I was wrong. Both our teams have starters at second base and left field and the backup first baseman. Plus, the Red Sox have three pitchers on the staff. There have plenty of feel-good stories - Tim Wakefield and Raul Ibanez making their All-Star debuts at advanced ages and Ryan Howard getting to play in his hometown.
Since then, the SoxandPhils contingency has grown: Shane Victorino won the final spot vote, and today, Charlie Manuel put another one of his outfielders, Jayson Werth, on the team as Carlos Beltran's replacement.
I'm surprised. Werth is probably having a better year than Victorino, but I didn't think Cholly could get away with putting another Phillie on the roster. As Todd Zolecki reported, this will be the first time since 1995 the Phillies have sent five to the midsummer classic (Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, Tyler Green, Mickey Morandini and Heathcliff Slocumb). That's also the last time one team sent three outfielders (the Indians' Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton and Albert Belle). To quote Zolecki, and Larry Andersen, "Wow."
Before Werth was named to the team, I planned to get greedy for Tim Wakefield. The other day I heard Tim Kurkjian mention that it's possible Wake gets the nod to start the game. The Herald's Steve Buckley also endorsed him. Why not? Despite Bud Selig's protests, it still is a meaningless exhibition. Despite my indifference to wins, Wakefield does lead the league in them. It would be a fantastic story. And, hey, it's shaping up to be a SoxandPhils All-Star game anyway.
Chapter closed: Last night, when Paul Bako pinch hit and replaced the injured Carlos Ruiz, Christine said, "Where's Chris Coste? It's like he's not even on the team anymore."
Coste was still on the team last night. He's not tonight. He was released to make room for Ibanez. He's now an Astro.
Coincidentally, I finally started reading his book this week. He's been reminding me of one of my inspirations, wrestler Mick Foley. They both fought their way to the top, had to squeeze every ounce out of their semi-limited abilities and had to keep pushing down doors that were slammed in their face. Even better, they never lost their resolve:
"When I first got to the big leagues in 2006, I told myself, 'I just want to get one day in the big leagues,'" Coste said. "Once I got that day, I wanted a full year. Once I got that full year, I wanted 10 years. That's my approach. I want to stay in the big leagues and I'll do whatever I can to help the Astros win at this time."
The Phillies play the Astros eight times in the final weeks of the season. They better have the division in hand because I bet Chris Coste will do some damage against his former team - possibly knocking them out of the playoffs.
I'm a sucker for a good underdog story, and Chris Coste's was just about as good as it gets. I've rooted for him from the start and enjoyed watching him play. But it was clear that he had fallen out of favor with Cholly; I'm just glad management placed him on waivers instead of sending him to the minors so he gets to keep playing in the majors. Just don't play too well for eight games in September/October, please.
Tonight's games: Two words - pitching duels.
The Red Sox, with Jon Lester making his first start against the Royals since he no-hit them last year, and the Royals, with Brian Bannister matching him, were scoreless into the 8th inning. The Red Sox ended up winning 1-0.
Joe Blanton pitched into the 8th against the Pirates tonight, leaving with a 3-1 lead. Zack Duke pitched an eight-inning complete game. In the 9th, Brad Lidge came in with one out. Christine said, "He's got his ERA under 7.00." After Lidge got his first batter out, former Red Sox Brandon Moss crushed one.
Lidge's ERA took a hit, but he managed to get the final out, preserving the 3-2 win.
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