Yes, I did patiently and politely stand with all the kids hoping for a Cole Hamels Autograph and he was good enough to sign this card for me. Wednesday was the annual Police Athletic League Night. PAL sponsers programs for area kids and brings thousands of them out for one Phils game each year - Several Phils were out signing autographs for the occasion including Joe Blanton, Geoff Jenkins, and of course Jamie Moyer.
In Wednesday night's game starter Kyle Kendrick, Chad Durbin, and Ryan Madson shutout the Marlins on five Hits. Kendrick got himself into a couple of jams but was able to pitch out of them. Ryan Howard had a homer and doubled off the top of the wall to pace the offense and the Phils got good glovework out of Eric Bruntlett and Jimmy Rollins.
Plus - I have always been a big "Goodfellas" fan and last night I was presently surprised to get to see Paul Sorvino perform the National Anthem. And he did a phenomenal job, in addition to being an actor he is also an accomplished opera singer, and it definitely showed.
Milestones - Congrats to Mike Cervenak - the 31 year old rookie got his first hit last night - a single through the left-side and he got an RBI on that hit also.
Minus - NONE - A Win, Auto, Pauly, Mets Lose - there are no minuses here.
BlahBlahBlah - On the same day that Gio Gonzalez make his major league debut, news comes out that the Phils were scouting the one-win wonder Freddy Garcia, whom the Phils had recieved for Gonzalez in a trade prior to the 07 season. It does not appear Garcia would be available this year - In much happier news Kris Benson had another good start last night for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
Around the League - Glad the Yankees don't need that guy that threw 7+ perfect innings for the Bucos on Wednesday.
Off the Diamond - Thailand's first shot at a gold Medal will come in the Women's weightlifting, which by my calculations will be occuring at 9p on Friday night.
Useless Info - Team Phungo pulls back to even (4-4) in Phils games this year.
On Deck - Hoping to catch the Dodgers and their new left fielder for a game the weekend of August 22nd.
About Paul Sorvino's voice, I recently bought a book about singing (The Way to Sing by Joan Barton DeCaro and Jeanne Donato) which has a DVD on which Paul Sorvino is interviewed by Charlie Rose. He credits his great voice to the techinque taught in this book and by his voice teacher, Joan Barton DeCaro. It's really a good read and you can understand why he sounded so great singing the National Anthem. I also saw him in the lead role of Most Happy Fella at Lincoln Center in New York City and I can tell you that his phenomenal voice is even better in person than it was on TV.
ReplyDeleteYes, When they announced Sorvino as an opera singer, I figured he would be quite good - and we were not dissappointed. It was a very nice surprise. They won't capture this great rendition of the National Anthem, but I have some somewhat fuzzy pictures of Sorvino's performance - I will try and post them here if I get the time.
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