It's Official

Cole Hamels will not be pitching Opening Night. According to reports from the Phils, look for Brett Myers or Joe Blanton to be on the mound on April 5th.

Last minute moves...

The Phils are making some last minute moves before Opening Day. Late Friday night they traded catcher Ronny Paulino to the Giants for lefty reliever Jack Taschner. Was this really a surprise to anyone, though? Paulino was traded away from Pittsburgh because of his weight issues and poor work ethic. Charlie Manuel denies this was his issue this spring, stating that they saw holes in his swing. This leaves the Phils with catcher Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste as backup. Hey, if it ain't broke...

They also released Marcus Giles instead of optioning him to the minors. According to the Phillies' website, this was done out of consideration for Giles since he wouldn't get the at-bats he needs at AAA Lehigh Valley. Well, Mr. Giles, we wish you the best of luck wherever you end up. Outfielder John Mayberry, Jr. and righty Carlos Carrasco were optioned out to the minors and righty Mike Koplove, IF Pablo Ozuna, and OF Jason Ellison were all informed they would not be making it onto the 25 man roster at this time.

Oh, how I hate redemptions...

So, I was perusing various card blogs today when I came across a reference to a redemption. This made me recall vaguely that I, too, am waiting for a card from a Topps redemption. Specifically, the Red Hot Rookie #1 from series 2 of 2008 Topps. Allegedly, I redeemed this card on 6/19/2008. Holy crap.