Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Where are all the fans?

MIAMI -- Last night's game here was wild and wacky, so here are a few leftovers that didn't quite make the cut in this morning's paper.

* The announced crowd at Dolphin Stadium was 6,017, but in reality, there couldn't have been much more than 2,000-3,000 fans. Honestly, it's hard to blame baseball fans in south Florida for staying away. Except for Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera, the Marlins traded away everyone from their 2003 World Series winner. The stadium was built for football, not baseball, and is anything but intimate. And rumor has it the team is going to move, maybe to San Antonio. The result is a sea of empty seats, colored in Dolphins orange. Kind of sad, actually, when you consider this team has won two World Series in the past 10 years. That's one more title than the Phillies have won in what, 123 years?

* Phillies manager Charlie Manuel finally had enough last night. Television cameras caught Manuel blistering his team in the dugout before the fourth inning. He waved his arms, raised his voice, yelled, screamed, hooted, hollered. That's unlike the mild-mannered Manuel, a players' manager who prides himself on keeping the clubhouse relaxed. But when you just lost two of three to the lowly Pirates and trail the lowlier Marlins, 5-1, in the fourth, something's must be done. And good, old Charlie flipped out.

* Cole Hamels has allowed one hit through six innings for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

* And this, from the Class AA Reading Phils today in Trenton, N.J. ...

Gio Gonzalez -- 5 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 6 K
Julio Santana -- 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 1 K

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