Phils surge into DC with renewed confidence

CORONADO, Calif. (April 11, 2011) Major league baseball player Kyle Kendrick, of the Philadelphia Phillies, holds a Carl Gustav rocket launcher during a tour of SEAL Team 3 at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kyle D. Gahlau/Released) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Phillies series in Atlanta was a turning point for this team. Through the month of April, this Phillies team struggled and couldn't find it's way. That wasn't the team that we saw in Atlanta. Yesterday afternoon, it was Joe Blanton putting in a complete game, just the 7th CG of his career, as the Phillies took the series from the Braves by winning 4-0.

The offense seems like it is starting to heat up, much like the weather in which the Phillies were playing in down in Atlanta, and the warmer weather will be in Washington for this weekend series between the first place Nationals.

Kyle Kendrick will pitch for the Phillies vs Stephen Strasburg, who is pitching for the Nationals, Strasburg has great numbers so far in 2012,  2-0 and a  1.13 ERA

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Washington Nationals (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Washington Nationals front office made some news in the off-season complaining that too many Phillies fans were making the trip to DC to cheer on their team. The Nationals CEO, Andy Feffer, sponsored a "Take Back The Park" promotion for the Nationals to fans in the Maryland, DC, and Virginia states that offered seats to them only first for the Phillies series, before the tickets went on public sale. We'll see if his efforts to stifle fans from Philly that want to go down to DC and spend money at the ballpark and concessions and lodging to make to trip to see their team. Hey, the last time I checked this was still America and we are free to do that, Mr. Andy Feffer.

Even Jayson Werth, our old best buddy, chimed in for the story for the post, though he got his facts wrong, I don't remember a program that the Phillies sponsored that kept Mets fans from coming to Philly. Here's what Werth said: 
Former Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth recalled the Phillies running a similar promotion during his first years in Philadelphia aimed at keeping New York Mets fans out of Citizens Bank Ballpark.

“All I know is, in ’07 it was 50-50, 60-40 Mets to Phillies fans,” Werth said. “And then pretty soon there were very little Mets fans. Whether that’s because they stopped selling to Mets fans or they just stopped coming, I don’t know.

“You’re definitely better off with a park full of your own fans at home compared to a park full of somebody else’s fans at home. I think it’s good.”

Read the Washington Post article here from February on the plans to keep Phillies fans out of the DC Ballpark  

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