Rise and Phight: 2/20/2023

Not sure if you were aware, but this week commences the first week of live baseball, a phenomenon that will take place each week until the beginning of November.

What a time to be alive.

Are the first few weeks of spring training difficult to watch? Of course. The players you want to see usually only get an at bat or two before they head home for the day, meaning you’ll see an endless parade of deep minor leaguers. There might be some sickos out there that like that, but for me, anything baseball related is fine.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• To his credit, Nick Castellanos talked about how much last year was a struggle. He’s primed for a big year.
• Rob Thomson authored spring training routines for years. This year, he has passed on his planning duties for the first time in 25 years.

MLB news:

• The Hall of Fame caps have been chosen. To no one’s surprise, Scott Rolen will be a Cardinal while Fred McGriff has chosen to remain logo-less.
• I don’t like this one bit when it comes to negotiations for the next collective bargaining agreement.
• Clayton Kershaw can’t participate in the World Baseball Class for insurance purposes. Why not?
• With new rules for the umpires to govern come new....hand signals?