Not a fun day

The Phillies, completely stymied for seven innings by Oliver Perez, finally had a threat going in the 8th, down 1-0 to their rivals from New York. With one out, Chase Utley hit one back to Duaner Sanchez, who bumbled and bobbled the ball and couldn't retire Utley. The All-Star stole second, and Jimmy Rollins followed with a walk. With the tying run in scoring position, Jerry Manuel yanked Sanchez and called up Pedro Feliciano for a showdown with Ryan Howard that would likely determine the game.

But then it rained. And rained. The grounds crew took off the tarp after about a half hour, but then it rained some more. After nearly two hours, Christine and I quit standing in the rain and scurried home. I know, we're old and married.

Turns out we didn't miss much. Jayson Werth did hit a two-run homer off Billy Wagner in the 9th. But Brad Lidge, the $37 million man, had allowed the Mets an insurance run in the top of the inning, so the game stretched to 12 innings before Chad Durbin gave up a two-run homer to Fernando Tatis. Mets 4, Phillies 2.

Observations from the stands: There was a hideous smell, sewage-like, in our section. No clue what it was; maybe the Phillies were trying to make the Mets fans feel at home. ... The Phillies went a little horsey for the national anthem, bringing in the All-Star Buglers. It was different, not bad at all. ... Tom McCarthy did his first in-game report in the 300 level right beneath us. We couldn't hear his insights. "Hey, Jimmy Olsen, sit down!" yelled a fellow season ticket holder who seems to get aggravated whenever someone stands in that spot. ... Seated in our section were a few New York tourists who apparently were right off the boat - the duck boat tours, that is. The kids brought their quackers to the game. ... In the 1st, there was an honest-to-goodness "Pat the Bat" chant. It didn't work. Pat Burrell popped out to first with two in scoring position. ... The fans throughout the park chanted in loving remembrance of the Marlon Anderson era. He played left field today. "You suck Marlon" and "Marrrrrrr-lon" roared throughout the game. ... The Mets threatened to blow out Kyle Kendrick in the 2nd. But when Brian Schneider singled to center to load 'em up, Shane Victorino made a nice throw to hold the runners. Kendrick got the next two out. ... Also in the 2nd, another former Phillie, RF Endy Chavez, made a nice catch to rob Carlos Ruiz, which kept Pedro Feliz on second base. He got there when Anderson completely botched a fly ball. ... Home plate umpire Bill Hohn was awful today for both teams. Tons of pitches were miles outside, then he'd wait a few seconds before signaling strike.

The Phanatic has new friends - Reggy the Purple Party Dude and Spanky the Nine-Foot Monkey. They danced, they partied - well, the monkey kind of just hopped up and down. But he did do a belly-flop on a Mets hat. Later, they took out a Mets fan and silly-stringed him. The monkey then shot some string so that it looked as if he were peeing on the Mets fan. Then, the Phanatic rubbed his butt on the fan. It was disturbing, and somehow it's even worse writing about it. ... During the rain delay, a fan ran on the field. I saw the security guards at both ends of the tube that the tarp gets rolled around. I'm sure the guy ran on the field then thought: "I need a place to hide. They'll never catch me in a tube in the middle of the field." ... We found a nice place to keep dry during rain delays in the 300 level. We're keeping it a secret, though.

All-Stars: As the day progressed, I was more and more confident that Burrell was going to make his first All-Star game. He didn't. What a crock. Hopefully Phillies fans show some pride and start stuffing the ballot. I won't mention the name of his toughest competitor, but Burrell is up against a foe with a bigger market and better national name recognition. So start clicking on those ballots.

As expected, Utley was the top vote-getter in the NL. He'll be joined by Lidge, who should buy him dinner in New York with his big payday.

Riding home, I got upset at Terry Francona when I heard Jason Varitek was named as a reserve. The guy is our captain and a leader of two championship teams, but he's in a funk with a .300 on-base percentage. It turns out, however, that although seven Red Sox are going to the game, none were selected by Francona. Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis won the fan vote. Varitek, J.D. Drew and Jonathan Papelbon were selected by managers, coaches and players.

Burrell was also upset at his snub (that's his helmet and batting gloves he threw on the field). Actually, that was his reaction to popping out in the 1st.

Tonight's game: The AL All Stars, I mean Red Sox, are tied with the Yankees 4-4 in the 8th.

Miscellaneous: We got this J-Roll bobblehead free for purchasing the 2008 Phillies yearbook. We'll give the book the typical SoxandPhils treatment sometime soon. ... Who writes the TV listings for Verizon FIOS? When the Sox played the Rays last week on ESPN, it said the top teams in the AL square off when David Ortiz leads the Red Sox against the Rays. They were current enough with the Rays' success but not with the fact that Papi has been injured? Then, this afternoon, WGN had the A's playing the Cubs at Wrigley Field - that was news to the White Sox, who were scheduled to host the A's. Finally, tonight, ESPN rewrote the Red Sox script, subbing Manny for Papi but forgot that the Rays are in first and called the Sox the division leaders.