Recent Phillies' success, a newer stadium and the prospect of a fan being tasered brought out a big crowd, most of whom were rooting for the home team.
But some things don't change. The Red Sox have dominated the Phillies in interleague play, and it continued this past weekend. Dice-K pitched a no-no until 2 outs in the eighth (check the scoreboard, left). He was assisted along the way by great defense, including his own stab of a Jason Werth laser. By the way, with that quick glove, where was Dice-K when when the Bruins needed him?
Jacoby Ellsbury returned to the Sox lineup, so the Nation could breathe a sigh of relief (picture left). And David Ortiz had a couple of hits and a couple of solid plays in the field. On Sunday, Tim Wakefield dazzled the Phillies again. So it may be that this is the stretch that re-ignites the fanatics in Beantown.
It was my first visit to Citizen's Bank Park, which opened in 2004 although it seems much more recent. It's a very good place to see a game. The seats were much roomier than what I remembered from Yankee Stadium, although the slope of the seating area was not as sharp, meaning that you felt a little further away from the action than you really were. Lots of balcony seats. The scoreboard was placed in a somewhat awkward position in left field, making fans on the third base side turn to see it. Great way to meet your rowmates, though.
Afterwards, a visit to Gino's (or Pat's, I can't remember and don't know the difference). All in all a great trip to Philly.
