I figured I would let you guys in on a few quick things I jotted down at the game today. As you may know, I attended the Phillies v. Reds spring training game today between Edinson Volquez and Kyle Kendrick.
-Kendrick let the every Reds batter step up to the plate in the first inning. Although it may seem like Kendrick got shelled, a lot of the hits were to the right places at the right time. Lots of singles and balls hit between Rollins and Feliz. Sure Kendrick could have tried for some fly balls, or strikeouts, but he wasn’t all that bad.
-After the Reds performance in the top of the first, it made Volquez look pretty good. He managed to get by without allowing too many hits, and did what you can hope for from every starter. He had five strikeouts in five innings, two of which were against Geoff Jenkins (whom always strikes out).
-Jay Bruce is in minor league camp, at least that’s what I was told so I did not see him.
-Joey Votto has still yet to impress me. I’ve seen 5 AB from him in the minors and 5 AB from him in the “majors”/spring training and he has only one hit which came today. Bruce is a lot more promising.
-Adam Dunn is really slow. His defense is what allowed the Phillies to score their two runs in the 8th. He was running in a fly ball at his “full” speed but managed to fall a few inches short.
-Ryan Howard didn’t look too impressive with the bat. A few Phillies fans nearby informed me that he looked like he was off his game the past few days.
-If Jenkins is batting behind Howard in the regular season, that could result in nightmares for Phillies fans. After watching Geoff in Milwaukee for years, he would be the last guy I’d bat behind Howard. Feliz would definietly be a better option there.
-Also, Chase Utley didn’t play today, or yesterday for that matter. Rumor has it that the flu was going around, but none of the Phillies fans I had talked to knew any information on why he didn’t play.

I took about 90 pictures today, which I will be posting on a photo sharing website over the weekend when I return to Chicago. I will also provide a few more things I might have left out.

Until then, check out the new design at www.mlbfrontoffice.com and the Team Preview guide which I’ve been slaving over for the past two months.

It looks like I’ll be taking a tour of Tropicana tomorrow, which I will take pictures of, and on Thursday I will be attending the Blue Jays v. Astros game.