Scenic and scoreboard sights

As we watch Pedro Martinez officially become a SoxandPhil, we'll write about some of the outtakes from Sunday's game.

To the left is the back of the digital sign outside Citizens Bank Park. It needs a fresh coat of paint.

It's bad enough that this sign blocks an otherwise picturesque view of Center City, but it's downright embarrassing to have the World Champions' logo faded in front of the city's prime real estate.

I think they can can afford a couple cans of paint - especially with the money they're saving by sending Jamie Moyer to the bullpen.

We all know how ugly Sunday's game got after Shane Victorino's infamous ejection in the 7th inning. We got the sense that the scoreboard operators were purposely trying to soothe whomever was left in the stands.

We'd never seen Bongo Cam before. They played a surprisingly effectively calming island rhythm, and fans pretended to beat along.

Other than the half-naked old man, it was the only thing that distracted the fans from the mess on the field.

And Bongo Cam had several extended solos to give plenty of time for Renyel Pinto, who was replacing an injured pitcher, to warm up.

To the left is one of Christine's favorite scoreboard distractions. She likes the frog that seems to jump out of the Phillies' heads during the innings sponsored by the Philadelphia Zoo.

We can't decide whether Eric Bruntlett is terrified or disgusted by the little green critter.

Maybe that explains his poor season: He's afraid that if he hits the ball, an amphibian will suddenly appear.

Finally, I just liked this picture Christine snapped. If you look, it's a picture of the scoreboard showing a ball hit to left field during the Alumni Batting Challenge, so it's a picture of a scoreboard, in a scoreboard, in a scoreboard, in a scoreboard, etc.

Today's games: Pedro's pitches look sharp despite a mediocre start. He's faced 13 through three innings, giving up a run on four hits with four strikeouts. He's thrown 55 pitches. In the 4th, Phillies 8, Cubs 1.

Josh Beckett took a no-hitter into the 5th before giving up a home run to Carlos Guillen. Get ready to see Jason Bay and Mike Lowell on Bubba Burger's Who's Hot list. They each homered again. In the 7th, Red Sox 8, Tigers 1.

OK, I'll jinx it. Our teams are back on track to collide in October.