But They Booed Santa Claus

Surprise reaction from the Philly fans last night- they cheered Ken Griffey, Jr. when he entered the game to pinch hit, booed their own reliever, Tom Gordon, when he walked him on 4 straight pitches, and cheered Griffey again as he jogged of the field after being replaced by a pinch runner. Now, Griffey didn't start the first two games of the series (due to "general soreness," whatever the hell that is), and he's sitting on 599 homeruns. When he came into the game last night, the Reds were down by a run and the bases were empty, and yet they booed when he wasn't given a chance to hit #600 and tie the game. I have to admit, that impressed me a little (then again, my baseline for a Philly fan is Smouther, so maybe that's not saying much). Sure, they want the Phillies to win (and win they did), but they also wanted to see something that's only been done 5 times before (and only 3 times clean). I'm glad that they cheered Griffey (and I guess the "Philly" in them caused them to boo Gordon). The baseball optimist in me hopes that they did so because they recognize that he played the game clean and has never been tainted by the suggestion of steroids. Griffey got a great reception from the St. Louis fans (some of the best fans in baseball, as much as that kills me to say) when he hit #500; looks like he might get a similar on if he hits #600 in Philly. [Interesting stat I read somewhere- Griffey's hit homeruns 200, 300, 400, and 500 all on the road.]

Note: A lot of baseball posts so far. I guess that can be expected since that's where my focus is right now (because, serious, who watches hockey? except for the Cyclones! Go 'Clones!). I really don't intend for this to to become a baseball blog, so I'll try and mix it up. Once the Reds become "mathematically eliminated" (that's for Puddin'), my focus will shift elsewhere (who knows, with the way the Cubbies are playing, that day might come by the All-Star break). The Olympics are this year, love the Olympic. We elect a President this year, which is kind of important. The Dark Knight, 'nuff said. So more things are coming. But for now, its baseball.