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For Nola's debut, Citizens Bank Park could feel like the glory days

This is going to be something to see and that is seldom said around here anymore. For a five-year span, Citizens Bank Park trumped the Jersey Shore, the Poconos and every other site in our area as the place to be in the searing heat of summer. From the parking lot tailgates to the congested strolls out on Ashburn Alley, the ballpark was a happening as much as it was a place for a great baseball game.

Aaron Nola of the Phillies does some long toss before the game on July 20, 2015. He is scheduled to make his first Major League start on July 21.
Aaron Nola of the Phillies does some long toss before the game on July 20, 2015. He is scheduled to make his first Major League start on July 21.Read more( CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer )

This is going to be something to see and that is seldom said around here anymore.

For a five-year span, Citizens Bank Park trumped the Jersey Shore, the Poconos and every other site in our area as the place to be in the searing heat of summer. From the parking lot tailgates to the congested strolls out on Ashburn Alley, the ballpark was a happening as much as it was a place for a great baseball game.

That is all gone now. Only the diehards and those with free or deeply discounted tickets plop into the blue seats to watch a team that has trouble hitting, pitching and fielding most nights. Plenty of good seats and railing spots above the bullpens are available.

That could be and should be different Tuesday night when Aaron Nola makes his major-league debut against the Tampa Bay Rays.

A crowd between 25,000 and 28,000 is anticipated by John Weber, the Phillies' vice president of sales and ticket operations. That's a far cry from the 40,000-plus that consistently packed the place during the team's 257-game sellout streak, but anything above 25,000 would be north of 26 of the team's 47 home dates so far this season. The Phillies have drawn more than 28,000 only 11 times this season.

Having already seen Nola pitch this season and having talked to numerous scouts who have witnessed the Phillies' 2014 first-round draft pick at different points, I think it is already safe to say this kid is worth the price of admission.

"He does not have the best stuff of all the pitching prospects I've seen, but he might end up being the most reliable," a National League scout said. "He's going to throw strikes with three pitches, he's going to compete his butt off and he's going to eat innings."

That is usually a winning trifecta at every level. It definitely worked well for Nola during his fast climb from being the seventh overall draft pick 13 months ago to the big-league mound he will step upon Tuesday.

The name most often associated with Nola is Hall of Famer Greg Maddux and the comparison is not lost upon the Louisiana native.

"It's definitely a compliment," Nola said. "You know, he's obviously a great Hall of Famer. The guy really knew how to pitch by the way he pitched to hitters and got guys out."

The same can already be said about Nola. In fact, the 22-year-old righthander will make his big-league debut as a more established control artist than Maddux was when he broke in with the Chicago Cubs in 1986. Nola averaged 1.5 walks per nine innings during his 30 minor-league games. Maddux averaged 2.7 walks per nine innings during his 71 minor-league games.

Nola also had a lower WHIP (walks and hits per nine innings) and more strikeouts per nine innings than Maddux during their minor-league careers. None of that, of course, means he will be the next Greg Maddux. It's not an entirely fair comparison in the first place because Maddux started his professional career out of high school and Nola entered the professional ranks as one of the best college pitchers in an advanced program at LSU.

But the scouting reports on Nola should make any Phillies fan ooze with anticipation.

"Big fan," said another National League scout who was at the ballpark Monday night. "I think he has better fastball command than 80 percent of the guys in the big leagues right now. I saw one start at double A and his first start at triple A. They were the same. Strike one, strike two and here comes that curveball."

It took Greg Maddux time to become Greg Maddux. After 36 career appearances, including 32 starts, he was 8-18 with a 5.59 ERA. Who knows what lies ahead for Nola?

All that can be said for sure is that he is equipped to become special. The tools go beyond his fastball, curveball and change-up. They even extend beyond his extraordinary command of those pitches.

Nola's demeanor also makes you believe he is going to be a winner for a long, long time. When Dusty Wathan, Nola's manager at double-A Reading, asked him last year if he was nervous about pitching in front of some big crowds at the minor-league level, the pitcher shrugged and said it did not really compare to a Friday night at LSU.

And what was a Friday night like at LSU?

"It's really electric," Nola said. "The fans are really close, on top of you on the field. It's really loud."

The crowd Tuesday night will be bigger and it could be louder than those ones at LSU.

"I'm sure there's going to be a lot more fans than LSU," Nola said. "But you know I'm definitely ready to step out on the field and look up and see all the fans."

If Nola is the real deal and the Phillies can find some more pitchers like him, the days of packed houses, tailgates and congested strolls along Ashburn Alley will return.

@brookob