Beginning tomorrow, the Phillies will, for the first time all season, be ceremony free.

The trip to Colorado was probably uneventful, but other than that weekend series, this team has been on an emotional roller coaster for 2 weeks.

It started with all of the requisite World Series celebrations, concluding with the ring ceremony on April 8th. Then the Phils went to Colorado, took 2 of 3, and headed to Washington with a little head of steam.

Then, on Monday, tragedy. Harry was gone in a flash. For the last week, everyone has grieved over the loss of one of the Phillies most cherished family members ever.

It’s been hard to focus on baseball this week. Well, 2009 baseball anyway. I’ve been stuck on thoughts of seasons past and Phillies moments that were punctuated by Harry Kalas’ signature calls. It still feels too soon to react to a big Phillies moment with unabashed joy. It will come. But for me, I’m not there yet.

If you have been paying attention in the past week to Phillies baseball, you’ve seen the pitching staff continue to struggle to miss bats. Phillie pitchers have given up a league worst number of home runs (23 through Friday night’s 8-7 loss to the Pads). The offense is showing life, but we’re still waiting for Jimmy Rollins to realize that the 2009 season has, in fact, begun. Rollins is batting .125 with 0 SBs through the season’s first 9 games and a lovely -20 OPS+.

Cole Hamels’ start last night was an improvement over his previous one, but that’s not saying much. Through the first 3 innings, Cole was cruising through 3 innings, with a pitch count of 29 and just one mistake in the form of a long ball off the bat of Luis Rodriguez.

Then it started to unravel, with Cole giving up 4 runs over the 5th and 6th innings on the strength of two 2-run homers. The Phils should have still been able to win the game despite the offense falling asleep after building the 7-1 lead. But Ryan Madson had an awful 8th inning, giving up 3 runs and the Phillies’ lead in the process. The Phils had a shot in the bottom of the ninth, but Matt Stairs looked at a called third strike to end the game, stranding Raul Ibanez on 1st base.

I’m sure I am not alone in looking forward to less drama for the Fightins in the coming weeks and months. It’s time for a return to normalcy.

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So far, Raul Ibanez is making Ruben Amaro Jr. look pretty smart. While we’ll never say “Pat who?”, Ibanez has delivered exactly as advertised. He is a professional hitter who puts the ball in play and has pop in the bat. He has so far played a competent left field, and Charlie seems quite comfortable to leave him in the game in the late innings. Through 9 games, Raul is hitting .361 with a 1.175 OPS, 3 HR and 7 RBI.

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My favorite Harry Kalas moment occurred 800 miles away on August 23, 2006 at Wrigley Field. I was in Chicago for business for just 24 hours. The Phillies happened to be playing in Chicago that week for a four game series.

I had never been to Wrigley Field, so it was a no-brainer that I was going to get to the game the one night I was staying in Chicago.

I bought the best seat I could for God knows how much money. I was 6 rows behind the visitors’ dugout. The Phillies won the game 2-1 on a 9th inning double by Jimmy Rollins that plated Abraham Nunez.

Harry Caray used to lead the fans in a rendition of “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” during the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley for years. After Carary passed away in February 1998, the Cubs began to have guest celebrities take Caray’s place.

Harry Kalas was chosen to conduct the Wrigley faithful in “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” 3 times. Including the night I was at Wrigley.

I never met Harry Kalas, but seeing him rule Wrigley Field for a glorious moment in the waning days of the 2006 season is a moment I will never forget.

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The following three Phillies get the points for The 2009 Bennett Award, given to the most valuable player for the Phils based on my very unscientific formula of awarding 3, 2 and 1 point in each Phillies series in 2009 to the top 3 performers for that series. The Phillie who finishes the year with the most points will win the Bennett Award, named after my Dad’s favorite player from the 1964 Phillies, Dennis Bennett.

In the Washington series:

3 – Ryan Howard (3-run homer in 9-8 win on 4/13)
2 – Shane Victorino (1 HR, 2 RBI in 9-8 win on 4/13)
1 – Raul Ibanez (2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI in 9-8 win on 4/13)

Season Leaders

5 – Ryan Howard
4 – Raul Ibanez
3 – Chase Utley & Jayson Werth