The Phillies are using flamethrowers to try and fix their infield
Rough weather over the weekend made a mess of the field.
Every person on the Phillies’ ground crew banded together and figured out a way for them to play with flamethrowers on Monday, as they attempt to fix what is apparently a ravaged infield thanks to rough weather over the weekend. “Seriously boss, the only way we can fix this problem is with flamethrowers. No other option.”
As The Athletic’s Matt Gelb reports, the tarp at Citizens Bank Park was apparently not down on the field for at least some part of this weekend leaving the infield at the mercy of the rain that swept through the region. So the CBP groundscrew opted to try to fix it with normal heaters (it seems) before opting for ... flamethrowers?
Meghan Montemurro, also from the The Athletic, came through with some decent flamethrower video.
Phillies groundskeepers are using two flamethrowers to try to get the infield dirt ready in an effort to make the field playable for tonight’s game vs. the Nationals pic.twitter.com/ywwfE6NqDp
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) September 10, 2018
“The Phillies are using flamethrowers to fix their infield” is never going to be a sensical sentence. Just a normal Monday in Philadelphia shooting fire at a bunch of dirt.
The Nationals are visiting on Monday night, and it’s not like they haven’t had their own weather issues this week so at least they’re used to weather-related problems by now.
A senior Phillies official said “it’s actually working” about the unorthodox flamethrower use here (although isn’t most flamethrower use unorthodox?) and if that ain’t an extremely accurate description of most of this Philadelphia season.
“It’s actually working,” Howard Smith, a senior Phillies official, said of the blowtorches. He believes Phillies and Nats will play but is unsure if there will be a delay.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 10, 2018
Now I just want to play with a flamethrower. You know how to contact me, Phillies.