I’ll be completely honest with you – I’ve been a little busy of late and forgot about this blog. Hopefully I can be forgiven because there’s a valid reason that posts haven’t been popping up on here every Monday: it’s baseball season, in full-swing! That’s right, the R-Phils have played 19 regular season games thus far (almost 1/7th of the season already) including two home stands, one that wraps up tonight. So let’s get caught up, it’s been a while.

The last time I wrote an entry on this site, the R-Phils had beaten Portland 7-5 to earn their first victory of the year and level their record at 1-1. ClickEffects was becoming easier for me to run, and the general flow of the day was at a much more comfortable pace – even if the days themselves are hectic. Flash forward to April 28, and the team is sitting at 8-11 after last night’s double header. ClickEffects is a great tool, Frency (our Hall of Fame PA announcer) has a nickname for me, and the Stephen Strasburg circus just came and went. Oh, how quickly things can change. Did I mention Domonic Brown is hitting close to .350? Or that Brad Lidge and Joe Blanton are on rehab assignments here? Yes, Baseballtown has been jam-packed with stars, fans, and promotions over the past few weeks. Simply put…it’s been a great way to kick off 2010.

The first home stand against Portland and New Hampshire came and went, along with a match-up between Phillippe Aumont and former R-Phil Kyle Drabek. Intrigue anyone? The good guys came away with a victory in that one and finished the very first home stand with a 5-2 mark at FirstEnergy Stadium. Michael Spidale and Brandon Pinckney were en fuego. Times were good.

You probably know this from reading www.readingphillies.com, but the road trip to Richmond and Harrisburg turned out to be a bit rough, as the R-Phils managed a 1-6 record away from home. One of the neater experiences thus far in my tenure in Reading was taking a short drive to Harrisburg to see top-prospect Stephen Strasburg take the mound against our boys. I can say it with complete honesty – this kid is the real deal. He was hitting 98 consistently on the gun, with his off-speed stuff clocking in at 77. It was dazzling to watch, and quite interesting to here him talk at his post-game press conference in the Senator’s team store. I think someday I might look back and say, “Wow…I was recording Strasburg talk in a gift shop at Harrisburg’s stadium…and he’s 15-5 for the Nationals so far.” You never know.

The rest of the time the team was on the road was mostly downtime, as I got to go home every day at around 2:00 p.m. Yes, if you’re wondering, that is a joke. There’s no time for that in Baseballtown, as everyone was pulling their weight to get ready for the next set of home games. The Baseballtown Gazette was sent off to the Reading Eagle for publication and I feel good about the turnout, even though there were a few mistakes that had to be touched up here and there. As the season carries on, not only will the program look better, but it will become easier and easier to actually produce.

I must say, I’ve had a number of nicknames so far in my almost 23 years. Some of them, perhaps most, aren’t PG, so I won’t share them right at this moment for you. But it was beyond an honor for Frenchy, the awesome PA announcer, to give me a nickname that will without a doubt stick for the rest of the season (in the press box at least). I was outside bringing up papers during a recent home game as Frenchy was introducing the camera crew and video and sound crews. He knew me, he knew where I went to college, and thus…Aaron “The Owl” Gottlieb was born. I love it of course, as I’m a very proud Temple alumni, and brag about my Owls as much and as often as I can.

The current home stand wraps up tonight as Joe Blanton takes the mound for the second time in Reading. Between Blanton and Lidge both pitching for the R-Phils, it’s been a complete media frenzy. Throw in Strasburg and it’s just insane, to say the least. It will be nice to have a bit of rest from all the press conferences, intense fan demands, and roster moves…but at the same time, how cool is it to see those three pitchers play right in front of me? Not many people can say that.

So, as usual, I feel as if I’ve gone on far too long. For those of you still reading, I appreciate it, and hopefully another post will be up here sooner rather than later. The team goes on the road tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be here working. So here’s to an R-Phils victory tonight…I’ll catch you next time.