Roy-halladay-01The Phillies wasted no time opening their defense of the National League crown, crushing the Nationals 11-1.  Doc Halladay cruised through seven innings, allowing six hits and one run, while striking out nine.  

The "you don't see this every day Harry" moment of the game goes to President Barack Obama, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch.  Couple things here:  first, he throws like a girl.  I know he can shoot a basketball, but come on, most quasi athletic folk can throw a baseball without looking like a complete fool. He walked out to the mound with a Nationals jacket (boo?) then put on his White Sox hat at the mound… gotta like that, supporting his team.  His appearance marks the third time some of the Phillies core has been in the presence of POTUS. Last year the Phillies visited the White House, at the All-Star game Obama greeted players and coaches (of which, many were Phillies), and now he throws out the first pitch on opening day.  Being a professional baseball player has its perks.

Turning point of the game goes to Ryan Howard who woke the Phillies up with a two run blast to right field in the fourth inning.  The Phils didn't look back after that, with five consecutive batters reaching base.  But it's Placido Polanco and those golf ball temples of his that go jumping in the Cadillac with a grand slam and 6 RBIs in his first game back with the Phils.  Good start!

Thanks to blackout restrictions on MLB.tv, I got stuck listening to the game on my iPhone.  Scott Franzke shared a humorous story about Sarge being left behind at the hotel while calling to secure a visit with the Pres (he knows him from his Chicago days)… I gotta say, that's balla.

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