Afternoon delight for Phillies fans?

There is no truth to the rumor that the Phillies have become the official team of the nation’s liberals.

But you wouldn’t know it by taking a gander at their likely starting rotation for the National League Division Series that kicks off Wednesday afternoon against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park.

Lefty, lefty, lefty.

Officially, Charlie Manuel has not yet shown his hand in terms of his starters. He is expected to meet the press and divulge that bit of information this afternoon.

But it’s a pretty good guess that Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee will be 1-2, although not necessarily in that order. After that it gets more interesting.

The Rockies are vulnerable to left-handed pitching. Their regular season record against lefties was under .500; their left-handed bats were far less effective than whey they dig in against right-handers.

That’s why a lot of people believe J.A. Happ could find his way into the Phils’ starting rotation, maybe even as soon as Saturday night in Denver.

In the meantime, the region’s economy is expected to come to a screeching halt about 2:30 both Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

It seems there’s no shortage of opinion about the fact that the Phils have been relegated to the afternoon games – not exactly prime time status – despite the fact that they’re defending World Series champs.
Instead, we’ll get a steady diet of Red Sox and Yankees at night.

Don’t look for me to complain. Afternoon games work very well for newspapers. If you have an hour, I’ll try to explain the problems that Saturday night’s 9:37 p.m. start in Denver creates.

In the meantime, a lot of Phillies fans are grumbling. Many people with tickets now realize they cannot get to the game, stuck in their cubicles. Bar owners are not exactly giddy about the times, either.
They’d do a much better business with a night game than late afternoon.
I’m guessing it could put a little juice in Happy Hour.

And if by any chance you’re off and considering actually going to the games, there’s an added bonus. In part because of the afternoon starts, there are lots of tickets available, and for a lot less than you’d expect.

You can score tickets on the StubHub.com site for as little as $134. It is believed that as many as 3,000 tickets are available for the sold-out game at various Web sites.

In the meantime, don’t look for a lot to get done around the office Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Expect crowds to form around the TV.
Office Internet networks are likely to get a workout as fans/workers go online for information about the game.

Welcome to Red October, the sequel.

Just don't call it an afternoon delight, at least for some fans. Unless of course you lean to the left.

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