FREE-DOM: Phillies at Pirates Game Thread, July 4, 2013

I'll get the facts out of the way first. Cole Hamels, who got a few extra days to clear his head or finish dumping that body in Tijuana, is starting today. Gerrit Cole, the Pirates' sparkling young pitcher, will oppose him. Today would be a great day for Hamels to get his shit together.

Now that the game facts are out of the way, I'd like to share a few videos. I feel that today isn't just a day to celebrate the birth of our nation, but to celebrate awesomeness in general.

Starting with this seems appropriate.

Now how about some baseball related awesomeness! Behold my favorite Dom Brown home run.

I don't feel that you can have a conversation about baseball related awesomeness without including some Roy Halladay.

And of course:

What do the baseball videos have to do with Independence Day? Well, they are full of awesome. And the team we all love plays in Philadelphia, AKA the Cradle of Liberty, the Birthplace of America, the City of Brotherly Love.

Happy Independence Day, everyone. I invite you to play this with sparklers blazing and a tear in your eye. (For the less sentimental, the Muppet version may be for you.)

Discuss the game in the comments below.