Hello my name is Mike Uncapher, and since April of 2008 I have resided in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before then, I lived in Marion, Ohio where my passion and love for America’s pastime was birthed and molded with the assistance of my maternal grandparents.
I can remember spending evenings at their house in Fremont Ohio splitting our time between watching the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves on their television. Grandpa and I would always joke with Grandma that the Indians did well when she would leave the room. The odd thing was that this was usually the case, and we would hear Grandma yelling from the kitchen asking us what just happened on the television. Our usual joking response was for grandma to stay in the kitchen until the inning was complete because the Indians were in the middle of a scoring rally. Although writing this article I never recall her jinxing the Braves.
At their house I would sit on the floor with my baseball card collection scattered all over the living room searching for the player being announced in the game to see if I owned his current bubble gum card just to read his professional stats on the back. If I didn’t own the card the next day grandma and I would purse the baseball card shops in Fremont Ohio to find his card. The card that I remember us searching the most for in my youth with no avail was Joe Carter’s 1984 Donruss Rookie Card. We never found this card together but one birthday I received his card as a gift. Carter eventually became my favorite all-time baseball player, and I recall crying the day the Cleveland Indians traded him to the San Diego Padres. I believe that is the day when I learned that baseball was also a business.
The other fond memories that I have from visiting grandma and grandpa’s house was hearing their baseball tales and learning about the all-time greats. I recall hearing stories about Herb Score when he pitched and not announced games, Rocket Bob Feller, and the great Hank Aaron. These were just a few of the tales that I will cherish like a pirate lusts the gold in their treasure chest.
At home growing up as soon as school was over, I would rush home to watch the end of the Chicago Cubs game to hear Harry Caray’s baseball tales. After finishing my homework and divulging dinner if I was permitted by my parents I would watch the Indians game. If the Tribe were not on television, there were always the Braves who seem to be on television every night on TBS. Although a passionate Indians fan, this is where I believe my love for baseball blossomed because I was able to watch any team and respect the Game completely.
Today, I watch any game I can which is typically the National games, or I listen to the Indians’ broadcast streamed on the Internet.
As spring training opens for Major League Baseball there are two prime stories that will linger all season and even into the offseason. The easy big story is: “How will the St. Louis Cardinals react to Albert Pujols entering free agency at the conclusion of the baseball year?” Pujas holds all the cards because he is even able to reject any trade offers. He has also informed the Cardinals that he will not negotiate a contract extension once he arrives to Spring Training. A date that was missed by the Cardinals.
The other current big story which I’ll expand upon is: “Will the Philadelphia Phillies starting pitching staff lead their team to a World Series title and if not what went wrong?” As a reminder barring injury the Phillies are expected to unroll Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Roy Aswalt, and Joe Blanton as their starting five.
Many bloggers and analysis have compared the expectations of the 2011 Phillies staff to the accomplishments of the 1993 Atlanta Braves staff that were lead by Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine and Steve Avery. Some rank the 1993 Atlanta Braves staff as one of the all-time greatest starting pitching staffs. The ionic item about the 1993 Atlanta Braves was that they were defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series. I’m sure the Phillies do not want a repeat in history.
In the past couple seasons the Phillies have acquired in trades Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays and Roy Aswalt from the Houston Astros respectively. Then last winter they surprisingly won the bidding war for the services of Cliff Lee defeating the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. By signing Lee as stated earlier on paper the Phillies could have one of the most dominant starting pitching staffs in 2011.
On offense the Phillies made no huge additions, but they did lose outfielder Jayson Werth to free agency to the Washington Nationals. Hopefully for the Phillies with a healthy season from shortstop Jimmy Rollins and second baseman Chad Utley, their offensive output can compensate for the loss of Werth. There also may be belief within the Phillies management that rookie outfielder Domonic Brown is ready for the big leagues. So by letting Werth leave, the Phillies used the philosophy of addition by subtraction by opening the clog that could have prevented Brown from receiving consistent playing time.
With all this said, I have the greatest sympathy for the Philadelphia Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel. He is handed the keys to a potential great pitching staff, a reliable bullpen, and the past history of a great offence featuring first baseman Ryan Howard, Rollins, and Utley. All three of these gentlemen are past MVP winners. If the Phillies falter this year Manuel could quickly become the fall guy.
I’m confident that I’ll be hearing about the highs and lows of the Phillies all season including the offseason if there is not a World Series title in Philadelphia.
