Joe_buck_shirtPhoto via (@roscocosmopeco– Jesus Christ, nice name)

You wouldn't expect anything different, would you?

On Saturday, Deadspin reported – via our friend @jerseyshorejen – that security guards at the Phillies game made folks turn their "I Hate Joe Buck" shirts inside out. Never mind that whole freedom of speech thing, nowhere on the back of a Phillies ticket does it say anything about what you can and can't wear to a game.

[Side note: I don't understand why everyone hates Joe Buck. Here's my rant from a previous post.

I’m one of the few people in the city who actually likes Joe Buck. – ducks – Most comments I see from you accuse Joe of being a corny Philly hater. He may be corny – I’d call it ironic – but he doesn’t hate Philly. He just has to play both sides. We’ve been lucky enough to have him call many of our games over the last few years (that means we’re good). And because of that, we’ve heard a lot about how good our opponents are, too. However, if you watch a game through the lens of a fan from a visiting city, you’d most likely come away feeling the same way about Buck, who I’m pretty sure has given Chase Utley the on-air equivalent of a hand job many times since this run began in 2007.]

This isn't the first time someone has been asked to turn their t-shirt inside out at Citizens Bank Park. A couple readers have told me that their unlicensed shirts, produced by some other blogs, met a similar fate at the gate (pooooet!). None of those shirts, not the Joe Buck ones nor the ones worn by readers, contained any vulgarity or language that would be considered offensive- unless, of course, you consider Buck to be offensive, the way many of you do.

It's not known whether or not FOX requested that the Buck shirts be turned inside out (Buck wasn't even working the game). However, the Phillies, as an organization, seem to be getting a little too big for their britches (I would love to hear about more Phillies big-timing via email).

But here's one thing FOX was all over:

Yesterday, I posted a picture of this guy, who wore a dog costume to the game.

It seems I was played.

The costume is the same one worn by Wilfred, the lead character in an Australian sitcom…. which will be making its debut on FX later this month.

Wilfred not only showed up in the picture on our site, but he was also – coincidentally – shown on the FOX broadcast at the start of the 4th inning. Guerilla Pooch marketing? You bet. 

Wilfred_phillies

The announcers never mentioned his appearance, the same practice they employed back in 2009, when The Observer, a character from Fringe, randomly showed up during FOX baseball games (thanks Dan).

They've always put their actors in seats for major events, but this move is a little more subtle. Marketing!

*I checked to see if FOX's national broadcast needs were partially responsible for the poor decision to start the game on-time, despite the impending rain. It doesn't look like they were. There was no sure sign of a storm. Rather, right around game time (20:00 UTC), a number of storms popped up out of nowhere. They get a pass on that.