Mohawks

Sometimes you learn the darnedest things while watching baseball games.

Tonight, for instance, we learned that mohawks are back in style. I'm not talking about the stupid hairdos sported by the Rays during last year's playoffs, nor the travesty that is the remaking of The A-Team into a movie.

Nope, just honest to goodness mohawks.

During a screen shot tonight, they showed a fan with a spiky mohawk. Gary Matthews said they're back in style. Tom McCarthy didn't believe him. I didn't know who to believe, but was probably more aligned with T-Mack than Sarge in this one particular instance.

"Which one's on crack?" I asked Christine.

"Probably McCarthy," she said. "Sarge is up on style."

Ah, so Mohawks are indeed back in style.

Tonight's games: John Smoltz, who was pitching when Mr. T still rocked the mohawk on the original A-Team, should have gotten his first win as a Red Sox tonight, but the game was delayed by rain as he warmed up for the 5th inning with the Sox up 9-1 over the Orioles. That's a shame because it looked like he pitched well: one run on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in four innings. He threw just 52 pitches, too. The game resumed without the old-timer, and the Sox lead has been cut to 10-5 in the 7th.

The Phillies, meanwhile, took a one-run lead in the 8th on solo home runs by John Mayberry Jr. and Pedro Feliz, but Ryan Madson coughed it right up. They ended up losing to the Braves 5-4 in the 10th inning.

A sincere tip of the hat to a Yank

Among all Yankees, one I don't despise too much is Mariano Rivera. He's not utterly overrated like Derek Jeter, a hired gun like Alex Rodriguez or just obnoxious like Joba Chamberlain. He's a consummate professional who dominates.

Even after the Red Sox knocked him around a few times in 2004, he still scares me. He won me over at the ring ceremony in 2005 when he tipped his hats to the fans who gave him a standing ovation for blowing those games in the ALCS.

Last night, he became the second pitcher in history with 500 saves. I congratulate him. Sincerely.

Interesting read by The Record's Ian O'Connor. It turns out Mo was nearly traded for Felix Fermin in 1996 because there was some concern about Derek Jeter being able to hack it in his rookie year. I never knew that tidbit. I wish it were true because then it would rank among the worst trades of all time, and we'd probably still be hearing about how the Yankees haven't won a World Series since 1981.

Back to our teams: The Phillies, who still haven't announced Carlos Carrasco will debut Thursday, were off. The Red Sox, with seven shutout innings by Jon Lester, beat the Orioles 4-0.

Phillies pitcher goes wild

Christine and I trekked into YanksandMets territory yesterday to see family. We happened to be online and saw that a then-unnamed Phillie had been involved in an altercation with a fan in Tampa and was accused of battery.

Soon, the mysterious identity was revealed as J.C. Romeo - hasn't he had enough legal trouble this year?

Given the history of Romero's suspension and that the Rays were the Phillies opponents in last year's World Series, we'll take the player's word here:

"What did he say? That he was drunk and got into a fight?" Romero, 33, said yesterday when asked whether he wanted to hear the fan's complaint. "I'm not going to comment on it. I'm trying to be professional, and I don't really want to get into that. Don't want to make a story out of nothing."

The fan, 25-year-old Robert Eaton, told the St. Petersburg Times that he asked Romero for an autograph outside Tropicana Field and was refused. Eaton said that he then made a comment about steroids and that Romero grabbed him by the neck and pushed him, Eaton told the Times.

Eaton filed a report with local police. He could not be reached last night for comment. It was not immediately known whether charges would be filed.

Of course the guy's name is Eaton. That automatically makes him suspect.

Weekend wrap: Charlie Manuel finally held his closed-door meeting after Friday night's loss, and the team responded with a 10-0 romp on Saturday. (J.A. Happ needed just 100 pitches for his first shutout, and Jayson Werth went 4-4 with two home runs.) They won the series finale against the Blue Jays 5-4 today. I didn't see much, but caught the ending in which Brad Lidge struggled but picked up the save.

They said it's the second time this year the Phillies won a series against an American League team. Christine had to remind me that the other team was the Yankees. Go Phils!

The Red Sox split a couple of pitchers' duels. Tim Wakefield, who is making it tough for Joe Maddon to leave him off the All-Star roster, beat Javier Vazquez on Saturday 1-0. Brad Penny followed that up with a good performance today, but Braves phenom Tommy Hanson was better as the Braves avoided the sweep with a 2-1 win.

Elvis gets crowned

I had a marathon day at work Thursday and completely missed Elvis getting his World Series ring. Thanks to The Fightins, I was able to relive the excitement. Now, we will always be able to enjoy watching a true champion get his ring, err, dog tag.


As much as Christine and I like watching this, you have to wonder what Pat Burrell's new teammates think about it. It's one thing to watch Pat the Bat get his ring for beating you in the World Series; it's another to watch his dog get some bling for it.

Sick players, sicker bats

Antonio Bastardo, who unexpectedly helped the Phillies weather the loss of injured Brett Myers, has a doctor's appointment Monday to have an MRI on his shoulder. That can't be a good thing. Off the top of my head: Bastardo, Myers, Brad Lidge, Clay Condrey and Scott Eyre have been injured this year. If I were a member of the Phillies pitching staff, I'd be looking into some insurance policies right about now.

***Update*** Chan Ho Park left tonight's game in Toronto, either struck by a ball or a twisted knee trying to avoid said ball. A month ago, I was nearly hoping Park would get injured - now that he has become a solid bullpen performer, it could be the body blow to the Phillies pitching staff. {No, it won't. They'll be fine, eventually.}

Less surprising, but more disturbing, is Mike Lowell's balky hip. He's had a history of hip problems, but the remedy is the disturbing part. I never heard of the injectable man-made lubricant Synvisc. It just sounds like something that would get you a 50-game suspension.

Meanwhile, Bastardo and Lowell aren't the only things in SoxandPhils-ville that were ailing tonight. Both teams' bats could use a shot of Synvisc. The Phillies were held hitless for six innings by Ricky Romero. They finished with three hits in the 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

"I wouldn't want to be around Charlie tonight," Christine said in reference to the media speculation that Charlie Manuel is getting ready to blow his top at his underperforming team.

Other notes ... Cole Hamels got ejected, and Brad Lidge made his first appearance since coming off the DL. He stunk - two runs on two hits and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Ironic that the Mike Lowell link contains a reference to Keith Foulke's balky knees after closing for a World Champion team.

The Red Sox bats were not as bad, but they didn't need much with Josh Beckett pitching. He blanked the Braves for seven innings. David Ortiz hit his 8th home run of the year, and the Red Sox beat the Braves 4-1.

Mental health day

Most of us can use a break from the daily drudgery once in a while. I guess that applies to major leaguers, too.

Charlie Manuel announced before tonight's game that J-Roll will be riding the bench for at least the next two games. He's not even taking batting practice. He's currently batting .211 with a .254 OBP and slugging just .328. Last night, his throwing error led to a five-run 8th inning for the Rays as they beat the Phillies 7-1.

I'm curious what Jimmy's reaction will be to this mini furlough. He took it in stride when Cholly benched him twice last year. I hope he gets himself straightened out soon; the Phillies could really use a healthy, happy, hitting Jimmy Rollins right now.

(P.S. I swear I wrote this post before I saw Todd Zolecki's blog. I even looked up J-Roll's numbers myself! I promise I'm not ripping off Zo, even though we both ended on the same sentiment, too.)

Once last ceremony: Also before tonight's game, Elvis - Pat Burrell's bulldog, for those of you not in the know - was presented with a medallion commemorating the 2008 World Series victory. It has a replica of the face of the World Series ring that the team received and it says Elvis on it. As they were showing the highlights of the "presentation," the TV announcers joked that Burrell was worried that the weight of the medallion would weigh down Elvis' head. Instead, Elvis gave a big dog smile as he proudly walked around with his prize around his neck. Needless to say, I'll post a photo if I can find one.

Tonight: Despite a four-run 1st inning, the Phillies are now losing to the Rays 6-4 in the 5th inning. Starter Antonio Bastardo left the game with an injury in the 4th.

First start: John Smoltz's debut with the Red Sox didn't go as planned. He gave up five earned runs in five innings to the Nationals. He had five strikeouts, but also gave up seven hits, a walk and hit a batter. Daniel Bard took over pitching duties, but the Sox now trail the Nats 7-1 in the 6th.

Problem solved

Christine and I were quite irritated last night when Chris Wheeler kept blabbering on about Rock Around the Clock. We had no idea what he was talking about, or why, and automatically tuned him out. I guess that's what caused us to miss our possible salvation from the Phillies announcer hell we've been in since Harry Kalas died.

Here's the YouTube clip posted by Salito42. Watch it quickly, because I'm sure MLB will soon have it removed, as it did with the clip posted on Deadspin.



Now, if enough of us write to the Federal Communications Commission to say that we don't appreciate hearing sexual Freudian slips during our baseball games, perhaps we can finally get Wheels off the air. Permanently. Around the Clock. Here's a link to the FCC's complaint information. Start filling out those forms!

Tonight's games: Neither of our teams had a hit through their first three innings - four for the Phillies. The Red Sox rebounded and lead the Nationals 6-1 in the 6th. The Phillies haven't and trail the Rays 2-1 in the 7th. Pat Burrell hit a two-run homer off Joe Blanton in the 2nd inning.

A couple of rivalry series

The Phillies and Red Sox renew their big rivalries with the Rays and Nationals this week.

Everyone knows the bloody history between the Phillies and the Rays as they prepare for a rematch of the 2008 World Series. Actually, do two teams playing in a World Series count as a rivalry, especially when the series was so lopsided? Christine still dislikes the Rays, just because they were matched up against the Phillies, but I can barely remember who we beat in 2004 and 2007. I think if either the Cardinals or Rockies put up a fight, I might remember them more.

The Rays certainly remember. According to this story in the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays actually believe they would have won the World Series if Game 5 hadn't been postponed. Yeah, and I might be retired if I had bought a winning lottery ticket.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, relive their storied rivalry with the Nationals. OK, no real rivalry here, but I'll link to the Globe's story on the Nationals for our friend at Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump who's hoping for a Red Sox sweep to improve the Nats chances at Bryce Harper.

So far, so good: Phillies, on the road of course, are blowing out the Rays 10-1 in the 8th. Red Sox have a slim 4-3 lead over the Nationals in the 7th.

Latest bullpen injury: Clay Condrey. I swear Christine hadn't seen this post when she wondered whether MLB will cancel "The Pen" because injuries have wiped out just about everyone from the original cast. It's like the end of Family Matters when they replaced the mom and the youngest daughter quietly disappeared.

Maybe Elvis will snap this funk

Greg and I stopped by our friends' house yesterday afternoon, so we missed the ends of both games. Does it matter anymore?

The Red Sox took care of business and beat the Braves 6-5. They open a series against the Nationals tomorrow in Washington.

The Phillies, meanwhile ... sigh. Lost. Again. 2-1 to ... sigh ... the Orioles. Cole Hamels pitched well, but it wasn't enough with no offense. Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Todd Zolecki recaps all the ugly numbers and facts from the awful 1-8 homestand. I'm glad he has them because I didn't want to look them all up. It's bad enough watching these games the first time; I definitely don't want to spend the off day figuring out all the ways the Phillies stink right now.

They open a series in Tampa Bay tomorrow, where they will see Pat Burrell and maybe Elvis. Ryan Howard may or may not be there, may or may not play. I fully expect the whole team to go on the DL on the same day this week. Maybe a bulldog can cure what ails the Phillies.

The Pen: Last night's episode was depressing. And not just because of the cheesiness of the haircut contest and the road trip between San Diego and Los Angeles. It covered the first 10 days or so of June and included Brad Lidge's two blown saves against the Dodgers. But that wasn't the depressing part.

The Phillies went 7-3 on that road trip before this most recent abysmal home series. The show served as a reminder that they are a good team, despite whatever is happening right now. I'm feeling pretty confident about them going on the road, but I really hope they can sustain that momentum and bring it back home in early July. First home opponent? The Mets. No biggie, right?

Unbelievable

Like a movie with a dramatic ending shot in slow motion, several sights and sounds from last night keep replaying in my head.

When flu-battling Ryan Howard stepped up to pinch hit in the 7th, I asked Christine: "Home run?" She said strikeout. "Home run or long fly ball," I replied. He crushed one out to deep center. Christine, normally the more psychic of us, was stunned at my prediction (which technically was true on both counts - try to find a longer fly ball).

That capped a five-run inning, which gave the Phillies a 5-3 lead and promise of ending their recent woes at home, in June and against the American League.

Chan Ho Park pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning with two strikeouts on 10 pitches. "I'm really starting to like Park as a reliever," said Christine, who wanted him to stay out for the 9th.

That too proved prophetic as Ryan Madson gave up two home runs, blowing his third game since taking over for DL'd Brad Lidge. No sooner did the second, lead-changing blast land did we see Ryan Madson with a shocked look of disbelief on his face. Orioles up, 6-5. The camera then showed a woman in the stands with her head down. "Do you believe this?" said Christine, who wasn't convinced even after the Howard homer that the Phils would win.

The Phillies will try to avert a sweep with Cole Hamels against the Orioles this afternoon. Yes, that's correct, the Phillies may follow a sweep by the Blue Jays with a sweep by the lowly Orioles.

The Red Sox game could not have been any different. Josh Beckett, the only guy the Phillies beat last weekend, threw a 94-pitch shutout, winning the 3-0 pitching duel I was hoping for against Derek Lowe, who got a good reception from the crowd. Although Beckett pitched a shutout against the Angels in the playoffs, this was his first regular season shutout for the Red Sox.

The Red Sox, with Tim Wakefield, try to win the series against the Braves this afternoon - a national broadcast on the Braves former station, TBS.

Dice-K: The Red Sox will skip Daisuke Matsuzaka's next start for further medical tests. Stupid World Baseball Classic. Stupid Bud Selig. Stupid Chris Wheeler.

I don't know why I threw him in there. I was on a roll. Although that reminds me, in an attempt to stop the Phillies skid yesterday, Comcast let two cameramen do the pregame introduction. Attention Comcast and the Phillies organization: Yes, two guys off the street can do a better job than Wheels.

Ugly numbers, and former and future former Red Sox pitchers

***Caveat: The following is not a criticism of Charlie Manuel, a World Series-winning manger. It's just a look at an interesting trend during his time as Phillies manager.***

When Cholly became manager, among the many criticisms was that he was an American League manager ill-suited for National League style of baseball. In fairness, he did seem to struggle with the double switch early on.

But if that's the case, why has this team been so bad at interleague play? During his tenure, the Phillies have gone 27-46 against the American League (not counting the 4-1 against the Rays in the World Series). That's a .369 winning percentage. They're 3-7 so far this year, which is on pace for the third best, and third worst, interleague mark of Cholly's tenure.

Granted, a large chunk of this damage can be attributed to a 3-12 mark against the other half of this blog, but that's no excuse. The Phillies have blossomed into a championship club and should be able to hold their own against any team.

I also wanted to look at Cholly's June records because it has felt as if this June has been just as bad as June 2008. It's close (8-9, .471 this year; 12-14, .462 last year). What's interesting is that in 2005 and 2007, the Phillies played above .500 in June, but sandwiched between was an awful 9-18, .333 June 2006. For Manuel's tenure, the Phillies have gone 59-66 in June, a .472 winning percentage. That's not as bad as it seems, but combine the .369 interleague record with the .472 June record, and you get numbers closer to what you'd want Jayson Werth's OPS to be, not segments of a championship club's win-loss record.

Former Sox pitcher and future former Sox pitcher: Derek Lowe, still the only pitcher to clinch three playoff series in the same year, is glad to be back in Boston.

Here's how genuine Lowe is about missing Boston.

"Coming in here, you kind of get these old vibes that are fresh in your mind. We had a lot of good memories here, and I have a lot of fond memories of the players," he said. "It's a great place to play, too."

He pitches tonight against Josh Beckett. Normally, I'd root for a 1-0 Red Sox win, but our offense is in the toilet, so I'll root for Lowe to pitch well for six innings before our bats come to life against the Braves bullpen.

Jonathan Paplebon, whose Red Sox tenure will soon be threatened by Daniel Bard, had to retreat from some comments about pitching in the Bronx. I'd like to see the context of the original quote, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in that at least he started to spin correctly:

"I don't want to go (expletive) play for the Yankees," he said. "I've been on a team for the past five years that's been in first place more than any other (expletive) team otherwise. Why would I want to leave?"
[...]
"[The Red Sox] don't owe me nothing," he said. "This team doesn't need me. I need the Red Sox more than the Red Sox need me."

It's still raining

Figuratively. The real weather was nice today - it actually stopped raining for what feels like the first time in a month (but it's supposed to rain again both Saturday and Sunday).

But the bad news keeps coming for the SoxandPhils.

Last night's post, "When it rains, it pours," pertained to the bad news - Raul Ibanez's injury, another bullpen meltdown and a Rod Barajas/Scott Rolen-led sweep by the Blue Jays.

I didn't think the rain would have another meaning as the Red Sox game ended 2-1 in a rain-shortened five-inning loss. I hate rain.

Tonight's news isn't much better. Daisuke Matsuzaka keeps pitching like a guy looking to be banished to the bullpen: six earned runs on eight hits and four walks in four innings as the Red Sox lost to the Braves 8-2. His ERA is now 8.23.

Here's a list of the Red Sox who have hits in the last two games: Jason Bay (two tonight), Kevin Youkilis (one last night) and ... and ... that's it. Pathetic.

The Phillies Antonio Bastardo pitched better than Dice-K, four earned runs in seven innings. It's not a dominant line, but that should be good enough to beat the lowly Orioles. It wasn't. Orioles 7, Phillies 2. The Phillies annual June interleague swoon continues - they've now lost six of their last seven.

When it rains, it pours

And I'm not just talking about the fact that it rained all day (which it did, again).

The bad news just kept coming all day for the Phillies. It started in the morning when their - and maybe the league's - MVP Raul Ibanez was placed on the DL with a strained groin.

It continued through the afternoon when another bullpen meltdown (including Clay Condrey, who should be DL'd after not retiring any of the five batters he faced) capped off the Blue Jays sweep of the Phillies in Philadelphia. Ryan Madson gave up a run in the 9th inning to lose it 8-7, so cue the "he's a set-up guy who can't close" crap.

Oh, and that run was on a pinch-hit home run by Rod Barajas, who along with Scott Rolen really did a job on their former team this week, going 10-23 with five runs, nine RBI, three homers and three walks.

Days before this series, a certain Phillies fan, who shall remain nameless, was quite excited that Roy Halladay would miss the series due to injury. He wouldn't have made a difference.

Red Sox: The score isn't too bad (they trail the Marlins 2-1 in the 5th), but so far they've mustered just one hit (1st inning home run by Kevin Youkilis) off a pitcher with an ERA over 7.00. Jon Lester, who had been on quite a roll, threw 105 pitches through five innings, giving up seven hits, including two solo home runs.

Jinxed

Last night, before we watched Ryan Madson blow a 3-2 lead in the 9th - the beginning of a bullpen implosion that ended up an 8-3 loss to the Blue Jays in 10 innings - I asked Christine whether she would blame Scott Lauber or Paul Hagen for writing about Madson's improvement, or me for blogging about it.

She said all three.

I think we can also pin part of the blame on the pitchers themselves because I think they might be going Hollywood with their new TV show. Brad Lidge thinks he'll be ready to return next week. I truly don't know whether that's a good thing.

John Smoltz will also return to the majors next week, forcing the Red Sox to go with a temporary six-man rotation instead of banishing Daisuke Matsuzaka to the bullpen. It will work out somehow.

500th: I've always wondered why they hand out promotional giveaways at the beginning, rather than end, of the game. The trinkets should go to the real fans who stick it out. The Red Sox are using that tact tonight to commemorate Fenway's 500th consecutive sellout. Fans will get a picture coming in and a baseball going out. Cue Van Halen: "They gotcha goin' in. They gotcha comin' out. Same amount, woo! In 'n out."

{The fact that the Red Sox are celebrating this at all just seems lame to me. I'm all about giveaways, but read that blog post from the Globe - the organization is going overboard. What it comes down to is, the Red Sox have one of the smallest ballparks in baseball, thus fewer seats to sell, and an endless number of bandwagon fans who have been willing to shell out ridiculous amounts of money to watch a game there. It just smacks of an organization that is desperate, not one that has won two World Series since 2004.}

Tonight's games: We've had better starts - the Marlins scored first via a two-out walk, then an error, but at least the Sox came back with two runs in the 2nd inning and lead 2-1 in the 3rd. The Phillies also fell behind quickly, but haven't come back yet. They trail the Blue Jays 4-0 in the 3rd. Rod Barajas hit a solo home run. Christine hopes this game gets reset by rain.

It does sound sketchy

I believe Ryan Madson, if for no other reason than "spaghetti arms" is the best defense I've ever heard for someone even remotely accused of taking steroids.

But when a pitcher whose fastball suddenly gained a few miles per hour attributes the increased velocity to a clandestine meeting arranged by the title character of a horror novel who was driving a rented getaway car, it seems awfully suspicious.

"Flash [Gordon] took care of me," Madson said. "He really did. [The program] we were doing was good, but it wasn't the only thing that could help. I give him a lot of credit. He rented a car and said, 'We're going, 9 o'clock in the morning, get up. You're coming with me.' I got the chills right now just talking about it."

I don't know why this story broke today in both the News Journal and Daily News, but Madson says the success he has had dating back to the end of 2008 traces to Tom Gordon introducing him to his Arizona-based trainer.

Like I said, I'm not being a blogger accusing a player of something improper, but if we ever read about Mad Dog getting a 50-game suspension, I'm blaming Gordon.

Speaking of steroids: If you are under suspicion of drug use and know you had tested positive, don't talk about your Hall of Fame induction like it's a slam dunk. That's how Sammy Sosa spoke recently, and today he was revealed as the next player after Alex Rodriguez on the list of players who tested positive in 2003. That was a category in SoxandPhils' predictions this spring, but no one picked Slamming Sammy.

Games back on: After battling the Mets and Yankees, and then each other, the Red Sox and Phillies are facing less-riveting competition in interleague play: the Marlins and Blue Jays. The Phillies, behind Cole Hamels, lead the Jays 3-2 in the 7th. My jaw dropped when the announcers said of Rod Barajas: "Everything he wasn't in Philadelphia, the Blue Jays say he is north of the border."

The Red Sox, behind All-Star hopeful Tim Wakefield, lead the Fish 8-2 in the 7th. Big game for David Ortiz so far: 2-3 with a home run and three RBI.

Phillies TV show and Wawa's first-ever hardcover book

We watched The Pen last night. We enjoyed it, but don't think we would watch it if it were based on a team we didn't root for. And it was odd - they covered from February through May in a single one-hour episode. Based on that ratio, there won't be enough material left for the five episodes covering June through the All-Star break.

Another reviewer, on the Bleacher Report, was disappointed they didn't show a lot of behind-the-scenes personal stuff. We agree. Other than showing Jack Taschner play with his baby and talk about the sudden trade with his wife, Scott Eyre watch his son's Little League game and Clay Condrey lead a big fishing expedition in what appeared to be a drainage ditch in a housing development, there wasn't much stuff you wouldn't get from an extended feature on Comcast SportsNet. (Christine wants me to point out that Condrey did catch a fish.)

Oh, we did love hearing Charlie Manuel rip Taschner immediately after he was traded to the team in spring training. Ruben Amaro Jr. was critical of his acquisition, too. That was good stuff, and surprising to hear on an MLB-produced, Phillies-sanctioned production. I'd love to see the Trashman's reaction to those comments.

I'll take a Shorti with a side of Harry: On Sunday, I saw a sign at Wawa advertising
"Remembering Harry Kalas" for $9.99. I had no clue what it was.

Today, driving to work, they were talking about it on WIP. It turns out Wawa is selling this book exclusively. It retails for $25, but it's discounted at Wawa, which is donating $10,000 to the Kalas family's favorite charity.

Of course we bought it, although we probably won't read it until we take a couple days off later this summer.

We had a couple of "We miss Harry" moments yesterday. Every half inning, the broadcast would come back late, and we'd miss the first batter. And the announcers kept messing up people's names. Classic example was when Josh Beckett hit his home run. They showed a replay of him walking from the on-deck circle to the plate instead of showing the home run live. Then, they said it was Mike Lowell who homered. We miss Harry.

Tonight's games: Both teams are off. Clay Buchholz, dominating AAA, wonders why he is not mentioned in all the discussions about what the Red Sox are going to do with their plethora of starters. He didn't demand a trade, but would welcome one. And you know how when a coach or GM is upset with a player, he won't refer to him by name? Check out this quote from young Clay:

I feel like I'm more equipped with everything that I have right now as far as the pitches and the mental aspect and physically healthy to be up there and helping that team. If not that team I want to be in the big leagues and I do want to go somewhere where I'll be able to play and pitch every fifth day.

Series over

I was kidding Christine all week that Josh Beckett today would repeat his 2006 homer against the Phillies. He did. Thankfully, for the sake of being able to talk to my wife for the rest of the week, Beckett's pitching performance didn't match his offense. The Phillies salvaged the finale 11-6, decimating Beckett and young Daniel Bard.

J.A. Happ got touched up early, but survived into the 6th inning, Chan Ho Park also pitched well, preserving a depleted bullpen.

Now that this series is over, we can, until October, focus on our common enemies - New York teams, Bud Selig and Chris Wheeler.

Dog bites man

As is becoming an unfortunate habit when we go to Citizens Bank Park, Christine and I had to sit through a long, cold, wet and delayed mess of a baseball game. It spanned two calendar days, but at least we didn't have to pay twice for parking.

Only in baseball can the same two teams that played a beautifully crisp 13-inning game in little more than four hours on a pleasant 83-degree night come back the next night and take nearly three hours and forty minutes to play nine innings of slop during a cold and wet night that felt much worse than the listed 71 degrees. Oh, and that game time doesn't include the hour and a half rain delay.

Here's our recap of Game Two of the SoxandPhils showdown in which the 2007 champs beat the 2008 champs, 11-6:

Yesterday, I noted that Antonio Bastardo hadn't had a bad start in either of his first two big-league games. He took care of that early yesterday. Jacoby Ellsbury walked, stole second and went to third when Carlos Ruiz's throw went to center. Ellsbury scored on an errant pickoff attempt at first base after Kevin Youkilis walked. Jason Bay homered him in. As the rain began to drive down, Julio Lugo singled to center, but Shane Victorino let it get by him, allowing two more runs to score. 5-0 before the Phillies even batted.

Daisuke Matsuzka pitched a 1-2-3 first inning. I gave up keeping score because the scorecard was getting too wet, even tucked inside a plastic bag. I joked to Christine that tonight would be the night I would see a no-hitter without a scorecard to record it. I couldn't have been more wrong.

As the Phillies warmed up in the top of the 2nd, Christine was confident her Phillies would make a game of it and predicted a long, ugly back-and-forth affair. They would come back, but not after we spent some quality time in the concourse of the ballpark waiting for the rain to end. Our primary amusement was trying to decide which drunken Red Sox fan would fall down first. There were a couple of close calls, but no winners.

When play resumed, new Phillies pitcher Chad Durbin kept the Red Sox in check for three innings as the Phillies took care of Dice-K. They scored a run in the 3rd on back-to-back doubles by Victorino and Chase Utley. In the 4th, when I made a rare run to the concession stand, Raul Ibanez led off with a home run, followed two batters later by a two-run blast by Pedro Feliz. Dice finished the inning, but that was the end of his night – Red Sox 5, Phillies 4. {Actually, by my count, it was 4-0. Because I was entrusted to keep score when Greg got up, I corrected the early scoring and nullified the 1st inning runs.}

Jack Taschner, who is gaining on Chan Ho Park for the title of least-loved member of the Phillies pitching staff, relieved Durbin in the 5th. The Trashman delivered – he faced nine batters, giving up three runs on four singles, a double and a walk. The inning ending on a flyout to center in which Victorino showed some great range. He made an exaggerated gesture to show the crowd he had the ball. Earlier in the inning, he was miffed that the umpires said he trapped a ball when he thought he caught it on the fly.

The Phillies rallied to get one back off Manny Delcarmen, who's starting to exhibit signs of a slump. The Sox rallied for two more in the 7th off of Sergio Escalona. We had no idea he was called up to replace Friday night's goat, Kyle Kendrick. The teams traded a pair of solo home runs (Jayson Werth in the 7th and Jacoby Ellsbury in the 9th) before Jonathan Papelbon mercifully ended this nightmare of a game at 12:25 a.m.

Observations from the stands: Great national anthem by the United States Air Force Heritage Brass quartet. One of the best renditions I've heard at the park in a long time. ... Rob McElhenney of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" threw out the first pitch. ... Among the many rain ponchos we saw, I spotted one with Buffalo Bills logos on it and another with the Pittsburgh Pirates. ... We spotted a dutiful helper dog during the delay wearing a rain slicker and a Phillies bandanna. ... The subject of the night's scoreboard marriage proposal had an infant in her arms. Christine wondered how the guy convinced her to wait out the cold, wet delay with the baby. ... A grown man behind us wore bright white sneakers with Phillies logos on them.

Christine wanted the Phanatic's late-game dance segment to play off how late it was getting. It didn't, but the PA did play "After Midnight" during the first inning break occurring after midnight. ... Speaking of music, we didn't hear Journey's Separate Ways last night, but Werth is now rotating his at-bat songs, including his original Heavy Metal by Sammy Hagar and newly added Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. I know you all love J-Dub and his intro music selections, but we can't keep up anymore.

On-field stars: Dice-K (1st), Durbin (2nd), Hideki Okajima (6th) and Ramon Ramirez (8th) for the few 1-2-3 innings in the game that saw the teams combine for 386 pitches (176 by the Red Sox, 210 by the Phillies). ... Ryan Howard surprised everyone by attempting to steal in the 2nd inning. He slid with an awful thud, but it was for naught because Ibanez fouled off the pitch. Christine wondered if he swung out of panic thinking he missed a hit-and-run sign when the big guy took off. ... Ellsbury showed his range in center field all night. ... Mike Lowell made a tremendous spear of a low liner smoked by Howard in the 3rd. It's one of those plays that looks like nothing in the box score, but could have prevented the Phillies from catching up. ... In a game that featured 17 runs on 26 hits and 11 walks, there were too many offensive stars to name. You can look up individual performances here. Although I didn't realize until just now that the Red Sox gave up only one of those walks.

Etc.: Here's some background info on the love affair between Philadelphia fans and J.D. Drew for the Red Sox fan who asked Christine with two outs in the bottom of the 9th whether Drew gets booed in Philly because he used to play here.

Today: No rest for the weary. Todd Zolecki says the Phillies deserve a short game featuring a long outing by J.A. Happ today. The Red Sox could use one too, but two SoxandPhils fans over here could really use one. We'll catch the finale this afternoon (Josh Beckett vs. Happ), then make a call to The Pen at 8 p.m. on MLB and then we'll try to catch up on some of the sleep lost last night.

Game 2?

I got drenched mowing the lawn this morning. I hope to stay dry the rest of the evening, but that remains questionable. I'll let you know tomorrow. I hope tonight's game - Daisuke Matsuzaka (who is overdue for a good outing) vs. Antonio Bastardo (who has yet to have a bad one) - proceeds uninterrupted.

Replay: I commend Shane Victorino's honesty. Christine doesn't.

"I thought it was way foul, to be honest," said Victorino, who added that first-base coach Davey Lopes agreed.

He was referring to Greg Dobbs' 11th-inning foul ball that Charlie Manuel argued should have at least been sent to instant replay for further review.

I'll let Scott Lauber have the final word:

And, really, if the Phillies hadn't struck out 20 times and stranded 10 runners, we wouldn't be talking about Joyce's call today.

Sour grapes: So thanks to some weird licensing rule, the Rays have final say over the Phillies' single-A team's promotions that feature major league logos. The Rays nixed a promotion featuring a Pat Burrell bobblehead in a Phillies uniform holding the trophy. I could almost understand it until I read they allowed similar bobbleheads for Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. What, do they think Pat the Bat is such a popular Ray that Floridians will automatically become Phillies fans because of this bobblehead?

All I know is that, thankfully, the Threshers didn't try a similar promotion with Burrell's bulldog Elvis. Christine would insist that we should be on the next plane down to Florida.

Sox strike first

For 12 innings, our teams played like two evenly matched champions. In the 13th, Kyle Kendrick - just called up to replace the injured Scott Eyre - reminded us why he hasn't been in the majors yet this year. He imploded, giving up three and spoiling what was a great pitching performance from both sides.

Jon Lester and Joe Blanton were terrific. Each went seven innings. Lester struck out 11, Blanton seven. They left a 2-1 game to the bullpens. Ramon Ramirez got the ball in the 9th - Jonathan Papelbon looked quite pissy about his night off, especially after Ryan Howard tattooed one off his surrogate.

Christine is upset that a ball Greg Dobbs hit in the 11th was called foul instead of a home run. Initially, she agreed it was foul, but then started to change her mind. Once the Sox scored three runs, she was convinced it was fair and is protesting the final tally.

Finally got to see Daniel Bard. He has some control issues - he walked a batter and hit Raul Ibanez - but struck out three in his first major league save. His stuff is filthy - my arm is sore from Christine elbowing me every time I reacted to one of his pitches. I hope Papelbon noticed his future replacement before he spouts off to Terry Francona too much tonight.

Lifetime achievement award

Nick Cafardo today endorsed an unlikely star for his first All-Star game: Tim Wakefield. Amazingly, Wakefield has never made it to the Midsummer Classic in a 17-year career with 186 wins. He's been so classy and so consistent that Cafardo felt obliged to write about his All-Star chances even after pitching poorly, but just good enough, to beat the Yankees yesterday:

It may even be time to start thinking about things like the All-Star Game, one accolade that has eluded him.

"It would be huge," said Wakefield, whose eight quality starts are second on the Sox to Josh Beckett's nine. "It's one thing you want in a career is to make an All-Star team. We've won two World Series; just to add it to the list of things that you can say you've accomplished in your career. Obviously it would be nice to make a team and hopefully I can continue to pitch the way I've been pitching and finally make one after 14 or 15 years. Hopefully I can be in St. Louis."

In his best year, when the Red Sox plucked him up after he was discarded by the Pirates in 1995, he was 7-1 at the break with a 1.61 ERA. He didn't make the cut because he only had 10 starts in the American League. Besides, Erik Hanson made it for the Red Sox, going 7-2 with a 3.61 ERA in his first 14 starts.

It's too soon to start compiling the All-Star roster, but Wakefield probably won't get a spot because I can't see more than one Red Sox starting pitcher on the staff, and Beckett has better numbers (7-2 with a 3.77 ERA).

Wakefield's 2009 season is a perfect example of why the All-Star rosters could be expanded to honor career contributions of special players.

In other news: Pablo Osuna, a veteran journeyman playing in the Phillies minor league system, has been suspended 50 games for drugs. I hope this is an isolated case pertaining to one player and is not tied to the organization. ... Mike Pelfrey's teammates were proud of him for putting Chase Utley in his place last night. Here's the coverage from the Mets perspective:

"He's a guy that I look at who always takes his time in the box," Pelfrey said. "I don't know if he's thinking or what in between pitches, but I was ready to go, and he wasn't. ... And I was mad."

But according to Phillies coverage, Utley didn't notice:

And there was the minor (so minor that it really never happened) sixth-inning flare-up between Utley and Mets starter Mike Pelfrey. A few New York reporters asked Utley about it after the game, and he looked at them like they each had 12 heads.

Basically, Pelfrey was miffed when, just as he was ready to deliver a pitch, Utley stepped out of the batter's box. Pelfrey yelled toward the batter's box, and although it appeared he had more to say to Utley after the at-bat (a groundout to second base), both players said there were no words exchanged.

That's hysterical. The Mets are even too inept to fight with the Phillies. That, or Chase is just playing a brilliant mind game with the young Met. {Little of A, but mostly B. Utley wouldn't acknowledge something like this, especially to the press. He knows exactly what Pelfrey said but will never admit it. That's the way it should be.}

Tonight's games: Brad Penny battled for six innings (I was even reconsidering my previous get-rid-of-Penny posts) protecting a one-run lead (David Ortiz hit a big home run off CC Sabathia), but then the vaunted bullpen (Manny Delcarmen) blew it. Delcarmen gave up a barrage of hits, allowing three runs, most horribly a two-run double to Alex Rodriguez - his first hit of the series. The Sox have rallied, and the game is now tied at 3-3 in the 8th with the bases loaded and no one out.

Meanwhile, the Phillies and Mets went into extra innings for the second straight night. They've played some good games this week, making me kind of hope the Mets can win the Wild Card. That would be an entertaining NLCS with a new way to crush Mets' fans spirits.

Like, for instance, a three-run home run from a 37-year-old slugger having a career year who is not on steroids. Oh wait, that's what happened tonight. Phillies 6, Mets 3. So the Sox and Phils each head into the big showdown with series wins against the New York teams.

I hope I don't need a restraining order

This morning I asked Christine to make sure she locked the door when she left for work.

Raul Ibanez is angry and coming after bloggers who suggest that his stellar performance this season is artificially enhanced:

"Unfortunately, I understand the environment we're in and the events that have led us to this era of speculation," he said. "At the same time, you can't just walk down the street and accuse somebody of being a thief because they didn't have a nice car yesterday and they do today. You can't say that guy is a thief."

Ibanez said he had never used performance-enhancing drugs.

"You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool - anything you can test," Ibanez said. "I'll give you back every dime I've ever made" if the test is positive.

You can hold on to your stool there, Raul. For the record, I have just advocated testing him. For his own protection. As he is even offering to do so. And I'm a 32-year-old blogging with my wife, not, as Raul describes, "a 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement." {And, we have no readership that would even find out if you did say such a terrible thing about Rauuuuuuul.}

I thought this was all in fun until I read the headline Phillies outfielder might consider taking legal action. I can't afford a lawyer, but I'd love to see him sue if only to see a judge officially rule that suggesting a baseball player is on steroids is not defamation.

Besides, even if Raul were doping, as Manny Ramirez said today, doing drugs isn't the worst thing in the world: "I didn't kill nobody, I didn't rape nobody, so that's it, I'm just going to come and play the game." {Just shut up, Ramirez.}

Tonight's games: The Red Sox are up 6-3 in the 6th. Chien-Ming Wang was knocked out in the 3rd. Tim Wakefield is battling. Every Red Sox has a hit except for David Ortiz, whose seven-game hitting streak is in jeopardy; he does have two walks. I'm still nervous about this one though. ... Cole Hamels didn't have it tonight, giving up four runs on 11 hits and two walks in five innings. Mike Pelfrey is pitching well as the Phillies trail the Mets 4-1 in the 7th.

I think either game may end up with different results.

Update: After I wrote that, the Phillies tied the game 4-4 in the 7th. One run came on a badly botched play by David Wright. Paul Bako made his first appearance as a Phillie - a strikeout with the bases loaded. It was the outcome I expected, but if he came through, I predicted that that would be the end of the Mets' hope for another year. I guess they're still alive.

And, the Yankees scored two more in the 7th - home runs by stupid Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira. Red Sox are up 6-5.

Bring it on

This is a big week here at SoxandPhils. First the good guys battle the New York teams before coming back to Philadelphia to preview the 2009 World Series.

I think Christine and I may start bickering even before the SoxandPhils series begins. Tonight wasn't a problem, but the Red Sox games against the Yankees will be nationally televised Wednesday and Thursday. One of us will have a thumb attached to the "previous channel" button on the remote, and the other will likely accuse the other of being too slow in switching back to a particular game. It's a good thing we have three TVs - but only one of them is HD.

Opponents: The SoxandPhils find two New York teams headed in opposite directions. Nick Cafardo cautions that the much-improved Yankees squad is a different team from the one the Red Sox are 5-0 against this year. Phil Sheridan states the obvious: Advantage, Phillies, in big rivalry. He also drops a SoxandPhils reference:

We are getting a taste of what it has been like to be a baseball fan in New York and Boston for the last decade or so. Following a winning team with a strong nucleus, good chemistry, and committed ownership turns out to be even more fun than it looked from afar.

Amen.

Case closed: On Saturday, I heard a nimrod call WIP to suggest that Brad Lidge's struggles may be mental because his blown saves seem to coincide with nationally televised games against good opponents.

I thought that was ludicrous until this morning when I saw a commercial for the Phillies' bullpen reality TV show. Maybe the caller was on the right track, except that Lidge, a perfect World Champion last year, wasn't buckling under big-game pressure. No, maybe he was melting under the pressure of being a TV star.

Or, maybe he's just been injured all friggin' year without admitting it. He was DL'd today and it sounds as if he's still in denial:

"He did not suggest it," said Amaro. "I don’t know how on-board he was with it, because he doesn't want to make any excuses, but he understands. Our medical people and staff took the decision out of it for him."

Where we stand: We're glad they're shutting him down since he's hurt, but upset it has taken this long.

Tonight's games: Red Sox are up 7-0 in the 9th courtesy of a nice four-run 2nd inning, that featured a two-run home run by Mr. David Américo Ortiz Arias, aka Big Papi, and two more runs after an error by Alex Rodriguez. In the battle of former Marlins, Josh Beckett struck out eight and allowed three base runners in six innings. A.J. Burnett allowed five runs (three earned) and 10 baserunners in 2 2/3 innings.

Things weren't so good for the Phillies. It was a competitive back-and-forth game with lots of home runs, but they fell short to the Mets, 6-5

Looking ahead

Christine and I know we've been spoiled by a good run of baseball for both of our teams in recent years. A lot of their continued success has been attributed to the farm systems. Each team has a nucleus of players who are young or in their prime: Cole Hamels, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard for the Phils, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester and Jacoby Ellsbury for the Sox.

We know fans of other teams have not been as fortunate and look at days like tomorrow - MLB draft day - as their hope for the future. We don't follow college baseball, so we'll leave it to Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump, who loves everything college sports and draft-related, to preview tomorrow's action. (He's a Nationals fan who will be very nervous until he hears that Scott Boras and Stephen Strasburg have agreed on a deal with the team.)

As for me, I like reading the stories behind draft strategies. For instance, I've long known how several teams undervalued Dustin Pedroia in the 2004 draft. I didn't know the Red Sox were torn between him and Kurt Suzuki, both of whom they thought would be long gone by the time they made the draft's 65th selection.

Jim Salisbury has a good read today about the scouts who lay the foundation for teams' drafts. It prominently features Eric Valent - a notable draft pick himself. He was selected by the Phillies 42nd in 1998 as compensation for J.D. Drew not signing the year before. We were at Valent's debut - a SoxandPhils game in Fenway. (There's always a SoxandPhils connection.)

Sports Illustrated is already featuring someone expected to be a top pick in a future draft: high schooler Bryce Harper. After reading the piece, I am convinced his story will end in tragedy.

Stars of today: Christine plans to stuff the ballot box when we're at Saturday's SoxandPhils game to try to get as many Phillies as possible to start in the All-Star game. Despite his .220-ish batting average, she even plans on punching out for Jimmy Rollins. If his new lead holds up, he would be the least deserving All-Star selection since ... Jason Varitek last year. Raul Ibanez has taken a deserving lead among outfielders, while Shane Victorino is making a run at Manny Ramirez, but Christine will probably have to punch a few hundred thousand ballots for Victorino to to reach the third outfield slot.

Today's games: None. Both teams get a needed respite before each takes on their New York rivals before this weekend's SoxandPhils series in Philadelphia.

Weekend update on pitchers who read the memo

Jon Lester practically memorized this week's SoxandPhils pitching memo, taking a perfect game into the 7th inning and a shutout into the 9th in the 8-1 win last night over the Rangers. That's two straight dominant performances for the lefty, who is close to earning back my awe.

He needed just 107 pitches - striking out 11, giving up a run on two hits and two walks. It's hard to ask for much more from him, but I hope he gives a little talk to Daisuke Matsuzaka and Brad Lidge, who didn't get the pitching memo.

Lidge blew another one yesterday. It wasn't his worst outing - just one poorly located pitch. But that was hit by Rafael Furcal, tying the game in the 9th, which the Dodgers later won 3-2 in the 12th. Just when we thought Brad Lidge was back, he blows two in a row against last year's National League also-rans. We're not happy. Hopefully, the bats give Antonio Bastardo a big cushion for tonight's game so Lidge can stay on the bench.

Dice-K started for the Sox today (on TBS as I write). He's pitching like Brad Lidge: Through four innings, four earned runs on seven hits. No walks - impressive for him. The Rangers lead 4-3 in the 5th.

Etc.: Papi homered last night - his first since May 20. ... While watching Saturday's debacle, Christine noticed that Russell Martin has "J. Martin" on his jersey. I had no idea what that was about:

The back of Dodgers catcher Russell Martin's jersey reads "J. Martin," a change he made at the beginning of this season. Martin's parents separated when he was a child, and he wanted to honor his mother, Susanne Jeanson.

That's very nice of him, but we can't believe baseball would allow this. What's next, the entire Angels roster coming out with Adenhart on their jerseys? Jimmy Rollins using J-Roll? Alex Rodriguez using A-Rod? Well, maybe if he wanted to put Slappy or A-Fraud on his back, I'd reconsider my thoughts on the subject.

Two Brads didn't get the message

When I fell asleep, I thought the Phillies had the game in hand. So did Todd Zolecki, whose postgame post allowed early-risers like me to relive the roller coaster ending for Brad Lidge and the Phillies:

Sometimes I get the feeling something is going to go terribly wrong in a baseball game, and I get ready to rewrite my game story. I got that feeling when Steve Bartman interfered with Moises Alou in left field in the NLCS in 2003.

But last night was not one of those games.

Even after Brad Lidge put a couple runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning at Dodger Stadium, I still felt like Lidge was going to get out of the inning and preserve the Phillies' 3-2 victory.

I'll spare you the drama. Lidge didn't come through. Zolecki, however, pins blame on Pedro Feliz, who botched a ground ball with two outs in the 9th. "I just missed it," Feliz said. "I've got nothing more to say." Dodgers 4, Phillies 3.

Red Sox: There was no miracle comeback last night. Julio Lugo continues to draw ire from the fans and media. I don't see the games so I can't weight in. I do believe we need to upgrade defense at shortstop (isn't that what sealed the deal in 2004?) and remove Brad Penny from the team. He was outpitched by Kevin Millwood last night:

Penny pitched under odd circumstances. Roughly 90 minutes before the game, he sat on a clubhouse couch and watched a college game on ESPN. Every couple of minutes along the bottom of the screen, Penny could read about how the Atlanta Braves are reportedly discussing a trade for him with the Red Sox.
...
"That's been my whole career," Penny said. "I don't look at that at all, really."

While Penny couldn't last through the sixth, Millwood dominated. The Red Sox managed six hits in the first seven innings. Millwood struck out five, and his final victim was Lugo.

So despite the fact that both Brads were hurt by their defense, I still say they should have read the memo that this was supposed to be the week of good pitching news at SoxandPhils.

Maybe J-Moy doesn't trust the young'ins: I just like this note in David Murphy's story:

Chris Coste was behind the plate last night for the third time in Jamie Moyer's last four starts. Moyer entered the night 4-1 with a 3.90 ERA in five starts with Coste at catcher, compared to 0-4 with a 10.52 ERA in five starts with starter Carlos Ruiz.

Pitching some more

Last night, I fell asleep thinking that Cole Hamels, who had thrown 49 pitches through five innings, had a shot at a complete game.

I woke up this morning to learn he needed another 48 pitches to complete the 3-0 shutout over the Dodgers. He gave up five hits with no walks and five strikeouts. He faced only 29 batters.

Orlando Hudson said it best: "He stuck it up our (rear ends) the last two times we faced him. What more can you say?"

Actually, he hasn't had a bad start ever against the Dodgers. In four regular season starts (two each this year and last), Hamels is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 8.67 strikeouts per nine innings against the Dodgers. And that doesn't count the two wins he had in last year's NLCS (three earned runs over 14 innings).

Sometimes a brief crude comment sums it up nicely.

Other pitching notes: Amalie Benjamin must have read yesterday's post about our teams' improving rotation. She quoted Josh Beckett in her game story pegged on that theme: "We still owe the bullpen some innings, so we've got to get our starters to go deeper." Benjamin detailed how well the starters have been doing recently.

Tonight, Brad Penny looked like he was continuing that trend with four scoreless innings, until the Rangers put up a four-spot in the 5th. The Sox are now down 5-1 in the 8th. Trade Penny's (rear end) out of here. Buster Olney reports that may be a possibility with both the Braves and Phillies showing interest. Todd Zolecki reports there may be truth to that Jason Donald rumor, but says the Phils have no interest in reliving the Vicente Padilla era.

See you tomorrow - hopefully with tales of an epic comeback in Fenway and another late-night win for the Phillies.

Pitchers' Civil War may be ending

This morning I read a note in David Murphy's blog about how well the Phillies starters have been doing since Chan Ho Park has been banished to the bullpen:

Don't look now, but Phillies starters have recorded a victory in each of these six straight wins. Since a win over Washington on May 18th when Chan Ho Park allowed five runs in 1 1/3 innings and lost his spot in the rotation, Phillies starters have an ERA just over 4.00, which is nearly two and a half runs better than the 6.35 ERA they posted in the first 36 games of the season.

Actually, that start was May 17. The next day, I took a look at how much better both of our teams' bullpens were than the starting rotations. Things have improved since then:

BOS starters
May 18: 5.76 (28th)
Today: 5.05 (26th)

PHI starters
May 18: 6.35 (30th)
Today: 5.58 (29th)

BOS relievers
May 18: 3.02 (3rd)
Today: 2.86 (1st)

PHI relievers
May 18: 3.97 (12th)
Today: 3.72 (9th)

BOS total
May 18: 4.77 (21st)
Today: 3.31 (14th)

PHI total
May 18: 5.59 (27th)
Today: 4.88 (27th)

Although both teams' starting staffs still have poor overall numbers, things are moving in the right direction - enough so that the members of both teams vaunted bullpen can put their muskets down for the time being.

Speaking of pitching, interesting report the other day on Junichi Tazawa, who seems to be the anti-Daisuke Matsuzaka in that he is pitching well - and efficiently. The Red Sox put their AA pitchers on 85-pitch limits. That would barely get Dice-K through the lineup once. Tazawa pitched into the 7th inning last time out on that limit.

Phillies: J.A. Happ finished off the sweep of the Padres last night, pitching seven scoreless innings in the 5-1 win. J.C. Romero gave up an unearned run in 1 1/3 innings - his 2009 debut. Ryan Howard hit another home run, but much of the ink went to Greg Dobbs, who got a rare start in right field, because of a running catch he made to end the 2nd inning with the bases loaded. It was a win-win for me because it was a solid drive by Padres pitcher Chris Young, right after Chris Wheeler said he looked futile at the plate. So, Wheels looked dumb without the Phillies getting hurt.

The Phils return to Los Angeles tonight for the first time since beating the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Red Sox: They also completed a sweep when Tim Wakefield got his seventh win this afternoon against the Tigers, 6-3. For the second straight game, Kevin Youkilis was removed with injury. David Ortiz did not make an out today. He was riding the pine. But he made news by saying he's going to try to end his slump with an eye exam - or maybe just being happier. I hope something works.

Birthdays and milestones

Back in April, I forgot to wish Terry Francona a happy 50th birthday; I'll tip my hat - not a Scratch-n-Sniff watermelon one blech - the day after he won his 500th game as manager of the Red Sox. (The score remained 5-1 over the Tigers despite Papelbon giving up three hits in a non-save situation. He did have three strikeouts.)

I won't forget to wish Raul Ibanez a happy birthday (last night). He celebrated with his 200th career home run in a 10-5 win over the Padres, highlighted by a great debut for Antonio Bastardo - one earned on four hits and a walk over six innings with five strikeouts. That's much better than the numbers for Jake Peavy - four runs in one inning - who left the game because of illness. (Christine insists it's swine flu.)

His relief, like Ibanez, was also a birthday boy, notes Andy Martino:

--Fun fact: Raul Ibanez hit his 200th home run on his 37th birthday. The pitcher who allowed the shot, Josh Geer, also was celebrating a birthday, at least until he faced Ibanez. It was Geer’s 26th.

Neither Martino nor Ibanez knew whether the Phillies Ponce de Leon ever homered on his birthday before.

I checked: He hit one on his 34th birthday in 2006. For his career, he's now 7-25 (.280) on his birthdays.

Misc.: Scott Eyre thinks he will retire after this season.

Tonight: J.A. Happ goes for the Phils late in San Diego; Josh Beckett nearly threw a no-hitter tonight. We got home in the 5th inning, and I saw a full inning before he gave up a hit with two outs in the 7th. I thought he had it, too. He looked so calm and under control. I felt like I was watching the 2007 playoffs. It was a close game until the Red Sox put up six runs in the 8th. They're ahead of the Tigers 10-1 in the 8th.

Late night with the Phils

It's Christine's favorite time of the year - a West Coast swing. {Boo!}

Last night, I conked out shortly after 11 with the Phillies up 4-1; Christine made it through a few more innings before dozing off.

But the first thing I saw when I turned on the TV this morning was the MLB ticker saying that Brad Lidge got his 13th save of the year. Nice start to the day.

Looking at the box score - Lidge needed just three pitches and two batters to finish off the 5-3 win over the Padres. (Raul Ibanez threw out a runner Lidge inherited.) Just now, Christine reluctantly proclaimed the former perfect closer "back."

Joe Blanton pitched well - three earned on six hits and a walk in seven innings. Every starter (including Blanton) reached base. Even Greg Dobbs had a pinch-hit double (I guess he was allowed to actually hit for a change). Chase Utley and Ryan Howard homered. I was awake for those - Howard's was a bomb to deep center.

Tonight's middle-of-the-night affair pits new Phillie Antonio Bastardo against possible future Phillie Jake Peavy. Christine doesn't want Peavy traded to the Phillies.

Red Sox: Jason Bay and Kevin Youkilis continue to lead the All-Star voting, which reminds me I haven't voted yet.

Tonight, they got their first crack at Detroit's 20-year-old wonderkid Rick Porcello, a Morristown native. Things started off well - Dustin Pedroia led off (again) and had a double, scoring on a hit by J.D. Drew. Daisuke Matsuzaka hung on for five innings, and the Sox lead 5-1 in the 8th.

Christine is usually bored by the Red Sox, but I think she'd like this game because it involves a squirrel on the field.

SoxandPhils should have been in the bibliography

I read a couple more chapters today of The Rocket that Fell to Earth. It was the part that describes how Roger Clemens made the leap from an awful human being to a cheating drugged-up loser in the mid-1990s, thanks to some help from Jose Canseco.

As he looked around the clubhouse, Clemens surely noticed that he was surrounded by aging and adequate players. What he also noticed was that one older player who seemed to be getting bigger, stronger and better was Jose Canseco.

The book describes how Canseco tried hard to become a B-list celebrity with a fling with Madonna, a 1-900 line and mansions on each coast.

It also noted the 1995 Red Sox yearbook, whose juiced-up contents was duly noted on this blog a year ago. Here's what Jeff Pearlman wrote:

On the cover of the 1995 Red Sox Yearbook, Canseco posed in a black tank top, arms folded, biceps popping (wrote Mark Newman in the Sporting News, "It looks less like a team yearbook than, say, the latest issue of Playgirl").

OK, Newman beat us by more than a decade, but we were the first with the steroid link. And, unfortunately, this is not the cover shot, but one from inside the yearbook. But I think you still get the picture of what he was talking about.

Today's news: Red Sox are off; Phillies play late in San Diego. ... Gannett's furloughs don't exempt sports baseball beat writers. ... Jerry Remy sounds good in an audio Tweet released today. ... Todd Zolecki, not furloughed, reports: Raul Ibanez is now second in All-Star voting; Ryan Howard was co-player of the week; Kyle Drabek was promoted to Double-A Reading; and you shouldn't trust a Tweet from a Phillie other than Chad Durbin or Jamie Moyer.