The calm before the storm

It’s an absolutely gorgeous day here in the birthplace of America. From the press box at Citizens Bank Park, you can see ol’ William Penn quite clearly, all 37 feet of him standing atop the City Hall spire off in the distance. Phillies are working out on the field right now. Dodgers’ charter should be taking off from LAX right about now, and the team is expected to arrive around 8 tonight. There will be a more formal, MLB-mandated workout for both teams tomorrow. Phillies’ media availability was well-attended by the media, but not by the players. Only a handful of them came into the locker area of the clubhouse while reporters (dozens of them) were allowed in. Fortunately, one of them was the guy I was looking for, center fielder Shane Victorino. In case you don’t remember, he’s the guy the Dodgers let get away TWICE via the Rule 5 draft, and his grand slam in Game 2 was arguably the biggest hit of the Phillies’ four-game division series win over the Brewers. Victorino’s story, how he went from an overlooked prospect with the Dodgers to the everyday CF for the Phillies, can be found in tomorrow’s paper. That’s about all I have for today. Hasta manana.