Join our live coverage of the Phillies home opener

I am told that the rain will stop, the clouds will part, the sun will shine and baseball will return to Citizens Bank Park this afternoon.

The Phillies, after deciding on Sunday afternoon that they didn't like the forecast for Monday and pulling the plug on the game early, will kick off the 10th year at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon at 4 vs. the Milwaukee Brewers. And we want you to be part of our live coverage!

You can take part in our live blog on Twitter simply by using the #Phillies hashtag. Beat writer Dennis Deitch and columnist Jack McCaffery will be leading our coverage.

Reporter Jeff Wolfe and photographer Julia Wilkinson also will be on hand looking for Delco folks celebrating the return of Phillies baseball to South Philly.

Our live blog will kick off with all the pre-game celebrations at 3. Make sure you tune in.

I found the Phillies decision to call yesterday's game more than 24 hours earlier somewhat interesting.

While it did not rain until fairly late in the afternoon, by around 6 which would have been smack dab in the middle of the game, it was coming down pretty good.

I guess at this point I also should enter the confessional.

I have for years said that the Phillies had discovered the Holy Grail, that it was not actually the baseball being played on the field, but in fact the stadium that had captured the hearts of baseball fans.

They had lured a generation of young people that many experts believed the game had lost forever back into the fold by making their little bandbox the "place to be" every summer in Philly.

Along the way, they had an incredible streak of sell-outs that stretched over a couple of seasons.

Turns out winning still has a lot to do with that.

Not surprisingly, the streak ended last year as the Phils struggled.

You can now walk up to the window and buy a ticket for almost every game, something that was unheard of a few years ago. The conspiracy theorist in me wonder if that played a part in the Phillies decision to call off the opener early. They still have standing room only ducats available for the opener. A rainy day would not be terribly conducive to selling them. That is part of the reason they build in that off-day.

Then again, on the flip side, the Phils for years took heat for making fans wait forever before calling the game off. At any rate, baseball is back today.

After a road trip in Texas and Chicago that sees the Phils come back home with a worst record than they should have had, the team will get some home cooking in South Philly.

All is right with the world.

Comments