We didn’t make it to the complex today, in fact likely won’t go for a bit. There’s really not anything to ascertain from the parking lot. The pitchers continue to work out on Schmidt Field and once they start throwing bullpens on the seven mounds they’ll be even more out of sight. So instead I remained in self imposed quarantine and sat out on my back patio most of the day 🤪 .... things could be worse, there’s no snow and ice here in Clearwater 🤓.
On the first Zoom conference after today’s workouts Joe Girardi announced that catcher JT Realmuto has suffered the first camp injury, he’s got a slight fracture in his right thumb ... the throwing hand. He incurred the injury catching Jose Alvarado in a bullpen session about six days ago. JT has a small cast on for now but will be fitted with a larger cast later today and is expected to likely miss two weeks of throwing and hitting. He will continue catching bullpens and doing all the other drills in camp in the interim.
Veteran catcher Jeff Mathis was mentioned on the call, GIrardi said the 16 year veteran was added to the camp prior to JT’s injury for his superior catching and clubhouse skills. He’s a strong candidate to be the “Taxi Squad” catcher that’s allowed this year for the entire season. That position doesn’t have to be on the 40 man roster, stays with the big club and is available to be added to the roster in case of Covid issues. Having a veteran like Mathis seems ideal for the role.
JT spoke to the media group in the next Zoom session. He showed the temporary cast on his thumb and said he’s confident that he will be back in a couple weeks, said he was surprised it was fractured. Initially he thought it was just a bone bruise. He said the pitch it happened on was one down in the dirt where he got his throwing hand in front of the glove, a freak accident. When asked if he’s ever had a fracture before he said about three years ago with the Marlins he had a small one in his back that he incurred going into a base when taking a knee in the back. He seemed in good spirits on the call and at this point it seems like a minor setback. Let’s hope so anyways.
That’s it for today ...
Oh by the way the Phillies will be issuing a press release soon to announce the publication of “Life in the Minors - the 5th annual Phillies Minor League Digest”. It’s a book I’ve co-authored with Phillies legend the “Baron” Larry Shenk. The foreword was written by Tom McCarthy and the editor was Jim Peyton. The book is already available for purchase on Amazon in both a black and white and color edition. It’s a great book, includes interviews with multiple Phillies legends about their days in the minor leagues and has 170 photos ... many of which were taken by our Phillies - A Fan’s View photography crew ( Cheryl Pursell, Michael Dill, Mark Wylie and George Youngs Jr ) as well as the great Miles Kennedy. Please purchase a copy, I truly believe folks will enjoy it !
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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