Stinky Phillies

I managed to leave work just before 5 p.m. I was in the car when Jimmy Rollins tied up the game in the 7th. I skipped an important errand so I could get home and watch the end of contest. I was rewarded with a 5-run 9th inning by the Nationals, en route to yet another Opening Day loss by the Phillies, 11-6 - their third-straight Opening Day loss.

I wanted to be able to write a nice, long piece on Brett Myers. But his 5-inning, 4-run effort is not worth it.

I was going to rail against all the comments made by the players, that they would be ready for Opening Day, like it's just as easy as flipping a switch and they would start to play well. But then the Phils fought back and made it a game again in the late innings, lead by J-Roll, showing that maybe the offense can flip a switch.

What it comes down to, as any fan knows, is the pitching. Brad Lidge hasn't pitched for the Phillies yet, so who knows how he would have done out there today, but chances are it would have been a better performance than the one turned in the by the aging Tom Gordon, who is mercifully in the last guaranteed year of his contract. If this is how he pitches after a spring where he repeatedly proclaimed himself healthy despite numerous drubbings, then give me last year's Gordon who went away for a few months and then came back and pitched well enough to keep the team in the game most nights.

And Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump was right. The Nationals are dominating the division, and the Phillies may manage to win a game here or there. Nah, I still have full confidence in my team, just disappointed and uneasy that they may start this season with the same subpar record as years past. Last year they managed to overcome an 11-14 April; they came back 48 times to win games after giving the opponent the lead. But the 2008 Phillies need to play better than that, and the offense better drive in every single run that it can because right now, who can trust any of these pitchers.

And now the long wait until Wednesday night, when the Phils begin the quest to knock the Nats out of first place.

(It's just one game. Though Gordon does suck.)

L.A. pinball

We're still thawing from yesterday. It looks like there was a lot of fun in warmer Los Angeles, where the Red Sox and Dodgers re-enacted the mid-20th century when baseball was played in the Los Angeles Coliseum with a 60-foot net serving as the left field wall 200 feet from home plate.

The Globe explains the craziness:

The Dodgers didn't even bother with a left fielder. Torre went with a five-man infield. Francona had Bobby Kielty in left but when Rafael Furcal led with a double down the line, the ball was fielded in the corner by shortstop Julio Lugo. It really had the feel of backyard Wiffle ball. Kevin Youkilis dropped a 300-foot homer over the Screen Monster in the third. In the fourth, Jacoby Ellsbury was caught stealing, 2-8, center fielder Andruw Jones taking the throw. Pretty sure we had the largest crowd wave in baseball history, including players on both benches.

Other than the wave - how could my team participate in such a putrid activity? - sounds like good times. Proceeds went to charity. Even some old friends and foes made appearances:

The Dodgers' Nomar Garciaparra addressed the crowd, then their manager, Joe Torre, took the mike and said, "There's not a better way to do this than against the Boston Red Sox ... excuse me, the world champion Boston Red Sox. For some reason, it doesn't bother me to say that anymore."

In Philly land: Phil Sheridan and Jim Salisbury have good reads that explain why I neither drink the Phillies Kool-Aid nor write off their chances of repeating. And the Inquirer's opening day countdown feature on Cole Hamels softens my stance on the outspoken punk:

Because Hamels has less than two years of big-league service and figures to become a multimillionaire very soon, his remarks drew negative comments from fans at a few of his exhibition appearances.

"That's over and done with," Hamels said of his contract snit. "I said what was on my mind early on, and that was it. Now I'm back to focusing on baseball and what I need to do to help this team get back to the postseason."

My feet are still numb

That was frickin' cold. We left our first Phillies game of the year after six innings, which is probably the second time Christine and I ever left a game before it ended. We've sat through cold, heat and hours-long rain delays, but today was unbearable.

We had no sun, and the wind ripped so badly through the stadium you could could hardly read the newly minted 2007 flag to commemorate last year's division champs. The pretzel guy in our parking lot sold gloves. Walking to our seats, we got hit by a dust ball, which we later realized was powder sugar from a funnel cake someone was carrying in front of us. I kept score in gloves.



The numbed senses reminded me a little of the last game in 2007, when the constant cheering and good vibes gave a little buzz. In both cases it was hard to concentrate pitch-to-pitch. But today had no payoff, just a meaningless exhibition game, ultimately lost to the Blue Jays, 5-3.

On the plus side, this was a preview of how we'll be spending Sundays during the season. Our seats are good - third row, upper deck and pretty much centered behind home plate. We got our free media guide, stainless steel division championship travel mug and refrigerator schedule magnet (Christine loves those). She also bought a shirt, but still couldn't find the right hat. Jamie Moyer battled for an old guy in the cold. Pat Burrell hit a home run, which they're now calling "Burrell Bombs" on the scoreboard.


And it was dollar dog day. I had two. Christine tried the new pizza - it was too cold to give an assessment.



On the way home we bought a new shed, which will be my first outdoor project of the year, a sign that these cold days will soon be over and spring weather will arrive.

Happy feelings

Baseball began in Japan on Tuesday morning. Its season opens in earnest next week. Are you happy?

Adam Eaton is:

"The results weren't great, but I felt good," Eaton said after the Phillies' 14-5 loss at Joker Marchant Stadium. "I felt like my stuff was just as good at the end as it was at the beginning. The way I feel and the way my stuff is, I'm pretty happy."

I guess I'd be happy if I could pocket $140,000 a week with no discernible skill set. Adam Beaten, who had a 6.29 ERA last season, somehow found a way to get 2008 off on a worse foot. Let's get one of the monkeys to be the fifth starter until Kris Bensen is ready.

Spring training wrap-up: Christine and I will train for the season by attending the Blue Jays-Phillies final spring training game on Saturday - our first live action of the spring. We won't get to boo Scott Rolen, but maybe Rod Barajas will make an appearance.

Similarly, Nomar Garciaparra is out for the Dodgers and will miss the pinball game against the Red Sox in Los Angeles, a city where, the Globe notes, Terry Francona made his managerial debut for the Phillies, piloting Curt Schilling to victory.

Curt's not fat, and other "bad body" pitchers

Jim Rice has a new blog, thanks to a tire shop. He's tackling the tough issues and unafraid to say something controversial, such as explaining why Curt Schilling is not fat:

Last year people said Curt Schilling was fat. I thought Schilling was in fantastic shape. If you see him in the locker room, he’s not fat, he just has a bad body.

Josh Beckett, whose body hasn't been that great this spring, pitched well today in a minor league start:

Beckett threw 47 pitches, 33 for strikes, in four innings of work. He allowed one hit, a single by Rene Tosoni to lead off the fourth inning, and struck out five.

Hopefully, he'll start in Toronto.

The Phillies, meanwhile, may be scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill out their staff. Never mind the 11th or 12th man, the hefty Brett Myers says the Phillies have the best rotation in the league:

"That's what I think," he said. "Of course, that's my opinion, and nobody's going to care about my opinion."

One gimmicky series down, one to go

Wow. How has this not come up before? The New York Times reports that when the Red Sox play the Dodgers in the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday, they will be playing with left field dimensions that will make Fenway Park look like a cookie-cutter stadium.

Because of the football dimensions, a 60-foot fence (made of netting) will be placed 200 feet from home plate for the exhibition. Turns out they have done it before - in the 1959 World Series, as shown in this photo.

Juan Pierre is scared:

I’ll be like 180 feet from the hitters, and those Boston guys hit the ball pretty hard. I might have to wear a cup.

Don't worry about Manny Ramirez; he'll probably bounce one off the net in the first inning and still be standing at home watching it when it's time for him to take the field.

Too bad that game won't be on ESPN. I'd wake up at 6 a.m. for that one. Speaking of which, how is it possible that today's game started at 6 a.m. and I was able to leave for work on time? If it were a postseason game or any Yankees game, it would have still been in the fourth inning at 9 a.m.

Bummer of a game. I don't mind the loss, just wish Jon Lester pitched better. David Aardsma looked good.

A real interesting thing happened when Gary Thorne and Steve Phillips discussed Jose Canseco's hatred of Alex Rodriguez. (Hope you read the excerpt before Deadspin had to yank it.) Thorne said, "There will be some real interesting throws from third to first in the Bronx this year." I was tired and had no clue what he was saying until he then referred to Canseco as Jason Giambi. I know all drugged up A's-turned-Yankees look alike. But one is still playing and the other is a Surreal Life alum.

What do you expect from Gary Thorne, who last year "misunderstood" a conversation with Doug Mirabelli and said Curt Schilling faked the bloody sock?

Magic number = 162

Great game. I woke up to Joe Blanton finishing his warm-ups and saw a good chunk of the game before heading to work. I thought I had blown it by showering after the Sox took a 3-2 lead. They trailed 4-3 by the time I finished getting ready.

Great job by Manny Ramirez and last-minute replacement Brandon Moss.

Etc.: It was hard to get updates on the radio driving to work this morning. When the A's walked David Ortiz to pitch to Manny in the 10th, I started flipping through the sports stations to hear what happened. WIP came through with a rant about what awful managing and how only Charlie Manuel would do something like that.

A season begins

By the time you read this on Tuesday, the Red Sox, favored by many to repeat as World Champions, will have begun their title defense in Japan. Still seems odd to be opening a week before everyone else in a game that requires an early alarm clock to watch.

As part of another cheesy ESPN feature - comparing the impending season to the presidential campaign - Jayson Stark has a good read on how the Red Sox have gone from cursed to powerhouse.

"The thing about this team is, we don't just want to win one," Youkilis says with a laugh. "We want to try to catch Yogi."

Of more immediate concern, however, is a feud brewing between Phillies pitchers Brad Lidge and Kris Benson and the cast of The Andy Griffith Show. The Phils injured pitchers (I told you Lidge wouldn't be ready for Opening Day) are blaming a mound for their troubles. That caused Phillies Florida operations groundskeeper Ron Cheek, and his boss, older brother Opie Cheek, to let loose on complaining Phillies over the years.

They even throw Curt Schilling under the bus. It's a very funny story - I can't believe it didn't get any attention last week. But I don't like the tenor of Benson and Lidge; they're starting to sound like whiners.

Fattie(s)

The Phillies placed Mike Zagurski and two other relievers on the DL. Not earth-shattering news, and it usually wouldn't even warrant a mention on the blog. But it's Easter, so I figured it would be a good time to tell how in our house, Zagurski is linked to a bunny.

As you can see in the photo, Zagurski looks to have polished off more than his fair share of chocolate bunnies. Christine and I affectionately called him Fattie and rooted for him last year.

Meantime, several real bunnies used our yard as a nursery last summer. The bunnies were kind of cute, but it was scary knowing any minute I could step on a nest or do even worse with the lawnmower.

We read that you can pet bunnies without fear of the mother abandoning them, so we started petting them. Some let me hold them. Most of the bunnies disappeared without incident except for one clutch, which had an unfortunate incident with a cat. One of the survivors looked like he had more than his fair share of Momma's milk. Christine and I affectionately called him Fattie. And he would appear on-and-off for several days. Maybe he'll come back this summer - he just better not dig any holes.


(This isn't Fattie. He wouldn't stay still long enough for a photo.)

Preseason almost over

We interrupt the Red Sox's rampage through Japan,

with this scary headline from the Inquirer: Eaton looks like a lock for fifth starter's job. Charlie Manual sums it up:

When you pitch like that, what the hell? He's had it all along, really. I haven't seen anybody take it away from him. That's how I see it.

Great, two more years of Adam Eaton.

Back to Japan: I can't decide which is more jarring, that the Hanshin Tigers would play Eye of the Tiger to pump themselves up to play an American team or that they would play Sweet Caroline mid-game. I guess the latter because although Rocky is All-American, you could make the underdog argument for the Hanshin Tigers.

Remember, I conceded after Game 3 in 2004

Well, the first gimmick week at SoxandPhils ends today with my picks. Here they are:

NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Reds
NL West: Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: Rockies

AL East: Red Sox
AL Central: Indians
AL West: Mariners
AL Wild Card: Tigers

World Series: Red Sox over Diamondbacks, 4-1

AL MVP: Slappy (regular season)
AL Cy Young: Erik Bedard
AL ROY: Jacoby Ellsbury

NL MVP: Chase Utley
NL Cy Young: Jake Peavy
NL ROY: Kosuke Fukodome

First manager fired: Willie Randolph, but Joe Girardi will have a long suspension as he tries to kill his opponents.
First team with a player suspended for drugs: Orioles - bad team, history of drugs.
Next team to be rumored to sign Bonds or Clemens: Panicked New Yorkers - Bonds for Mets, Clemens for the Empire.

My NL East prediction is correct because: To quote Ric Flair, "To be the man, you have to beat the man." In the NL East, the Phils are the man and the Mets are geriatric.

Tomorrow: Back to normal, through probably a bit shorter than most weekend posts.

Picking up change, picking the Phils

Besides Christine, the biggest Phillies fan I know is Brian. He finds change and writes about it on Change is Good. Here are his picks:

NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: Brewers

AL East: Toronto
AL Central: Detroit
AL West: Anaheim
AL Wild Card: Cleveland

World Series: Phillies

AL MVP: Guerrero
AL Cy Young: Verlander

NL MVP: Chase Utley
NL Cy Young: Cole Hamels

First manager fired: Willie Randolph
First team with a player suspended for drugs: Mets
Next team to be rumored to sign Bonds or Clemens: Yankees

My NL East prediction is correct because: I put my full faith in J-Roll to carry the boys over the top.

Tomorrow: Me.

Boycott over, on with the picks

I thought I'd have to boycott posting as a sort of sympathy strike for the Red Sox, but the coaches will be paid, the team is headed to Japan and everyone is as happy as the monkeys Kris and Anna Benson just bought.

So, on with the picks. Today it's Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump, the creator of Only Time Will Tell. {Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump is still in denial that his team is now called the Nationals}:

NL East: Expos
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: D'backs
NL Wild Card: Mets

AL East: Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers
AL West: M's
AL Wild Card: Yankees

World Series: Tigers over D'backs 4-2

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore, Indians
AL Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Tigers
AL ROY: Joba Chamberlain, Yankees

NL MVP: Jose Reyes, Mets
NL Cy Young: Dan Haren, D'backs
NL ROY: Clayton Kershaw , Dodgers

First manager fired: Willie Randolph, Mets start the season 4-11 and Willie is looking for a job.
First team with a player suspended for drugs: "I'm not here to talk about the past."
Next team to be rumored to sign Bonds or Clemens: Newark Bears

My NL East prediction is correct because: Youppi endorses the hard hitting lineup of Milledge, Dukes and Young. They will do a lot of damage both on and off the field.

Tomorrow: We'll change back to the Phillies perspective with Brian.

A Phillies fan restores order to the blog

NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Cubs
NL West: Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: Brewers

AL East: Red Sox
AL Central: Tigers
AL West: Mariners
AL Wild Card: Indians

World Series: Phillies over Red Sox, 4-2 (because in my scenario, we have tickets to game 6 of the World Series and get to see them win it all at the Park)

AL MVP: Grady Sizemore
AL Cy Young: Scott Kazmir
AL ROY: Carlos Gomez

NL MVP: The Man, Chase Utley
NL Cy Young: Cole Hamels
NL ROY: Geovany Soto

First manager fired: Willie Randolph
First team with a player suspended for drugs: Rockies
Next team to be rumored to sign Bonds or Clemens: Who cares, probably the Yankees and/or Red Sox.

My NL East prediction is correct because: The Phillies have heart. They play hard. They don't give up. They pound the ball and score runs, which makes up for any deficiencies in their pitching. And they're in the Mets' heads.

Tomorrow: Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump

A Mets fan invades SoxandPhils

It's OK. We let him in. The Red Sox and Phillies are one and two weeks away, respectively, from opening day. Hopefully, they're just about ready to go. To make sure our trash-talking chops are ready for the start of the regular season, this week regular readers and contributors of SoxandPhils will make some picks for the upcoming season.

Today we start off with Endy in the Outfield, who usually posts at Only Time Will Tell. He's named after Endy Chavez, the one who has been a capable backup for the Mets, not the gawdawful guy with a .243 on base percentage in 2005 who Charlie Manuel insisted on using as a pinch hitter every game.

Here are Endy's picks:

NL East: NY Mets
NL Central: Milwaukee Brewers
NL West: Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card: LA Dodgers

AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Central: Cleveland Indians
AL West: Seattle Mariners
AL Wild Card: Detroit Tigers

World Series: Red Sox beat Mets 4-2

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera
AL Cy Young: Felix Hernandez

NL MVP: Prince Fielder
NL Cy Young: Johan Santana

First manager fired: Dave Trembley Baltimore Orioles

My NL East prediction is correct because: The Mets have better pitching.

Tomorrow: Christine, who I'm sure will have some different picks.

Comforting words

It's still two weeks from Opening Day (only one for the Red Sox), and the Phillies are already pining for the centerfielder toiling away in San Francisco. Charlie Manual, who recently realized his teams start slow, says the team's awful spring training play could be because Aaron Rowand isn't here:

Rowand has been missed. I believe in players policing themselves if they can. Some guys can't police themselves and they actually don't know how. If that's the case, then somebody has to police them.

Great, what's next, blaming the starting pitching problems on the departure of Curt Schilling? (I'm currently listening to WFAN's Ed Randall talk about going to see Starvin' Marvin Freeman's big-league debut.)

{I'm giving Manuel a little bit of credit here. I think he's trying to embarrass the team. The way they have been playing this spring has been embarrassing, and they need to step it up. Someone in this million-dollar clubhouse should be able to fill the role that Rowand played. And let's face it, this is no time to look back fondly on Rowand. He turned down more money per year and a chance to win for a 5-year contract for less money per year playing for the Giants. When someone willingly signs with the Giants, it kinda makes me wonder about his desire to win in the first place.}

Another Phillie, J.D. Durbin, is looking for a light. Maybe his candle got snuffed out in his cooler pants:

I look in the mirror every day. I try to find myself more than anybody, I think. I lost that fire that burns inside me. I still go out there and compete 100 percent, but I don't have that over-the-top, kick-butt, Brett Myers attitude, and I think that's hurting me.

This is just the mindset you want your team to have when it's supposed to build on last year's surprise win. It could be worse. Imagine if the Phillies had drafted Rocco Baldelli, who's injured again, and fans had to watch Chase Utley starring for the Devil Rays:

"The crystal ball is not always real shiny on draft day," said assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle, recalling the 2000 draft. "If Baldelli would have been available, it would really have been a toss-up between him and Utley. It would have been one of those serious draft-morning discussions."

{Luckily, it's all a moot point, and the Phillies ended up with the player they needed. As for Cooler Pants, well, have fun starting the season in AAA. I've rooted for you, despite the hideous MySpace page and photos. And if you don't have that fire to win right now, let someone who does fill that roster space.}

Better news out of Sox camp this morning: Daddy Daisuke Matsuzaka is likely to start in Japan with Jon Lester going in game two. And Josh Beckett throws today.

Baseball Mogul update: Had a relatively quite offseason. Ryan Howard signed for $8 million a year, so I'll keep him and Prince Fielder for awhile. Signed Pat Neshek to bolster the bullpen and Scott Moore to replace Garrett Atkins at third. I couldn't find a taker to dump Atkins, but probably will next offseason. I'm not happy with the 9-13 start, though.

Backup catchers

Most members of a championship team will be fondly remembered. Doug Mirabelli will always hold a special spot in Red Sox lore. Yesterday, Art Martone, of the Providence Journal, put Doug's Red Sox career in perspective, essentially comparing him to Forrest Gump - right place, right time. And he had the ability to catch Tim Wakefield's knuckler before it rolled to the wall.

That's why we'll always remember him. When push comes to shove, Mirabelli isn't much different than any one of a number of guys who spent years backing up the Red Sox' starting catcher. Some of them, like the ones in the accompanying list (Bob Montgomery, John Marzano, Russ Nixon), you may remember. Others, like Matt Batts or Roy Partee or Moe Berg, you probably don't. (At least not for their ballplaying. Berg earned a whole other level of notoriety for his work as a scholar and a spy.) No rings for them. Two for Dougie. It's what separates him from Marzano, Partee and others of their ilk, like Johnnie Heving and Roxie Walters.

That radiated glory, coupled with the big knuckleball mitt and his talent at using it, led the Sox to value Mirabelli beyond his station.

Cue the famous Bob Ueker quote, "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until the ball stops rolling and then to pick it up."

Platitudes, of course, have been coming from teammates, including Curt Schilling, who offers a SoxandPhils-esque tribute on his blog:

In the 20 years since I was first called up to the big leagues I've played with exactly 2 players who's presence in the clubhouse carried onto the field. Darren Daulton in Philadelphia, and Doug Mirabelli here in Boston.

I'm surprised Jason Varitek wasn't mentioned.

Chris Coste, the Phillies backup catcher, also transcends his role, thanks to his storybook career that's about to hit bookstores. He did a Q&A with the fans through Todd Zolecki. Some of the nuggets: He prefers some tiger mascot in Mexico to the Phillie Phanatic; he doesn't mind that MLB '07: The Show gave him gray hair, as long as he has all his teeth; and he wants Matthew McConaughey to play him if his book, The 33-Year-Old Rookie, is turned into a movie.

And, we learn, that the euphoria felt when the Phils won last year will always have two sore points for Coste. Here's his account of catching that fateful last pitch:

Get rid of my gear. Get rid of my stuff. Try to get out to the mound as soon as possible. Unfortunately, in my slight delay, Pat Burrell, the slowest man in major-league baseball, beat me, the second-slowest man in major-league baseball, to the mound. As excited as I was, every time I see that highlight from here on out, I'm going to be embarrassed by the fact that, No. 1, I didn't keep the ball - go figure - and that Pat Burrell beat me to the mound.

Speaking of keeping balls, I forgot to mention that Doug Mientkiewicz had a good line earlier this month about Jonathan Papelbon saying his dog ate the ball that ended the 2007 World Series.

"Try using that one with the ball from the first World Series that broke an 86-year curse," Mientkiewicz told the Boston Globe. "If I had used that, that dog would have been strung up on a tree somewhere."

Even more whining

It looks like my wine review has inspired other ballplayers to get into the act of slapping their names on a bottle to benefit charity. Mike Schmidt has Mike Schmidt 548 Zinfandel, and I've heard of others for Ernie Banks, Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray.

Now, the sad news: Manny Being Merlot is being made no more. Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield have been replaced by David Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis on the "championship edition" wine bottles.

They're all for charity.

Beckett's back: Josh Beckett says he's getting closer, whatever that means.

Cholly: My favorite manager who hasn't won a World Series, Charlie Manual, is losing his cool already:

"Some of them like their position. They like how it's going to go. They take for granted that just because they're a regular player that they're always going to be. That's not the right attitude to take. It might be time for us to have a little chat. Really."

The Phillies are hitting .256 this spring, but their regulars have struggled: Jimmy Rollins (.156), Chase Utley (.200), Pat Burrell (.194), Geoff Jenkins (.162) and Jayson Werth (.174). But you know this team is going to score runs. The real issue is pitching. The Phillies have a 6.88 ERA this spring. Now, pitchers like Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and others have pitched in minor-league games, which skews the numbers a bit. But not that much.

Christine's not happy; I say it's only spring training, wake me when we're down 3-1 in the ALCS.

Big guy to the rescue

And for the first time since 2002, I'm not talking about David Ortiz or Curt Schilling. It's Bartolo Colon.

Since he was signed, I've largely avoided the trap of getting enamored of a big name and dreaming that all of a sudden he'll regain his past abilities. Now, with Josh Beckett's sore back and Daisuke Matsuzaka's impending fatherhood, there's a chance Colon may be more than just filler at Pawtucket.

The Globe's Nick Cafardo reports:

I can't tell you how many scouts from other teams have said to me this spring, "I wish we had signed him." A lot of teams passed and if things continue to go well, the Sox might have a real find.

And today he pitched well in his first major league game of the spring, though only two innings.

Farewell: Two-time champion and Tim Wakefield caddy, Doug Mirabelli, has been released. Sad because he's been around so long, but Kevin Cash should be able to catch the knuckler.

Other items: I hope Manny Ramirez, not Lenny Dykstra, is correct about the effects of reading on a batter's eye. And my new favorite scrub, Lincoln Holdzkom, was released by the Phillies but reclaimed by the Red Sox.

Dude

Subscribing to HBO would be a waste of money for me; I don't have the time to watch much of its programming. But there are times I wish I had it, such as now to see the Real Sports profile on Lenny Dykstra, the financial whiz.

The Inquirer had some of the transcript. Most impressive about Dykstra's transformation from the Dude to Money Dude is this exchange between Bernard Goldberg and Jim Cramer of Mad Money:

Cramer: "If I didn't know any better I would tell you that everything you hear from Lenny is an act. Because there's no way that he would ever, that you would ever feel like he's as smart as he really is, if you listen to him. Now, there are probably four or five people in the world who, if they sent me an e-mail, told me to learn a stock, I would actually take them seriously."
Goldberg: "And he's one of them?"
Cramer: "He's one of them. He's one of them."

I first heard about this on WIP this morning. Here's a summary of a real interesting story Angelo Cataldi told. I caught it midway, so I didn't hear where he got it from:

Goldberg asked Dykstra about steroids and the Mitchell report. Dykstra denied juicing on camera. After the cameras stopped, Goldberg apologized for the questioning but said he had to because it's been in the news. Dykstra replied, "It's OK. I hope you don't mind that my answer was a lie." Later, Goldberg called him to make sure he understood properly. "Nah, I was just kidding," Dykstra replied.

Speaking of steroids and outfielders from the '80s, the Globe has more from Mike Greenwell and his lamenting of the steroid era. He has a point about how drugged-up players have overshadowed his career, but Greenwell loses credibility by defending Roger Clemens:

Greenwell said his former teammate, Roger Clemens, belongs in the Hall of Fame.
"First of all, he's one of the hardest workers I've ever met in my life," said Greenwell. "I mean, period - in sports and out of sports. It would just blow me away with how much he worked.
"Do I know, or think, or have an idea whether he did do any of that stuff? I really don't. I don't have any idea. My thought is no because he's such a hard worker that he wouldn't do that. Then when you watch the hearings and you see the things going on, it does cast doubt, but I certainly hope people don't judge his career on that. I think that's a shame."

Speaking of roiding Yankees pitchers: Hide the HGH - Andy Pettitte is injured.

The season has begun

Well, the roller coaster emotions that accompany it have started, anyway. Especially when it comes to ace Josh Beckett.

First, the Globe reports he is feeling better (back and crankiness) than yesterday:

"Better today than I was yesterday. I got a good night's sleep."

But then Terry Francona tells ESPN's Jayson Stark there's no telling whether Beckett will be on the mound in Tokyo:

"I don't think we know [for sure] yet. But we're certainly not going to rush him back to pitch a game March 24 if he's not ready."

Beckett had a day of good treatment today, Francona told Stark. Still, the manager was cautious. “The idea is just to give Beckett the respect to get better when he gets better," Francona told ESPN.

I guess I've pretty much resigned myself that he won't pitch until the Red Sox play the A's on American soil. Argh.

(And if you think I'm bad already, Christine will be more emotional during the season. Promise.)

The news has been better out of Phillies camp, where the headlines lately say: Brad Lidge should be ready by Opening Day, Kris Benson has a shot to open the season in the majors and Brett Myers leads the rotation.


Not without a prescription: For hours the Globe promised interesting comments from Mike Greenwell, who visited camp today. I guess they were interesting, but I think they were oversold. They involve steroids:

The truth? My wife's a nurse and basically told me she'd kill me if she caught me doing it. Really. Reality.

She was a nurse. I looked into it. I studied it. I know a lot about steroids, to be honest with you. Because I was very, very tempted as a player to do it and I think there's many, many players out there that were tempted to do it. Probably if I didn't have my wife I would have done it to try to perform at that level. Another little slight reason I retired when I retired. I just didn't feel like it was quite even anymore.

Wait till next year

Josh Beckett emerged today crankier and more pessimistic about his back.

Today wasn't as good as yesterday. We'll just have to wait and see I guess. Doctors told me yesterday that there was a possibility I'd come in and feel like I do today so as far as that goes, the doctors were right.

It's troubling that he hasn't pitched to major leaguers yet, and with about two weeks before Opening Day, no one knows when he'll pitch again.

Jon Lester pitched well today, and I don't know if the Globe was serious with this line:

Jon Lester pitched four strong innings (five strikeouts) and is making a bid to be Boston’s opening day starter.

That entry also had one of the stranger items you'll see in an update:

In two random, unrelated events, a Japanese newspaper reporter arrived late for the game because his windshield was shattered by what he said was a low-flying pelican. Then a foul ball shattered the computer screen of Joe McDonald of the Providence Journal while he was downstairs interviewing Lester.

Better news on the injury front for the Phillies, who expect closer Brad Lidge to be ready for Opening Day.

That's my goal still. And based on today I would say we moved a good step closer to that. Barring any setbacks, I think that's a very realistic goal.

I remain leery of Phillies injury prognostication. {And better Phillies injury news would involve the words "Adam Eaton" and "season ending."}

Uh-oh

I woke up cranky enough because I overslept. To make things worse, I then read Josh Beckett left a spring training game because of back spasms. I don't have to say that losing Beckett for any major stretch would be catastrophic.

He came to Boston with a reputation for not being able to hold up for a full season. But in his two seasons with the Red Sox, he has averaged more than 30 starts and 200 innings - marks he never reached with Florida.

Hopefully, he will be ready to go in Japan in little more than two weeks. Terry Francona is optimistic but vague:

Sox manager Terry Francona had a good report on Josh Beckett who left Saturday's game with back spasms after throwing six warm-up pitches. The manager said Beckett "looked way better than we expected,'' but would not commit as to whether Beckett would be ready for the opener in Japan.

More bad news on the pitching front: Clay Buchholz continues to impersonate Adam Eaton this spring, but there is hope it's just a mechanical problem. Speaking of the $24 million dollar man, the candidates to replace him haven't exactly been jumping at the opportunity, but Kris Benson threw all of his four pitches in a minor league game, topping out at 88 mph, giving himself a shot of opening the season in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, opening day starter Brett Myers continues to exhibit class with a new T-shirt that reads: "You mess with me, you mess with the whole trailer park."

Real class: Thanks to punks such as Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon, it is a story when athletes such as Beckett or Jimmy Rollins care more about winning than money. Rollins took a gamble in 2005 with a five-year, $40 million contract. At the time it was debatable whether the Phillies overpaid. After an MVP season, they have underpaid, but J-Roll doesn't gripe:

I knew there was a chance I would play better and the Phillies would be getting a little bit of a bargain. But there was also a chance I wouldn't produce as much. I knew the market could change after I signed it. I knew all that when I signed.

That column reads like a text the new wave of players should read to learn how to portray themselves and their pay in the press.

Baseball Mogul update: Despite another 90+ win season, I won't be making the playoffs for the first time. I don't know what happened, other than the Braves, D-Backs and Dodgers had better years. I need better starting pitching - it would help if Cole Hamels stopped pining to be a Royal.

Baby shower update: We had a good time yesterday. I learned that it's harder than it looks to drink out of a sippy cup. Don't ask.

Media musings

I have to post early today because Christine and I are heading into enemy country (Yankees and Mets region) this morning.

A few headlines did jump out at me: Dice-K's return to Japan on hold till wife has baby from the Philadelphia Daily News and Matsuzaka might make it from the Boston Globe. I guess they're both accurate. The stories, which are essentially the same, say that Daisuke Matsuzaka's wife is due March 19, and he won't travel to Japan with the team for its March 25 opener against the A's. But he may be available to pitch depending on when the baby comes. Basically, yesterday's news makes it seem more likely that he will pitch than when the trip was first announced. Then, the Sox were non-committal about Dice-K pitching. (Did I mention our trip to North Jersey is for a baby shower?)

And then I read: Let's not go overboard on the Red Sox. I knew instantly it was Dan Saughnessy. I must say, however, I agree with him. The crusty columnist has been better in recent years. He's not denigrating the Sox's success, just pointing out some have gone overboard:

Two new books (at least) are scheduled to hit stores this spring: Michael Holley's "Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston's Rise to Dominance"; and Tony Massarotti's "Dynasty: The Inside Story of How the Red Sox Became a Baseball Powerhouse." Whoa. Dominance? Powerhouse? (Gulp) Dynasty?

We aren't a dynasty. Even ignoring the two-year gap, the teams of 2004 and 2007 are too different to be considered as part of one. Yes, key players such as Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield remained, but a bulk of the roster overturned. Now, if they win in '08, start printing those books.

Finally, a reason

Good news: Adam Eaton's godawful 2007 can partially be explained by a bad back. Bad news: He was awful in the first half of the season before injuring his back in a batting cage ... a batting cage? And, I don't know, how to classify this news ... he's still hurting in 2008.

Remind me again why the Phillies signed him before last year? I know, compared with Jon Lieber and Freddy Garcia, he was quite productive.

Getting injured in the batting cage isn't a typical way to lose a pitcher, but it won't be the most unusual injury of Eaton's career. Stabbing yourself in the gut while opening a DVD trumps that. I hope he now owns the Shark Pro.

Shhhh: Jonathan Papelbon is pleased with his contract. He thinks he won his standoff. I won't tell him if you won't.

Now one of them can shut up

As I recommended, Jonathan Papelbon signed a contract in between the $550,000 Bobby Jenks signed for, but not quite the $900,000 Ryan Howard got a year ago. There seems to be no squawking from Paps tonight - hopefully a sign that he's clamming up to focus on getting ready for the repeat.

It's kind of interesting the hierarchy the Sox placed on their pre-arbitration players (especially since Delcarmen's been around longer than any of them):

Papelbon - $775,000 plus $25,000 All-Star bonus
ROY Dustin Pedroia - $457,000
Jon Lester - $421,500
Manny Delcarmen - $421,000
Jacoby Ellsbury $406,000
Clay Buchholz - $396,000

Scary lede:

Look at Chuck LaMar, and what do you see?

The man who traded Bobby Abreu for Kevin Stocker? The man who gave Greg Vaughn $34 million? The man who captained a ship in Tampa Bay that took on water as quickly as he could bail it out?

Also: The Inquirer has a good piece dispelling the notion that strikeouts kill offense. It's nice when a sportswriter doesn't blindly adhere to old school principles and keeps an open mind to sabermetrics. I have a healthy respect for statheads; I just wish I understood them better.

Spring training update: Adam Eaton still stinks. Get healthy soon Kris Benson!

More whining

Amid all of the week's whining from Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon, I forgot about the wine.

I finally got around to trying Manny Being Merlot, one of three Red Sox wine labels launched in the name of charity last year. Thanks to Brian and Liza for buying us a bottle when they went to Maine.

I'm no wine connoisseur, but I liked it. It was different. It was billed as a combination of fruit and pepper. At first there's the fruity Merlot taste, but on the aftertaste comes the pepper, more like table pepper, but definitely interesting. I'd have it again, or try Schilling Schardonnay or CarberKnuckle.

Back to baseball whining: John Smoltz tells Cole to stop worrying about money and focus on pitching. Smoltz, who'll probably go to the Hall of Fame, says he was angry when the Braves renewed his contract in 1991. He went 2-11 before he stopped worrying about it and finished that season on a 12-2 tear. Oh, and the Inky reminds us that Smoltz's career earnings will be more than $130 million after this year - a mark I figure Hamels will eclipse in his first contract after free agency.

Memo to Paps and Hamels:

-You have large crowds every time you pitch.

-Your front offices surround you with $100+ million worth of talent.

-You play on teams that can expect to win.

In other words, you don't play for Florida, which gave its pre-arbitration star, who might be more valuable than either of you, only $439,000. This story is a bit dated, but I hadn't noticed with all the whining coming from Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon.

Hanley Ramirez has every right to complain; he's getting the "low blow" and getting sold "short." Here's his take:

That's OK. Whatever they think I deserve. I don't care.
...
I just want to stay here for my career. If not, whatever. I think they treat me good from the bottom all the way to the top. I feel comfortable here.

Kind of makes me wish Hanley and the Marlins beat Cole Hamels in Game 7 of the NLCS, then hit a game winner off Paps in Game 7 of the World Series. Nah, but it would be justified.

Police blotter: Eww. I think we need a better employee background check.

Cole proves me right and shares his bad attitude with Paps

A day after I questioned Cole Hamels' attitude, he sinks lower, complaining that the Phillies gave him only $500,000:

"It was a low blow," Hamels said, later adding:

"That will affect down the line certain things that come up. You can't just all of a sudden throw everything out at [a player] at the last second and think that's really going to make him happy, because you still have checkmarks for what [the team] didn't do in the years before."

Chill, Cole. So you make a few thousand less than you want this year. You know when you make that up? When you hit the free agent market, which you'll do before you're 30 years old. That means if you concentrate on your pitching and avoid injury, you'll be marketed as the best lefty in the game and command a nine-figure contract.

The media has been floating the comps - $489,500 for Chien-Ming Wang and $424,300 for Scott Kazmir at the same stage of their careers. Hardly a low blow, Cole.

In the Red Sox camp, our dancing queen, Jonathan Papelbon is also getting his nose bent out of shape over his pre-arbitration contract:

"I can’t sell myself short. I know they’re not going to give me what I want, so the question becomes, ‘How close can we get?’ If I can’t get close, they can just renew me.”

Then:

"Ryan Howard got $900,000 in his third year. There it is. It’s staring (the Red Sox) right in the face."

Boston media reminds him that Bobby Jenks, with identical service time, got $550,000 from the White Sox this year. Papelbon is the premier closer in baseball, thus he should get more than Jenks. But the best closer isn't worth as much as an everyday player who has won the MVP and Rookie of the Year. Negotiate somewhere in the middle. Then, when you hit free agency, go to the highest bidder if you no longer care about winning.

Until then, Cole and Paps, enjoy that you're on competitive teams and don't worry about money until it's time to shop your services.

Cole Hamels speaks

I like Cole Hamels. In less than two years he has established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game; he is just 24 years old.

But I question his attitude toward the team. Last season, as the Phils were trying to make history, he said he would come back from injury in September only if the Phillies remained in playoff hunt. Later, he said he wouldn't pitch if the Phillies forced a Game 4 against the Rockies.

Both of those views were justifiable. I agree with them. (Starting pitchers on short rest in the playoffs is a pet peeve.) But let team management make those pronouncements. A player making such statements looks like he doesn't want to play, doesn't want to compete. Not exactly the mindset of an ace.

Today, he outlines his goals to the Inky. Among them: winning 20 games, winning a Cy Young, pitching a no-hitter, going to the Hall of Fame. All lofty goals a player should have but shouldn't talk about, especially when said player has yet to complete a full season.

Cole Hamels, and the rest of the Phillies, should be focused solely on winning. Did J-Roll say he was the man to beat for MVP? No, he said the Phillies were the team to beat.

Hamels makes has no problem expressing his personal quests:

"Everyone in this room has aspirations," he said in the Phillies' spring-training clubhouse one recent morning. "Everyone strives for certain goals.

"Some guys might shy away from talking about them out of fear of failure. If you state something publicly and don't achieve it, you might be looked at as a failure.

"I'm not afraid to fail. If I don't achieve a certain goal, I'll go after it next year. I'm not scared of not achieving one of my goals."

Nor is Hamels afraid of stirring resentment from those in the game who may believe personal goals are better left unspoken.

"I try to be up-front and truthful," he said. "I'm not going to whisper in the shadows. If someone ever said anything to me, it would just give me more reason to prove something."

Well, I guess it's better than Adam Eaton who, after being shelled in his first appearance of the spring yesterday, sounded like he still doesn't know he sucks:

"I haven't read you guys this spring, so I don't know what my standing is."
...
"I think I've established myself as a big-leaguer. I'm getting paid extremely handsomely, probably more than I'm worth. But everyone is not worth what they're getting paid. It's fun. If you don't like the competition, what are you doing here? Everyone should thrive on competition."

Over in Red Sox camp: Perhaps Jonathan Papelbon would have remembered his uniform if he weren't so preoccupied with dancing ...

{And Greg has the nerve to rag on my ace pitcher??? Please.}

[Photo credit, Cole Hamels: Jerry Lodriguss, Philadelphia Inquirer]

The new face of evil

It seems that much of Red Sox Nation is in a tizzy over our new foil, Hank Steinbrenner, profiled in the New York Times magazine this week.

Why? Yes, he is obnoxious, speaks out-of-turn and has little regard for reality or humility. But I love him.

Who cares if he's dismissive of the Sox success in recent years or the Empire's futility? It'll be fun to watch him eat his pompous words. At least he speaks directly, not through crafted statements that his father dealt, prompting me to wonder whether the elder Steinbrenner is truly alive or propped up like some bad Weekend at Bernie's sequel. And Hank will remind people that, in baseball, true evil resides in New York, not Boston.

{Ha! I'm sure that's what Red Sox Nation is hoping for, but it won't happen. This latest barb seems so contrived and orchestrated. It seems like both teams want to have the mindset of 10 years ago, with the Yankees as the evil overlords and the Red Sox as the battling underlings. But, as Greg points out below, it's not like that anymore. You can't pretend it's like that anymore.

I think the majority of baseball is bored by these teams, and really, who cares about these rivalries anyway? No one outside of the fans. No one gets psyched about the Phillies-Mets or Cardinals-Cubs except for their fans. And I wouldn't expect anyone else to care about them. Hopefully ESPN and other national news outlets realize this as well and stop hyping the New York-Boston rivalry. Because guess what -- no one cares.}

Other than A-Rod, who's scorned by both Yankee haters and lovers, individually there's not much to hate about this version of the Empire. Cue Hank:

For his part, Hank betrays no worry about the competition in the American League, whether it’s the Cleveland Indians, who eliminated the Yankees last year; the Detroit Tigers, who added Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis this winter; or, above all, the Red Sox, who have not only won the World Series twice in the last four years but are arguably becoming a national phenomenon. “Red Sox Nation?” Hank says. “What a bunch of [expletive] that is. That was a creation of the Red Sox and ESPN, which is filled with Red Sox fans. Go anywhere in America and you won’t see Red Sox hats and jackets, you’ll see Yankee hats and jackets. This is a Yankee country. We’re going to put the Yankees back on top and restore the universe to order.

I guess ol' Hank never watched Sportscenter before 2004 when you couldn't see a Red Sox highlight without a gratuitous shot of Babe Ruth, Billy Buckner or Bucky Dent. And as the Dirt Dogs reminded us, the nation first appeared in the Boston Globe during the 1986 World Series when the Sox weren't hated as they are now.

Here are two key points from the New York Times profile that Sox fans, and Hank, should remember:

--The Yankees are eight years removed from their last world championship, but it’s hard not to regard the new stadium, with its over-the-top evocation of Yankee mythology, as an in-your-face assertion of Yankee might, a pointed and — depending on your perspective — either desperate or reassuring reminder that the team is less a baseball club than an American institution.

--It’s worth noting that the foundation of Joe Torre’s dynasty was built during the years of Steinbrenner’s ban, from 1990 to 1993. And today’s team, which includes a good deal of young, homegrown talent, was put together over the past few years, while Cashman was in charge.

So let the son pipe off now, for soon he'll be just like his old man, paying a team $200 million to go out in the first round of the playoffs every year.

Etc: Dan Shaughnessy has a surprisingly good take on this situation today.

Game on: Christine's psyched for the first televised spring training game today. {Who are they playing? The Yankees. Who is pitching? Adam Eaton. Ugh.}