Blogging my son's first Phillies game

Junior Awesome and I are up in Philly this week visiting Grandpa Awesome, and it just so happens that we've got a lazy Monday afternoon and the defending NL Champion Phillies on TV in their 2010 opening game. Who could ask for anything more?

1st inning -- Only two pitches into the game and Junior Awesome sees his first Jimmy Rollins hit. The excitement is too much; JA spits up a little. He does the same thing when Halladay gives up a run in the bottom of the first, but you can totally tell he's angrier the second time.

2nd inning -- The Phillies broadcast crew says 48 presidents have thrown out the first pitch on opening day. Obama is the 44th president. I can't figure out who those other 4 guys are, or what team George Washington threw out the first pitch for. JA gives me a skeptical look. That, or his diaper is dirty.

3rd inning -- The Washington Natinals are still leading 1-0. Grandpa Awesome wants Halladay traded. I'm wondering if the Phillies can trade for David Akers, so I don't have to pay any attention to football season. JA responds to our pessimism by falling asleep.

4th inning -- Ryan Howard provides the first dinger of Junior's life, scoring Chase and putting the Phillies ahead. We all cheer; JA does a little jig, but that might still be related to the dirty diaper we haven't addressed. Halladay adds an RBI later in the inning, part of an 11-man parade to the plate. I try to explain "batting around" to the kid, but he'd rather chew on his hand.

5th inning -- Halladay already has seven strikeouts; Now we're ordering the little one's Cy Young T-shirt and wondering if the Phillies could win the World Series and Super Bowl this year. They have a better shot than the Eagles.

6th inning -- Honestly, we all fell asleep here. Doesn't look like we missed too much, though.

7th inning -- Junior's nap gets interrupted when Grandpa Awesome and I cheer Placido Palanco's first grand slam of the season. With 6 RBI, he's now on pace for 972 RBI this season. We conservatively estimate the Phillies will score 1,600 runs this season, en route to a 152-10 record. Why not undefeated? That'd be ridiculous.

8th inning -- Quiz time for the little guy. How many of the Phils regular position players have not played in an All-Star game? (just Ruiz). Who was the last Phils' 20-game winner? (Carlton). Why would the Eagles trade away their best QB ever for an unproven fourth-year joke? (money). He goes three-for-three on the questions. Grandpa only gets two right.

9th inning -- Even an 11-1 score can't keep JA from freaking out in the ninth. Originally I thought it was because Danys Baez name is too ridiculous, but the womenfolk return and think he's probably just hungry. I offer Cracker Jack, and they take him away from me. That's OK -- this was a pretty good lesson in what a new fan should expect from his team.