Raw Video: Singletary on Buddy Ryan
As far as the Phillies are concerned, Monday night was noteworthy for a couple of reasons.
Vince Velasquez returned to the hill after his biceps strain and the offense exploded to support him in an 8-0 victory over Diamondbacks in Arizona (see game story).
But that doesnt change the fact the Phils have gone just 7-19 in the month of June and have seen the good vibes from the seasons surprising start evaporate. The midseason malaise has renewed the call of fans for the club to bring up some of its talented prospects from the minors to try and inject some life into the struggling team.
Those fans got their wish as two prospects debuted Monday night well, kinda. Their debuts didnt take place at Chase Field in Phoenix, rather they took place in Tampa, Florida. And they didnt happen on a baseball diamond, but instead in the middle of a wrestling ring on WWE Monday Night Raw.
Yep, Carlos Tocci and Mitch Walding got the call-up from Single A all the way to the big leagues of Raw. Well, sports entertainment fugazi Carlos Tocci and Mitch Walding, that is.
Ok youre probably confused by now, so allow me, a nerd who blew most of his lifes savings at Wrestlemania in Dallas a few months ago, to break this whole thing down.
Raw was at Tampas Amalie Arena last night, just a short drive from Clearwater, home to Bright House Field, which houses the Phillies during spring training and is also the home yard of the Phils Single A affiliate, the Threshers. Tocci, a centerfielder, and Walding, a third baseman, both currently play for Clearwater.
Last night on Raw, there was a squash tag-team match, which is wrestling lingo for lets bring in two random dudes with fake names no one has ever heard of and pay them to get their a***s kicked on worldwide television by two established stars to make the established guys look good. Fascinating stuff, I know.
Last nights established stars were Enzo Amore, a delightfully annoying wrestler with a New York accent who will remind you of your kid on a vicious sugar rush, and Big Cass, another New Yorker whos 7-foot tall and calls everyone S-A-W-F-T. SAAAAAWWWWWFFFTTT. So basically, they trash talk their opponents like you would in your local Philly rec basketball league but then kick their faces in, legally.
Last nights two random dudes were named Carlos Tocci and Mitch Walding. No, really. Heres a vid to prove it. Listen as announcer Michael Cole clearly says their names right before the fake Tocci and Walding get beat down quickly. (h/t Nick Piccone on the vid.)
I have no idea where that whole idea came from or what it even means, but its still kind of amazing to have wrestlers named after two random Phillies prospects.
Heres where things get more interesting. Last nights results on wwe.com have the wrestlers listed as Carlos Hersey and Mitch Walden. But go back to that video and you can tell Cole clearly says the names of the Phils prospects.
Why the switch? I have no clue. Maybe there was some sort of issue or something. But that doesnt change the fact Carlos Tocci and Mitch Walding wrestled on my TV last night.
For those wondering, Tocci, whom MLB.com had ranked as the Phils" 14th-best prospect before the season began, is hitting .286 with six homers and 27 RBI this year while Walding is batting .266 with nine homers and 37 RBI.
Anyway, Ive had my investigative reporting shoes on since this all went down on TV last night and heres what Ive come up with as the *bulletproof* explanation: Vince McMahon is a huge Phillies fan. Case closed. Thanks for reading.
Source: http://www.csnphilly.com/the700level/fakewipcaller-remembers-buddy-ryan
