The Phillies Theater of the Absurd

The Phillies theater of the absurd continues. The Washington Nationals got the best of the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2. Manager Joe Girardi was insisting Nats starter, Max Scherzer (5 innings pitched, 2 hits, and an earned run with 8 strikeouts and 3 walks) was doctoring the baseball. Scherzer had already been checked by umpires twice but Girardi presented his case when Scherzer continually was touching his hair.

“Obviously Girardi, for me, it’s kind of confusing, if you watch the [Alec] Bohm at-bat,” after which Girardi made his request, “I almost put a 95 MPH fastball in his head because the ball slipped out of my hand. The whole night I was sick of kind of licking my fingers and tasting rosin all night, so I couldn’t even get sweat from the back of my head because it wasn’t really a warm night, so for me, the only part that was actually sweaty for me was actually my hair, so I had to take off my hat to try to get some moisture on my hand to try to mix with the rosin.”

The Absurd

Scherzer dropped his cap and glove on the turf and in a scene reminiscent of the movie Slapshot, unbuckled his belt. The angered pitcher stared down Girardi to the point Girardi came back on the field before umpires restrained him. The Nats bench kept chirping and Girardi once again came on the field and was finally ejected. Oh, by the way, there actually was a game going on.

Scherzer gets checked for sticky stuff and chaos ensues, a breakdown pic.twitter.com/Roh6wbCHLF
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) June 23, 2021

Zack Wheeler was ineffective in his three innings allowing 6 hits, 3 earned runs a walk, and four strikeouts. Girardi continues to burn his bullpen horses. Bailey Falter, Connor Brogdon, Ranger Suarez, Archie Bradley, and Jose Alvarado all saw game action. Josh Bell planted an RBI single as did Yan Gomes to give Washington a 2-0 lead.

A good sign for Philly. Bryce Harper (2 for 4, 1 RBI) blasted a solo shot to cut the lead in half. Gomes (2 for 4, 2 RBI) plated his second RBI single to make it 3-1 after three innings. It would stay that way until Rhys Hoskins went yard with a solo shot in the eighth to close the score. 3-2. Despite not getting a hit, Brad Miller reached base three times via walks. The question is will the Phillies theater of absurd continue?

Kevin Neibauer

Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.

Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.

A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.