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Gonzo: Domonic Brown hype goes into overdrive

As far as the merger of hype and Philly sports goes, you'd have to put the Spectrum farewell toward the top of the list. When Comcast-Spectacor finally finishes with its interminable goodbye and levels the building in 2021, it's going to be epic.

Domonic Brown, left, had an RBI double in his first major league at bat. (David M Warren / Staff Photographer)
Domonic Brown, left, had an RBI double in his first major league at bat. (David M Warren / Staff Photographer)Read more

As far as the merger of hype and Philly sports goes, you'd have to put the Spectrum farewell toward the top of the list. When Comcast-Spectacor finally finishes with its interminable goodbye and levels the building in 2021, it's going to be epic.

In Philly, we do hype better than most. If you listen to some of the fans and media, Kevin Kolb is already being fitted for his Canton-issued jacket, and Evan Turner will resurrect a lifeless franchise with one of Allen Iverson's tension sleeves tied behind his back. But it seems that nothing and no one has had more hype heaped upon him lately than Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown.

When the Fightin's called Brown up from triple A earlier this week, the town worked itself into the sort of mouth-foaming frenzy previously reserved for Dollar Dog Night or an underground event run by Bad Newz Kennels. Within an hour or so, #dombrownfacts was trending on Twitter. Here's a sampling of the best lines:

Dom Brown's at bat music is A Moment of Silence . . . for the pitcher. - @JWerthsBeard

Ferris Bueller had to ask Dom Brown for the day off. - @unclebutsy

Roy Williams carried Dom Brown's shoulder pads. - @atomicruckus

Dom Brown used to bullseye womp rats with his T-16 back home, and those things are no bigger than two meters - @mistertug

And my favorite:

That Dos Equis guy doesn't always follow baseball players. But when he does, he prefers Dom Brown. - @gingerdad

After two straight World Series appearances by the Phillies, their fans aren't patient people anymore (though, considering the tweets, they are clever). For much of the season, while the Phils struggled and stumbled and looked as though they could start planning their October vacations, there was a groundswell of support from the stands and the press box to bring up Brown. He was seen as the spark, the savior. This despite the fact that many of us had never actually watched him play.

But thanks to the Internet age of omnipresent information and opinion, who needs firsthand knowledge when a couple of computer clicks will do? Back when the Phils were trying to acquire Cliff Lee instead of trade him, we were told Brown was untouchable. That sounded pretty good.

We heard the same thing again when the Fightin's went out and got Roy Halladay. That sounded even better.

The hype increased from there - when Brown hit that monster home run in spring training, when he was promoted to triple A, when Raul Ibanez got off to a slow start this season, and especially when the Jayson Werth trade rumors picked up.

Like most, I was excited to see what Brown could do as a big-league regular even before his impressive debut the other night. Almost everyone agrees he's something special, and his first game only added to the hysteria. At this point, it would be easier to find someone in the Eagles' front office to go on the record and badmouth the Donovan McNabb trade than it would be to get someone to question Brown's ability.

That has to be a ton of pressure. Brown is on a veteran club, a team with a core group that's done some extraordinary and historic things as far as Philly sports go. That should help. Still, the expectations are so high for him now that if he doesn't mash homers and grab his spot in the lineup with a GI Joe kung-fu grip, it will probably be seen by some as a letdown.

And I realize I'm committing baseball blasphemy by wondering this in print, but what happens if Ruben Amaro Jr. decides to send him back to the bushes once Shane Victorino gets off the DL and rejoins the team? I fear Philly's gutters won't be able to handle the flash flood of tears.

But fear not - none of that will happen. Couldn't possibly. Brown is destined to excel - it was predicted in Baseball Prospectus and, if you examine them closely, some of the Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Besides, the kid is smart. He's wearing No. 9. The player who donned No. 9 the longest was Von Hayes. It's only the first week, but Brown has already had a better career.

The 76ers are having their annual Beach Bash at Jack's Place in Avalon beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday. Evan Turner and Ed Stefanski are scheduled to be there. So is Hip-Hop. Call it a push on guests. . . . There's a quixotic movement on Facebook to return the A's to Philadelphia. http://bit.ly/c3OZXb. Tough sell given the Phils' success.