THEM!!!

The year was 1954. The LSF was seven years old and, for the last year, Philadelphia had two major league baseball teams. It was also the year that the movie that scared me the most as a kid was released. The movie was, of course, shot in black & white and starred James Arness (best known for his later role as Gunsmoke's Marshal Matt Dillon), James Whitmore, Edmond Gwinn, and all the fifties character actors who fed their families in films just like Them!. The movie also starred some fine examples of Ford Motor Co. cars of the first five years of the fifties.

I imagine that most of you are at least aware of this cult classic story of giant ants that begins in the New Mexico desert not far from the site of the first a-bomb test. I won't tell the story of the movie but urge you to see the film at least once. You need to see this movie so that you can experience the high pitch noise that the nine foot ants make communicating with each other. Yes the film is corny, poorly written and acted, with horrible special effects. However, given the genre and the time it was made, the effects were on a par with its contemporaries.

So, I started out my evening on the sofa watching the Phillies game. My game plan was to watch the Phillies until the NBA final came on, when I would switch back and forth until the 4th quarter of the hoops game. The rain delay had me scrambling so I turned on TCM and ended up watching Them! in it's entirety. When it was over I returned to the Phils in time to see Rollins hit the three run homer.

I don't remember at what theater I first saw Them!. It could have been at the City Line Center Theater or at the 56th St. Theater across the street from my grandfathers hardware store at 56th & Delancey. Wherever I saw it, it scared the shit out of me to the point that I remember having nightmares about those giant ants for several years.

I was happy to see the game Hamels pitched last night. Since that opener against the Madoffs the guy has been the co-ace of the Phillies. Some Aces are more powerful than others and Hamel and Halladay have been the best the Phillies have had so far this year. I still wish the guy would get a more masculine haircut, but he has acted like a superman on the mound this year despite not getting much support from the offense. The LSF has been harsh with Hamels, but my harshness has been replaced with respect and admiration.

It was good that Superstar hit the team's first home run in the month of June, but some of the swings he took last night are very disturbing. I think the guy is frustrated and is pushing without a whole lot of positive results. If Howard could learn to hit the ball the opposite way, that would help his performance. If he could learn to hit the ball to left field, teams would have to play a straight defense instead of the shift and more balls would drop in for hits. We've seen the guy hit plenty of opposite field home runs and a few opposite field singles would help him and the team.

I saw D. Brown make a throw to the plate tonight that caught my attention in a big way. If you remember, last year the guy showed no ability to play defense. He never knew what base to throw to, and his fielding was an adventure. So far this year his defense has been good, and tonight he threw a ball on one hop to the plate and should have gotten an assist except for Sardinha's inability to catch the ball. Brown is showing me that he is a superior athlete, who is dripping with the potential to be a very very good player.

Shit, Madson just gave up a home run to Soto and blew his first save of the year. Double shit! Madson just gave up another home run - this time to Colvin, who had been in a 0-34 slump. Play under review... The replay of Colvin's home run showed fan interference and was ruled a double. The game is still tied.

The meltdown in Miami continues as the Marlins lost their eighth or ninth in a row today. With the fish losing their way out of the NL East Race, attendance will likely be limited to the players' families, and team brass. Since there are no real Marlins fans, Phillie fans who travel with team should be able to get better seats than they can get here. Oh well, bring on the Braves!

I would write more, but I want to see the end of the basketball game, so I'll remind everyone that the Bucs are now at .500, and say farewell for now. If you see any large ants...