Philadelphia Phillies vs. Houston Astros Series Preview: Children of Wade Return
April 1, 2011 by Greg Pinto
Filed under Fan News
Finally, after several months of waiting in the cold, dreary city of Philadelphia, waiting for some signs of life and the hope that spring was just around the corner, it’s here. Sure, it may be raining outside, and the temperature is hovering just around freezing, making the conditions more suitable for a football game than a baseball game, but that doesn’t matter.
It’s here.
Sure, there were plenty of games on tap yesterday. The New York Yankees swiftly defeated the Detroit Tigers, and the division rival Atlanta Braves took care of the Washington Nationals, but to me at least, it just didn’t feel like Opening Day.
It wouldn’t until the reigning National League Cy Young winner Roy Halladay was standing on the mound in Philadelphia, ready to throw the first pitch of the 2011 regular season for the Phillies, and now, that day is here.
In fact, this Opening Day is interesting in a couple of ways for the Phillies. Not only are we going to see all of our favorite Phils’, but we’ll be seeing a couple of familiar faces wearing Houston Astros’ uniforms as well.
Astros’ general manager Ed Wade has made some well documented trades with the Phillies, and more often than not, he’s earned the reputation of bringing some of “his” players, or players that he drafted and groomed in the Minor League system, over to Houston.
The guy opposing Halladay actually made a couple of his own Opening Day starts in a Phillies’ uniform. That man is, of course, Brett Myers.
He’ll be just one of a few Astros’ that have also donned a Phils’ uniform that we’ll see this weekend. Houston’s starting center fielder Michael Bourn was once a top prospect in the Phillies’ system, and on Sunday, despite battling an injury, former Phils’ starter JA Happ is scheduled to face the long time face of the Houston Astros, Roy Oswalt.
So with the Phillies’ regular season just about underway, let’s see if we can crack the outcome of a couple of the games this weekend. Here’s how things could shake out: