After consecutive World Series appearances, March baseball doesn’t mean much to the Phillies nor their fans.

Sure, there was some excitement. Jayson Werth’s beard, for example. There was also Charlie Manuel losing 50 pounds. And some stuff about the roster.

Now, on the last day of March, there is some drama in Phillies camp. Closer Brad Lidge, he of the shaky confidence, had a cortisone injection in his elbow Wednesday morning. Already throwing well below his normal velocity, there is plenty of reason to worry about Lidge, even without last season’s monumental struggles.

Shortly after the Lidge news, Roy Halladay took the mound in his final spring training start against his old team. Toronto lit Doc up for four runs in the first inning, though he settled down to strike out the side in the second and held the Blue Jays scoreless in his third and final inning. Still, it was enough to earn Halladay his only loss of spring training—the same day Sports Illustrated’s MLB season preview hit the stands in Philadelphia, featuring none other than Doc himself on the cover.

Are we worried about Halladay? Hardly. Still, it fits nicely with the narrative.

After the loss, we unfortunately found out Joe Blanton has abdominal muscles, contrary to all appearances. Blanton suffered a strained oblique muscle pitching in his bullpen session, and is scheduled to see the team doctor tomorrow.

Perhaps the Phillies will be needing Kyle Kendrick in the starting rotation after all…

By now you’ve surely heard Philadelphia’s version of Grizzly Adams, soon-to-be-overpaid-free-agent-signing Jayson Werth, has shaved the beard of Jesus proportions grown while meditating in the Burmese Myanmarese mountains with J. Peterman after the Phillies’ World Series loss to the New York Yankees.

In a turn of events that set the hearts aflutter of teenage girls and sportswriters alike, Werth unveiled his new-old look at batting practice Tuesday morning before the Phillies played Ed Wade’s Astros.

Behold, Jayson Werth, as he basically looked before!

Photo courtesy of Todd Zolecki

Back is the familiar facial landing strip, starting at the bottom lip and stretching down. The hair is still there, of course, but the beard is gone, with no warning, lending further to the mystery of Jayson Werth: unpredictable, eccentric, but chock full of character and grit.

And that, friends, is the essence of Jay-Dub, The Most Interesting Man in Baseball.

In case you haven’t caught this already, here’s a classic example of some anger issues.

In a March 27th AHL game between the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Abbotsford Heat, Jim Playfair, head coach of the Heat, lost his cool after one of his players was given a game misconduct for running into the Bulldogs’ goalie.

(Watch the player to the right during the antics. I’m pretty sure he’s trying to cover up his laughter.)

As announced today, Playfair received a hefty fine and probably mandatory anger management classes.

When asked about the tantrum:

“It isn’t my proudest moment for sure. It’s not to the point where it’s embarrassing.”

Not embarrassed?! This will be up there with Phil Wellman’s circus act on future blooper reels.

A Joe Palmer iPhone Production

It is nothing if not obvious that the Flyers’ 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils was inspired solely by the sign seen on this car in the Wachovia Center parking lot.

Does anyone know if Peter Laviolette drives a gold Mitsubishi Galant?

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If Gus Johnson isn’t the best thing about March Madness, we don’t know what is.

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It seems to not matter what the Flyers do at this point.

Effort, even if it is there, goes wasted. Goals are taken off the board. Goaltenders play admirably only to get hurt. Penalties go uncalled for opponents, but are never missed the other way.

Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Penguins was far from a surprise. At this point, the Penguins are the Phillies to the Flyers’ Mets. The Penguins always get the best of the Flyers, with or without outside help.

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