Worst. Phillies game. Ever. (that we attended)

Jamie Moyer's potential swan song as a Phillies starter was overshadowed by an awful blowout to the Marlins in which Shane Victorino was ejected for arguing balls and strikes - by raising his arms - from center field.

Despite a subpar start from Moyer, who has Pedro Martinez eyeing his rotation spot, the Phillies remained in the game until the 7th inning. They trailed 3-1 with former Phillie Wes Helms leading off.

All of a sudden, home plate umpire Ed Rapuano stepped forward and seemed to eject Jimmy Rollins in the middle of the at-bat. While we tried to figured out what was going on, Victorino ran in from center field as if he were ready to demonstrate how much he loves Ultimate Fighting on Rapuano. Fortunately, Paul Bako and Ryan Howard intervened before Shane-O made contact. He's probably going to get fined and might warrant a small suspension, but he would be facing a stiff suspension if he had made contact.

Victorino was replaced by Jayson Werth (I mistakenly assumed he was in the starting lineup until the 4th inning) who went on to make two errors. Fans kept booing Rapuano and chanting Vic-Tor-I-No - until they left in droves after the Marlins scored six runs in the 7th.

Christine was curious how Larry Andersen - he hasn't been a big fan of the umpires lately - handled the call. We heard it on the radio recap on the way home. He fumbled for words before calling it garbage.

Until that point, the game was a frustrating goodbye to Jamie Moyer, who left in the 6th after giving up two singles to lead off the inning. In the 5th, the Marlins scored three runs on four straight singles.

I was hoping for a gutsy, possibly final, starting performance from Moyer, but it wasn't meant to be.

When Charlie Manuel lifted him, there were some boos directed at the hometown hero, who played a big part in the 2007 NL East crown and the 2008 World Championship.

When I heard boos, I started clapping for him. The clapping, subdued but sincere, did win out over the boos.

Game notes: It rained a bit early, but we were under cover and for once did not mind one bit. ... Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson led off the 6th with a soft single to left, but kind of stood at home as if he fouled one off or he was just confused what to do. He still reached base safely. ... Neither team had an extra base hit until Cody Ross' 7th inning double. ... Rodrigo Lopez, who may be the odd man out if (when) Moyer is sent to the bullpen, gave up six runs in two-thirds of an inning. ... Brad Lidge, who still gets his entrance music played in a 9-3 game, gave up three more in the 9th. Final: Marlins 12, Phillies 3.

Observations from the stands: As the crowds thinned out late in the game, leaving empty sections of blue seats, Christine said, "I feel like we're back at the Vet." There was definitely that vibe, especially in the pregame when Mitch Williams, Ricky Bottalico, Dickie Noles, Ricky Jordan, Jim Eisenreich and Milt Thompson competed in the alumni batting challenge. They competed in pairs, and the team of Rickys won. We'll have more on that later in the week. ... On sale at the newsstands, 50 percent off: Chris Coste's The 33-Year-Old Rookie. ... WDVR radio's Jack McDade sang the anthem. I thought it was too long, but the crowd seemed to like it. "I've never heard a crooner sing the anthem," said Christine, who was pleased with it.

Not so pleasing was God Bless America by WXPN's Langhorne Slim. Christine predicted trouble for whoever had to sing after the 7th inning debacle. Langhorne thought he'd win over the crowd by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's going to be OK." That actually got laughs for a couple of seconds, but the laughs quickly turned to boos.

From then on, the entertainment directors did their best to play songs or show images that wouldn't jostle the shrinking but still hostile crowd.

One thing, however, was able to bring some joviality back to the park ...


A half-naked old man draped across some seats. This guy, wearing nothing but shades, shorts and black shoes with white socks, reminded the crowd how to laugh again. The scoreboard kept panning back to him until the fourth time, when he started rubbing his man boobs together.

With that, half-naked old man, like Shane-O, was shelved for the rest of the game.

Fashion review: I saw the Red Sox version of the Phillies Hall of Fame shirt I saw at our last game that lists all of the franchise's Hall of Famers. ... Someone had a jersey with World Champs 08. ... The first shirt I saw today was Cliff Lee's. ... Walking in, I saw two people walking together in Victorino shirts; one wore 8, the other 18. ... I saw a guy wearing a Phillies shirt and a Red Sox hat. ... I wondered how long before we start seeing J.A. Happ shirts. Christine later spotted a homemade one: Happ-iness.

Antiquated shirts spotted: Mike Lieberthal, Jim Thome, Chris Coste, Bobby Abreu, Lenny Dykstra, Aaron Rowand.

Oh well, off to finish this disastrous weekend (we came home last night to another unforeseen home-improvement project: a collapsed shelf in a closet) and see if Jon Lester can salvage one against the Yankees. There's currently no score in the 4th.