils were 58-49 at the end of July 30, in first place by half a game.
On July 24, a loss to the Mets knocked the Phillies down to second place for the first time since May. They lost again the next night, 8-2 at home to the Braves, and trailed the Mets by two full games. A little bit of a mess coming out of the All-Star break: 2-5 in their first seven.
The tide turned on July 26, when the Fightins won a wild one. They jumped out to a 3-0 lead over Atlanta, gave up nine runs in the fourth inning, then scored seven runs in the fifth. 10-9 final and Brad Lidge stayed perfect with his 23rd save.
On July 27, the Phils showed a lot of heart again, battling back from a 5-0 deficit to beat the Braves 12-10. Chris Coste, Shane Victorino, Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth, and Jimmy Rollins hit home runs in the slugfest.
There was a whole different vibe in the next game, as the Phillies beat the Nationals 2-1 in DC. Brett Myers allowed one (unearned) run in seven innings, then JC Romero, Chad Durbin, and Brad Lidge closed it out.
On July 30 it was the offense’s turn to shine once again. Victorino and Chase Utley hit home runs in an 8-5 victory over the Nats. Utley’s home run was his 27th.
The win put the Phils back in first and all was right in the world.
Phillie you forgot about.
AJ Burnett spent 17 years in the majors, mostly with the Marlins, Jays, Yankees, and Pirates. He played his 16th season, unfortunately, with the Phillies in 2014. Burnett posted a 4.59 ERA and led all of baseball in walks (96), runs allowed (109), and losses (18).
In 2015 he returned to Pittsburgh, where he had pitched in 2012 and 2013, and made his first and only All-Star team.
This is the section of the newsletter where I make you look at dogs.
Thank you for reading and go Phils!
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