A pair of duds

We took Christine's mom out for her birthday, so we missed most of the action. We kept an occasional eye on the Phillies, who were going back and forth with the Marlins. By the time we got home, the Marlins had a commanding lead and won 9-5. In the top of the 9th, the Phils loaded the bases for Ryan Howard to strike out and Pat Burrell to ground out.

Kyle Kendrick and Rudy Seanez had poor performances today. And even though Seanez has pretty decent numbers for the season, he is Christine's pick to get the ax when Joe Blanton is activated for Tuesday's start. We figure after Blanton starts Tuesday, he would be lined up to make his home debut against the Braves next Sunday. This season (including an exhibition game, which isn't included in our yearly standings) we have seen Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer four times each, Kendrick three times, Adam Eaton once and now it appears that Blanton will be next. We still haven't seen young Brett Myers pitch this year.

Red Sox: After getting embarrassed by the Angels 11-3 last night, the second-place Sox lost again 4-2. They have to be able to score more on the road. And Josh Beckett shouldn't give up four runs in the 7th. He did pitch an economical 107-pitch eight-inning complete game. Whoopee!

Competition: They play tonight. A Rays win puts the Red Sox 1.5 games out; a Mets win gives them a share of first.