Kyle Drabek Wears Non-Phillies Uniform; Still Really, Really Good

When Roy Halladay took the mound yesterday, it was easy to forget about everything else:  Lidge and Romero’s arms. Shane’s spot in the lineup.  Any work you had planned.  The dishes.  The kids.  The small grease fire starting in the kitchen.  The squirrel that somehow became trapped in the walls of your apartment and is now pleading for its life via panicked clawing and squeals.

Point is, the guy’s an eraser.  Besides Cliff Lee, it sort of makes you forget who we handed over to put his name on the roster.

Until today.

Facing the Blue Jays again, the Phillies looked up and saw none other than Kyle Drabek, formerly known as the Phillies prospect other GMs would salivate over, only to see Ruben Amaro Jr. shaking his head and glaring.

It’s like meeting the kid you gave up for adoption, and boy, he is just pissed as hell at you.  Maybe he understands why you had to let him go, along with a few of your other, younger kids, in order to adopt another, older, better kid… maybe the best child at the orphanage.

But still.  That’s not a kid you want to lock eyes with.  Especially if he’s gripping the seams of a baseball and preparing to hurl at you with stunning velocity.

Drabek started and threw two innings of scoreless baseball, giving up a single hit and a single walk.  As expected, it was a thing of beauty.  Makes you smirk and wonder what a career in red pinstripes would have been like.

And then Kevin Gregg came in for the Jays and pretty much shit all over Drabek’s gem.

It was like Drabek and Gregg went hunting, and Drabek shot a six-point buck, and on his way over to the carcass, he stepped in a bear trap that Gregg had laid for no reason at all.

John Mayberry Jr. continued his reign of terror that he started yesterday in Atlanta with two doubles today, both of which followed doubles from Greg Dobbs, and Cody Ransom bitch-slapped a three run home run, powering the Phils to a 4-2 win.

Cole Hamels, not to be outdone by the infamous Drabek, threw three shutout innings (3 K, 2 BB) for the Phillies, followed by a lead off home run from Jose Bautista in the fourth, giving him a 3.18 ERA in 5 2/3 innings in the Grapefruit League.  I’ll say it: I’m encourage by his success.  Though for some very specific reason he can’t seem to figure out Jose Bautista, who’s now homered off him twice this Spring Training.

If he’s the only guy Cole doesn’t get a handle on this year, I think we’re solid.

And so, as we watch Kyle Drabek drive away in the visiting team’s bus, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t tragically look out the back, softly placing a hand on the window to grasp at the straws of memories that might have been.

Because he’s still Kyle Drabek, and he’s still awesome.  He’s just in another uniform.

Let’s watch that Roy Halladay footage from yesterday again!