Happy first day of spring games for Minor Leaguers!

Last week I found out that this blog has been ranked as one of the Top 50 MLB Pro blogs — can you tell I am still extremely happy about that? That’s my mug on the home page too. Check it out!

Today was an extremely busy day, and while we are exactly one month from Opening Night (April 14),
it’s really starting to feel more like the season is here.

Alex, my Media/PR assistant has really been a big help. We are just about done creating our media guide — then we can move on to the Baseballtown Gazette.

Tuesday will serve as a good day to proof-read the media guide, since the press box will not have power all day! Combine that with the internet being down for the majority of today (Monday), and the pressure of being ready for Opening Day has hit.

Also today, WFMZ ran a story on the $10 Million Renovations during their 5:30 newscast. I think that went extremely well. Great coverage all offseason from WFMZ!

Okay, as for today’s games, check out my full recap here. Now let’s go beyond the recap, with some additional notes from today:

Triple-A squad:

Michael Spidale — Spidale, an Illinois native, who has spent parts of the past four seasons in Baseballtown, went 1-2 with a stolen base and RBI for the Triple-A squad today. Last season he was named the R-Phils MVP after hitting a solid .303 in 131 games.

Matt Rizzotti — Rizzotti, a member of the Phillies 40-man roster, went 1-3 with a stolen base. The New York native was reassigned to Minor League camp on Friday after hitting .265 with one home run and two RBIs in Major League camp this spring. A sixth round selection of the Phillies in the 2007 draft, Rizzotti, 25, hit a remarkable .361 with 16 home runs and 62 RBIs for the R-Phils in 2010.

Tagg Bozied — Bozied, who was also assigned to Minor League camp on Friday, shined for the Triple-A squad today. The South Dakota native launched a home run and finished Monday afternoon 2-4. Bozied hit 27 home runs and an Eastern League-best .315 last season as a member of the R-Phils.

Double-A squad:

Francisco Diaz — Diaz, who will celebrate his 21st birthday one week from today (March 21), went 2-3 with a double, a run scored, and an RBI for the Double-A Phils. Last season, the Venezualan native hit .307 in 29 games for the GCL Phillies.

Eric Pettis — Pettis tossed a scoreless inning in Monday’s opener. Last season, as a member of the Williamsport Crosscutters (A-), Pettis posted an impressive line. He went 8-0 with seven saves and a 1.37 ERA over 20 games.

Single-A squad:

Jeremy Barnes — Barnes homered and drove-in two runs today for the Single-A club, who beat the Toronto Blue Jays Single-A squad 6-2. An 11th round selection in the 2009 draft by Philadelphia, Barnes, 23, finished Monday’s contest a perfect 2-2 at the dish. Last season he posted a .292 batting average for Lakewood (A-) over 109 games.

Jim Murphy — Murphy, who spent the entire 2010 campaign in Clearwater (A+) with the Threshers, went 2-3 with a walk and two runs scored today. Murphy has appeared in two games for the Major League club this spring, but has yet to register a hit (0-5 with a run scored). In 397 at-bats for Clearwater last season, the Washington native hit .239 with 6 homers.