Jake Arrieta pitched today in a Grapefruit League game.  He threw two innings and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits including a HR and struck out two.  He didn’t walk or hit anyone.  His fastball sat 93 mph, touching 95, his curve was 81-83, and his slider was 87–89. Continue reading Spring Training at the Complex, Mar. 18-22, 2018 →

The schedule for Phillies’ eXtended Spring Training (XST) games is available.  Home games are played at the Carpenter Complex.  This version is current as of March 10, 2018. Continue reading 2018 Phillies XST Schedule →

The Saint Patrick’s Day Game.  Always a big draw at Spectrum Field.  I arrived at the Complex at 8:45 AM in anticipation of a late change regarding Jake Arrieta.  His scheduled appearance in a minor league game was moved to an earlier simulated game.  No telling what time that would be held. Continue reading Spring Training at the Complex, Mar. 17, 2018 →

I arrived at the Complex at 8:30 AM.  The players parking lot was full to capacity.  As I walked up the driveway, I could see some coaches working with a pitcher on the mounds between Ashburn and Schmidt.  They cleared out before I could get there.  Eshelman and Thompson were came out and played catch in left field on Ashburn. Continue reading Spring Training at the Complex, Mar. 16, 2018 →

The minor league camp had a scheduled day off on Monday.  Most players were in and out of the Complex by 9:00 AM.  They received their new group assignments as their spring training games were set to start on Tuesday.

Bad weather kept fans away from the Complex although the weather cleared by early afternoon.  I stopped by to see if copies of the work groups were available.  They weren’t. Continue reading Spring Training at the Complex, Mar. 12-15, 2018 →

Daylight savings time, I lost an hour of sleep, and arrived at the Complex a little late.  So, of course, the players were out doing their drills and BP earlier than normal.  One benefit for Groups Three and Four was that the Phillies were to play a night game on the road, so they didn’t have to trudge over to DiMaggio. Continue reading Spring Training at the Complex, Mar. 11, 2018 →

I arrived at the Compex at 9:00 AM.  Players and coaches were already filing out to the fields.  Two intrasquad games were scheduled for 1:30 PM.  

The players were on all four fields and some pitchers were on the two sets mounds between Ashburn/Schmidt and Carlton/Roberts Fields.   Continue reading Spring Training at the Complex, Mar. 10, 2018 →

They played two intrasquad games at the Complex Friday.  

I managed to make it to the Complex in time to see the post-break work out.  As I waited for it to start, I was the only non autograph seeker there and was delighted when Mr. Kingery arrived.  We talked baseball for a while before I finally noticed that the players hadn’t taken their break in the dugouts as they had in days past.  Then I saw an umpire waiting outside the umpires’ locker room.  Hallelujah!  Games instead of drills. Continue reading Spring Training at the Complex, Mar. 9, 2018 →