You’d think I’d have a little more time for blogging, but as is often the case during a three (or four) day weekend, there’s actually a little less.
Quick FLP update - Danny Sandoval began his season with the Buffalo Bisons, but has played the last 28 games with the Syracuse Chiefs. His fortunes in Syracuse have taken a most decided turn for the better - in 43 games with the Bisons, he hit .247. In a Chiefs jersey? He’s raised his average by 74 points to .321 and his OBP 63 points to .372. His slugging percentage is a whopping 200 points better in Syracuse.
One of the last remaining FLPs still doing duty with the big club in Philadelphia is Clay “Air Miles” Condrey. Funny, for all the time he spent here in Ottawa, I’m still going through my “less extensive than John Bradley’s” photo archive for a single photo of Clay. I’ll keep looking, but meanwhile, it seems that Clay is about to log more time on a plane:
PHILADELPHIA — Entering a game with the bases loaded can be a nervous time for any reliever, and the Phillies’ Clay Condrey is no exception.
Making the right pitch in such a spot is nothing compared to what he’ll experience during Monday’s day off. Condrey headed home to Navasota, Texas — about 3 1/2 hours from Arlington, where the team finished a three-game series — to witness the birth of his first child.
It doesn’t matter that his wife will be doing all the work.
“Right now, I’m nervous more than anything,” he said. “She’s having a C-section. I’m sure they do those things all the time, just not with my wife.”
Condrey has received permission to spend two days with his wife, Elizabeth, and his son, and is expected to rejoin the team Thursday in Atlanta.
Best wishes to Clay and family and congratulations on the new arrival.
Finally, a quick Q+A from the Philadelphia Inquirer with Clay Condrey - figured we’d go with the “breaking news” story first.
Q: It’s Game 7 of the World Series and you recover So Taguchi’s walkoff home run in the bullpen. Are you giving the ball to Taguchi or Cooperstown, or are you Mientkiewicz-ing it?
- Kevin K., Mt. Laurel, N.J.
A: I give it to So. It’s not mine. It would mean something more for him to tell stories.
Q: How did you avoid suspension during triple-A Portland’s brawl with a Las Vegas 51’s fan in 2003 [every member of the Portland Beavers except Condrey was suspended after they chased a fan into the stands after he threw a soft squeezeball at Tagg Bozied]?
- John T., Montclair, N.J.
A: It was after the game and I was inside icing my shoulder. I was starting that year, so I was inside. They didn’t come into the clubhouse for about five or 10 minutes. I had the ice and I was sitting on the couch. I went to take it off and started going outside, but they were coming in whooping and hollering and I realized I was in my underwear so I wasn’t going outside. I didn’t really know what was going on until they came in.
Q: Being an avid outdoorsman, do you, like “Sack Master” in the movie Wedding Crashers, hunt quail? - Greg P., Hoboken, N.J.
A: I don’t hunt quail. I hunt deer, dove, duck. That’s it. Rabbits. Whatever I can eat.
Q: Squirrels?
A: Squirrels, too. It’s good stuff.
Q: Have you had a raccoon?
A: Yeah, I was forced to eat one once. It’s very greasy and very tough. I’ve had armadillo one time. It’s the same type of deal. The armadillo is probably the worst thing I’ve eaten. We ate it because we shot it, and anything we shoot we’re supposed to eat.
Okay, now finally. FOTL, the Vermont Lake Monsters sit in first place in the very tight Stedler division with a record of 7-6.
Regulars will already know of our “varied” relationship with Skratch and the Trash Monster. At first Bekah was 