Mo wins, mo problems

The Wriz’ good friend, Chris, once said, “The more money you make, the more problems you get.” It was just his way of saying no matter where you are at in life; everyone has their own crosses to bear.

For our beloved Phillies, the recent sweep of the Braves and drubbing in Milwaukee leaves them with the predicament that the last three weeks of September basically won’t mean shit. The Cardinals would have to go undefeated the rest of the way just to pass the Phillies in the Wild Card standings. October baseball is a certainty. It will be a “rest verse rust” debate from here on out. How much rest is enough for the regulars without losing their timing? And how do you handle the pitching staff? Does Worley move to the pen to get acclimated? Or does he stay in the rotation to continue the 4^th starter debate?

We will have plenty of time to discuss these topics over the next 3 weeks, but here are some “problems” and such which have been caused by the Phillies dominance over the past few seasons.

Ticket sales.  I remember back when I attended the greatest high school known to man, Roman Catholic, every day my broke ass would borrow the Philadelphia Daily News from my classmate and blog reader, Philly John 74. Occasionally, the Phillies Beat Writer would mention the Phillies expected or had a large number of “walk-up” ticket sales due to either a promotion or an exciting pitching match-up like Schilling against Maddux. You know what the Phillies walk-up sales for the last home game were? I’ll tell you, its 500. Its 500 every home game, because the Phillies hold 500 standing room only tickets to be sold on game day.

Also, playoff tickets.  The first time I got a playoff invoice with my partial plan (2005) I got EVERY possible playoff home game. And they weren’t the ticketmaster type tickets. They were souvenir stock tickets worthy of framing. The World Series tickets are something like 3.5 inch by 6 inch tickets. Not only were they all in the 1^st level, I would have had the same seat for every game.  

Leg room/Personal space.  Going on 200 straight sellouts, doesn’t leave for a lot of personal room to enjoy during the game. Long gone are the days where you could spread out and stretch out your legs. Hell, unless some usher was chasing you to condense the crowd, many games you could have your on section in the 700 level outfield. But the only time I’ve heard a credible “I wish we still had the Vet” story was when a fellow season ticket holder said he missed the Vet because could drink beers and play wiffle ball in the parking lot then enjoy the game and “say whatever the fuck I want.” Sounds crass, but when he said it he pointed at the empty seats three seats over which as the game got closer would be occupied a young couple and their 2 small children.  

Tailgating.  Ever since I got my ticket plan, I’ve been tailgating. For some games it, just be me my buddy and maybe one or two more carloads who would be tailgating. The numbers grew every year. Tailgating, for me, is mostly a chance to sit back enjoy a beer or two and talk baseball. Now you have beer pong, vodka infused gummy bears and worst of all is the kids panhandling for their teams. I swear I’ve seen the same kid in the same football jersey there every Sunday asking for donations for his team for the past 5 years. He only annoys me slightly less than the bum who wants a buck to Windex your car.

With this spectacular run the Phillies have been on what changes do you hate?

See ya at the ballpark!

Jay Wrizight

jaywrizight@yahoo.com