Machete man

Since Trent came home, a lot of things have had to change because of time constraints - showers have to be less than five minutes, meals have to be quick or easily consumed with baby on lap, and there's not much time for mindless Web surfing.

Deadspin is one site I don't get around to anymore, but luckily, we caught this spoof on how Ken Burns would have treated the story of SoxandPhil Ugueth Urbina (if the filmmaker had the gravitas to touch the saga of the machete man). The parody is hysterical and makes we want to watch the real Tenth Inning.

We have it DVR'd, but it's just a matter of finding time for the four-hour documentary. It was hard enough finding four minutes for the satirical story of the great Urbina.

Today's games: NL East Champs are off. Jon Lester has his first and last chance at his 20th win tonight against the White Sox.

Game 1 decisions

The media are speculating that Roy Halladay will start Game 1 of the NLDS on Wednesday. They're really going out on a limb with that one - why don't they say that Jon Lester won't start Game 1 of the playoffs?

Anyway, we have more pressing considerations for Game 1. We bought tickets. We don't know what time the game will be played, and I'm not exactly in a position to ask for a day off on the first week back after spending six weeks on leave to run Daddy Daycare.

We'll figure something out ... even if it's how to sell tickets on StubHub.

Today's game: Our teams' regular-season fates are sealed, but Christine is still watching the Phillies spring training lineup take on the Nationals. SoxandPhils scores no longer matter until Wednesday. {Yes, they do matter. The Phillies won 7-1. The Red Sox are losing, again.}

50 years ago

Last week, there was a free HBO preview, and Christine DVR'd a documentary, Ted Williams: There Goes the Greatest Hitter that Ever Lived, for me. It was good. It made me think about how there will probably never be an iconic superstar again. In our generation, maybe Cal Ripken, but his back story is bland. I had also forgotten about the whole frozen head thing, so maybe it was not all good.

A few days later, I saw an MLB Network special on the home run Williams hit in his last at-bat, commemorating today's 50th anniversary of the event.

I then tried reading John Updike's classic Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu to Trent, but I gave up. It's harder to read aloud than I thought.

Tonight's games: Irrelevant. The best 2010 regular season National League team lost to the Nationals 2-1. The Red Sox lead the White Sox, but their season is officially done as both the Rays and the Yankees won tonight. Congrats to our AL East foes. Go Rays.

Last (home) dance a dud

The Phillies, who have the longest active playoff streak of any team in baseball, clinched their fourth straight division title tonight. But it should have happened yesterday.

For the first time in their four-year run, they were not able to wrap things up for the home crowd on Sunday. Christine and I were hoping to see our third-ever clincher (2007 division and 2008 World Series) as we attended the last regular season game of the year, but the Phillies could not survive poor performances by two pitchers who have been great all year - Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson - in the 7-3 loss to the Mets.

Here's a day-old recap of the highlights of our day at the park as the Phillies celebrate in the clubhouse.

Observations from the stands: Driving to the park, we heard Last Dance, the Phanatic's traditional song for the regular season finale, on the radio. ... The Phillies saluted both fans and staff, recognizing employees, from grounds crew to administrative personnel, and giving away prizes to fans completely randomly. (It's just a coincidence that the spring training trip always goes to someone in field level while someone in the upper deck wins two free passes to the Franklin Institute's Cleopatra exhibit.). ... All fans received a magnetic schedule, a pack of Phillies postcards of memorable events from the season and a rally towel. I think I dropped my terry cloth five minutes after we entered the park while peppering up my pulled pork sandwich.

Every year, a Phillie has to address the fans. Christine's favorite, Carlos Ruiz, gave a most stirring and eloquent speech: "We love our fans. Thank you." It still gives me chills. ... The anthem was sung by the Central Bucks West High School Choir, directed by Joseph Ohrt. Not bad, but we've heard it before. And before that. Now they have a website. ... My favorite sign of the day: "Miss you Jamie" with a crying sad emoticon in the zero of Jamie Moyer's No. 50. ... Miss America Caressa Cameron sang God Bless America. ... Fans were particularly annoying, from the parents behind us who wouldn't stop their daughter from kicking Christine's chair to the drunks in front of us who couldn't understand 1) Why the stadium staff wouldn't let him wear a profane anti-Mets shirt because "I bought it outside the stadium the last time they played the Mets" and 2) Why they were getting ragged on for cheering on Hamels minutes after he was removed from the game in the middle the 5th inning. Also, nearly all fans kept cheering the Nationals scoring updates against the Braves, forgetting that the Phillies actually had to win their game to wrap up the division.

We hit a few drops of rain driving and walking into the park, but the game was played without any delay, and the sun even made an appearance in the late innings. Jimmy Rollins also made an appearance, but he grounded out meekly while swinging at the first pitch. ... Combined line for the good Phillies pitchers (Hamels and Madson): four innings, seven runs on 11 hits and four walks with two strikeouts. Combined line for the scrubby Phillies pitchers (David Herndon, Vance Worley, Chad Durbin, Jose Contreras and Danys Baez): five innings, no runs, one hit, three walks and eight strikeouts. ... The postgame celebration was subdued. The Phanatic and staff shot T-shirts to the crowd, but players stayed off the field, probably respecting the fact they lost and the division title wasn't yet sealed.

So ends the 2010 regular season at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are guaranteed at least two more home playoff games; will we be at any?

Antiquated T-shirts: Pat Burrell, Jim Thome, Chris Coste, John Kruk, Jim Eisenreich and Cliff Lee. ... Walking out of the stadium, Christine noticed the back of a Roy Halladay jersey because although the numbers looked legit, the letters were off. Then, we noticed a 2009 World Series patch, and we all know Doc hasn't yet sniffed the Fall Classic. Finally, it hit us: Remember all those jokes about people ripping off Cliff Lee's name from their jersey and replacing it with Halladay's? This guy actually did it. Pretty tacky because Halladay wouldn't want to wear a World Series patch he didn't earn.

Today's games: Doc went the distance in an 8-0 shutout to ice the division. ... The Red Sox are winning; the Rays and Yankees lost, so the Sox may survive another day. I was starting to believe again until last night's extra inning debacle against the Yankees.

Phillies clinch

A day after I got to spend the day pursuing my hobby (bike riding), Christine got a day at Citizens Bank Park where everyone wanted to see a clincher.

The fans whooped it up watching the scoreboard as the Nationals beat the Braves but ignoring the fact that the Phillies couldn't beat the lowly Mets in an ugly 7-3 loss that clinched their 33rd straight season without 100 wins. (Betcha thought the headline was referring to the Phillies clinching at least a tie for the division.)

We have had a long weekend and are still trying to get things organized for the last week of Daddy Daycare before we hand off Trent to the professional day carers.

I hope to have some time and energy tomorrow to recap our last regular-season game at the park.

I did it

It's 10:30 p.m., and we've been up since before sunrise.

I did my 75-mile ride today - 77.94 miles to be exact - in six hours, eight minutes and 15 seconds (not counting rest stops). Christine and Trent fashioned the cutest sign and attached it to his stroller to welcome me after my ride, and they were waiting with our parents at the finish line.

I was so proud and happy. Now, I'm kinda tired.

The Red Sox continue to play spoiler against the Yankees (7-3 win), and the Phillies blew it against the Mets (5-2 loss), making it tougher to clinch tomorrow in their home regular season finale.

SoxandPhils take on New York

And ... we're really not that interested. The only intrigue is whether the Phillies can manage to clinch at home this weekend against the Mets and whether the Red Sox can help the Rays and Twins knock the Yankees from the top seed in the American League to the Wild Card.

We're more focused on tomorrow's big ride and our first night away from Trent. (He's at Grandmom's so we don't have to worry about him while stumbling out the door at 5:30 in the morning so I can get to the starting line.)

So far, so good for the Phils. They beat the Mets 3-2 while the Nationals lead the Braves 7-3 in the 8th. If that holds up, the Phillies could clinch tomorrow with another win and a Braves loss, but Sunday would make a better clincher, in our opinion.

Things started out well for the Red Sox. They were up 10-1 in the 6th, but it's now 10-7 in the 9th.

I hope that tomorrow I finish my ride stronger than the Red Sox are finishing this game.

Off day

The Red Sox and Phillies are off today, so we're taking the day off, too (but just from blogging). Besides, I don't have anything to add because I have been preoccupied with getting mentally geared for a 75-mile bike ride for which I may not be physically prepared, taking care of Trent and ignoring the suckitude of the Red Sox.

Heck, I'm so out of it, I didn't realize the Red Sox are about to start a series against the Yankees.

{Though I'm well aware that the Phillies may be able to clinch against the Mets this weekend! Preferably on Sunday.}

Wacky Wednesday

One of Trent's Dr. Seuss stories is Wacky Wednesday, which is about a boy who finds lots of things askew, such as a shoe on the wall, a car with no wheels and two knobs on the door to the hall.

Today felt like Wacky Wednesday looking at the SoxandPhils clips, most notably this Phil Sheridan column that calls the Cliff Lee trade logical.

Gee, all it took was Roy Halladay winning 20 games, Cole Hamels pitching like everyone expected after 2008 and Roy Oswalt pitching like an ace sniffing the playoffs after he was rescued from a morbid team.

And, it also helps that the Phillies have been the best team in baseball since July 21 and that the Eagles traded one of their stars and now have a dog killer quarterbacking.

Less wacky: There has been a lot of speculation about the Red Sox targeting Jayson Werth, so it's not that far-fetched to see a story about it. But it's a little wacky to read a Phillies-turned-Red Sox beat writer speculating about the current Phillies right fielder coming to the Fens.

I don't see it happening, but it did catch my eye this morning.

Today's games: The Braves and Phillies had a good duel. It was scoreless until the 8th when Raul Ibanez doubled in wacky Werth, who also caught the final out in the 9th. Magic number is now four; we hope it's down to one before Sunday's game. ... The Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-1. Wacky.

Free fall

Sometimes the dropoffs are quick in sports.

Look at Jacoby Ellsbury: He has already gone from being a rock star like Nomar Garciappara was early in his career to the whipping boy Nomar Garciappara became at the end. Now, he could be headed for a fall from 2007 World Series hero to the ultimate doghouse ... a New York Met.

Nick Cafardo had two tidbits this week that are a little too close for comfort:

3. David Wright would fit nicely in the Red Sox lineup; 4. A couple of Mets officials have told me they may make a run at Jacoby Ellsbury this winter.

I'd hate to see Ellsbury dumped because of public opinion, and I'd hate to see him become an enemy of the Phillies. But I wouldn't mind David Wright; I think his production can return in the right environment.

Tonight's games: The Phillies won their ninth straight (yawn), lowering their magic number to six to clinch their fourth straight division title (yawn) as Roy Halladay won 20 games for the third time in his career (yawn) in the 5-3 win over the Braves. The Red Sox trail the Orioles 8-1 in the 9th (mega yawn).

Buzzkill

When the Phillies trailed the Nationals 6-3 in the bottom on the 9th yesterday, they had a 9 percent chance of winning. But three straight hits quadrupled their odds before Jayson Werth came up with a man on base.

He hit the dramatic home run, sparking euphoria (never mind that it was against the poor Nationals). But the era of good feelings didn't last long as it was soon reported that Werth had signed with Scott Boras.

As Todd Zolecki notes, this probably doesn't affect the Phillies, because everyone assumed Werth was gone anyway. But it's just another thing to make his impending free agency nauseating.

And, of course, it came on the eve of the Phillies' first of two remaining series against the Braves, which could officially end the division race.

Tonight there was no lingering buzzkill as the Phillies dispatched the Braves 3-1 behind the vaunted pitching that won the World Series in 2008: eight innings from Cole Hamels and a perfect 9th from Brad Lidge. The Phillies lead is now four games with a magic number of eight.

The Red Sox will keep pedaling until the end of the road, but the Orioles are pedaling harder and won 4-2.

End of the road

I always wonder how far I can ride my bike. When I used to regularly train for my annual ride, I tried to go a little further than the previous time. Of course, I abandoned that routine once Trent came along, but yesterday I set out for a 70-mile ride in preparation for next week's 75-mile ride.

(I know I probably should have cut it back, but I want to send a message to the little guy about commitment, perseverance and health.)

Naturally, I wondered what I would see in those few miles I never rode before. But toward the end, I saw signs saying the road was closed and only open to local traffic. I kept going, figuring if it were safe for the locals, it would be safe for a guy on a bike.

I kept pedaling; the signs kept popping up. Finally, three miles before the point where I planned to turn around, I hit a concrete barrier and could go no further.

I think this must be what it's like for the Red Sox and the other 19 teams that are playing out the string. There's nothing ahead, but you just keep going until you hit the end of the road, or season.

Today's games: Jon Lester shut down the Blue Jays 6-0. The Phillies kept their hopes alive (of clinching at home this weekend) by scoring four runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Nationals 7-6.

Say it ain't so, Joe

It's no secret I never liked Joe Torre.

He had good people skills but was ultimately a middling manager who benefited from an obscene payroll.

Yes, his teams won four World Championships, and he only missed the playoffs once in 12 years as Yankees manager, but the combination of his $200 million teams and his managerial genius should have produced more. He was at the helm when the Yankees blew a 3-0 lead over the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. He also helped the Phillies advance to the World Series in 2008 and 2009.

I hope his decision to step down as Dodgers manager is really a retirement, but I get the sense it's not.

It was funny watching Kevin Millar, whose analysis I don't like on MLB Network, interview Torre. "I hate you," Torre quipped in reference to Millar's 2004 walk that set up the great comeback.

I hope this is my last impression of Joe the foe, because it was a good-natured rib that I appreciated. But he's still a Yankee, and I still don't like him.

Personal: I did my longest bike ride ever - 70 miles. I think I'm ready for next week's 75 miler.

Today's games: The Phillies beat the Nationals 5-2, but the Mets once again could not beat the Braves. The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays while the Rays and Yankees both won.

Quick playoff picture

Trent and I finished the doors today and serviced the heater before the season changes. Tomorrow, I'm taking my last training ride in preparation for next week's big bike ride, and on Sunday, we'll paint the new doors.

Trent couldn't convince Christine to go SoxandPhils and paint them red and blue. She tried to reason with him that both teams have white in their uniforms.

The Phillies beat the Nationals 9-1, lowering their magic number to 12. (Despite Christine and Trent's rooting, the Mets couldn't beat the Braves.)

The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays, and the Yankees beat the Orioles, so the Red Sox magic number remains at 21.

Yes, the Red Sox are still alive. They just have to go 10-5 and hope the Yankees go 3-12. Stranger things have happened (see: ALCS, 2004).

MVChooch

I was surprised to see that Jayson Werth still cracks the lists of national writers' top 10 candidates for NL MVP. He might be having his best offensive season, but his fielding has slipped, he disappeared for a good chunk of the season, and he has seemed distracted and susceptible to bonehead plays.

When I mentioned the national love for J-Dub, Christine, who has been real down on him, harrumphed: "Chooch is the Phillies MVP."

She has said it before, and so has the local media, which had another story about Carlos Ruiz and how he is the Phillies MVP:

This is the time of year when folks with nothing better to do begin to talk about things like most valuable players.

In normal seasons, such debates do not involve the No. 8 hitter in a team's lineup. But this has not been a normal year for the injury-ravaged Phillies. And when you really break down the value that each of their hitters and pitchers have contributed to the team, it becomes hard to overlook the contributions of one Carlos Ruiz.
[...]
"The best compliment I can give is that if he has a game where he goes 3-for-3 with a home run and he's the star of the game offensively, but we don't throw well, he's not
happy," [Brad] Lidge said. "He's not happy at all. And if he goes 0-for-5 with five strikeouts but we throw a shutout, he's pumped after the game. And that, for a pitcher, is everything."

And, for the Phillies this season, that's been pretty valuable.

Chooch might get a vote or two for the big award, and I know that this is a lot of hometown cheering, but it still warms the heart, especially because Christine predicted he would be a popular and valuable member of the Phillies long before he became one.

Today's games: Both teams are off. Not a bad day for no SoxandPhils games because we were having new doors installed, and Daddy Daycare had to tend as well to the little one. Speaking of which, I should go see how he's making out with those pesky hinges.

Reprise

There are a couple of updates today about things I've written about recently.

I speculated about Jayson Werth going to the A's in the offseason, but Ruben Amaro says don't be so quick to run J-Dub out of town to the Yankees, Red Sox or a wild card team like the A's:

"As we've talked about before, we'd love to bring Jayson Werth back, and he obviously plays rightfield," Amaro said. "Nobody's giving Domonic Brown the job in rightfield next year."

Even though Werth is finishing up a second straight career year heading into a free-agent market that has paid similar players more than $15 million per year?

"It's possible," Amaro said, "Again, these are issues that we'll deal with in the offseason."

I don't buy it, but a part of me thinks there may be some super-secret convoluted plan in the works, similar to jettisoning Cliff Lee to get Roy Halladay. Could next year's outfield be Raul Ibanez, Werth and Brown?

On a cheerier note, New England native and Carlos Quintana fan Rich Hill not only got to pitch for his favorite team, but earned a win for the Red Sox against the Mariners Tuesday night:

"The big thing for me is being back at this level and able to pitch well," said Hill, who had shoulder surgery a year ago. "But it's a cool thing to get a win with the Red Sox in my first game"’ said Hill, a Milton native and Boston resident.

Today's games: Behind ace Roy Halladay, the Phillies lead the Marlins 10-4 in the 9th. If they hold on, they would have a three game lead over the Braves. ... Behind ace Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox finished a sweep of the Mariners with a 5-1 win.

Q'd up

It gets monotonous when baseball players are asked to name their favorite players. They always pick the same handful of stars - Cal Ripken, Nolan Ryan, Ken Griffey Jr., etc. Sometimes you'll see somebody who was ingrained to a certain region - a Don Mattingly or Ryne Sandberg. Or, you'll see homages to players with significant historic importance beyond the game - a Jackie Robinson or Roberto Clemente.

For a game played by more than 16,000 major leaguers, it seems only a few dozen are mentioned frequently as being someone's favorite player.

That's why New Englander Rich Hill's answer for his favorite players was so refreshing. Hill, a former top pitching prospect for the Cubs who has become a journeyman minor leaguer, was called up by the Red Sox, his hometown team.

Instead of naming Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens or Mo Vaughn as his favorite players, he named venerable Dwight Evans, who would fit into the geographical category, and little-known Carlos Quintana:

Here's how much of a Red Sox fan Hill is: when asked to name his favorite players growing up, he first said Dwight Evans and then mentioned Carlos Quintana, a first baseman and occasional outfielder from 1988-93.

If you know who the Q is, you're a real fan.

I guess I'm a real fan. I remember when Q burst onto the scene. He seemed to claim the first base job out of nowhere. (I was a kid living several states away before the Internet.) He was an anchor of the 1990 team - one of my favorite seasons - and a player who always seemed better than he actually was because he wasn't overhyped.

His career was cut short because of an injury in a car crash, but thanks to Rich Hill, he'll be remembered today.

Today's games: It's up to Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge to hold onto the Phillies 2-1 lead over the Marlins. I wonder if this is going to be another time when Cole Hamels misses out on a win because of no run support. ... The Red Sox are just getting under way in Seattle.

Will J-Dub move up in the alphabet?

Everyone assumes that Jayson Werth - who has become right fielder non grata to Christine - will be a Red Sox or Yankee next year.

But what if Reggie Jackson is a double agent and was working for another one of his former teams, the A's, when he went recruiting the bearded wonder this spring?

Sports Illustrated had a piece talking about how young, good and cheap the A's pitching is and speculated that Billy Beane may have money - and spend it - to upgrade his offense this offseason. J-Dub, whose wild looks would have fit right in with the Jason Giambi A's of the 2000s, was mentioned.

I was intrigued by that, especially with Peter Abraham's random note last night:

Don't sleep on Oakland. Give that team a hitter or two and they have the pitching to do some damage.

If Werth is done with the Phillies, I'd love for him to go West instead of setting up another stale bidding war between the Yankees and Red Sox.

Tonight's games: The Phillies lead the Marlins 11-1 in the 8th. I think this one is safe. ... The Red Sox play late in Seattle.

Sleepy Sunday

Well, it started out that way. On a chilly, rainy day, I slept in - 6:30 a.m. is now extraordinarily late by my new standards.

Later, Trent and I went to the basement to watch some football (I think I'm going to watch more of it this year now that we have the little guy) while Christine listened to the radio as she got some work done upstairs. She heard Roy Oswalt dominate the Mets (four hits and a walk with six strikeouts) in a 3-0 shutout.

In the basement, we toggled between that game and the Giants' 31-18 win over the Panthers and the Patriots' 34-24 win over the Bengals. After the Eagles dropped their opener in the afternoon, we just need the Braves to lose to the Cardinals tonight for a pretty good sports day in this house. And, oh yeah, forgot about the Red Sox ... they won, too, 5-3 over the A's.

Busy week ahead for the SoxandPhils Phamily. We'll try our best to keep up, but expect quickie posts like this.

Life lesson: winning

We took Trent to a local baby parade today. Because it wasn't a pure cute baby contest and relied more on the ingenuity and creativity of the babies' parents in crafting floats and such, Tackle Box Trent did not come home with a prize.

It's OK. It was his first lesson that winning isn't everything. He didn't seem bothered by it.

Later in the day, when Carlos Ruiz failed to get a big hit in the 9th inning with the Phillies trailing the Mets 4-3 with two outs and a man on third, Trent took it much better than his mother.

Red Sox: Not that they matter ... actually, they do matter. We shouldn't stop caring about them just because they're not going to win this year. Well, tonight they're actually winning, 1-0 over the A's in the 6th.

Mike Lowell, a winner of a person, announced his retirement. It was an awkward year, but I am glad he got to play regularly at the end and wish him well.

Time warp

Christine doesn't like it when I sing a Christmas carol too early (before Thanksgiving), so last night when she was watching a Christmas rerun episode of one of her favorite syndicated TV shows, I teased her, "Oh, it's OK for Buffy the Vampire Slayer to play Christmas music in July?"

Then I quickly remembered that we're not only out of July, but also August and just about halfway through September.

Where did the time go?

A baby has really messed with my internal clock. While running errands, the three hours between feedings can seem like five minutes, or the last 15 minutes before a feeding can feel like three hours if Trent's crying.

So I was a little surprised to see football on last night, even though I spent the last few days reading football previews in Sports Weekly, Sports Illustrated and ESPN magazines. I didn't mind it, but it was depressing today to see the Red Sox coverage focused on year-end individual success stories such as Darnell McDonald being a major leaguer for pretty much the whole year and Adrian Beltre's attempt to reach the 30 home run/100 RBI mark for the second time in his career.

Similarly, but on a better note, Phillies coverage focused on the health status of Brad Lidge and Jimmy Rollins as the Phillies head down the stretch run and probably the playoffs.

It seems like just yesterday Christine and I were deciding whether to plan a little getaway for a week off we had scheduled in July. Now, we're planning a run to the grocery store in between bottles while hoping we don't miss the start of the playoffs.

Today's games: The Phillies beat the Mets 8-4. The Red Sox are playing the A's late on the West Coast. They trail 5-0 in the 2nd - not that it matters anymore.

The indoctrination has begun

We decided that we won't pressure Trent. If he wants to be a Phillies fan, fine. If he wants to be a Red Sox fan, fine. If he wants to be both, fine. If he wants to root for a random team, we'll deal with it. If he wants to root for the Mets, Yankees or just not like baseball ... then our house will be a little less happy.

To that end, we decided we will try to keep things even between Red Sox and Phillies items in his room. Before he arrived, there was a Red Sox book and a Phillies book waiting for him.

And two weeks ago, he finally got his first garb. His aunt got him his first Red Sox tee. Literally. It says "My First Red Sox Tee." It will look great on him next year. He also got a teething towel. He's not yet teething, so I just dust his face with it to tickle him and get him used to the logo.

Shortly after he got his Red Sox shirt, one of Christine's colleagues got him a Ryan Howard shirt. It's a little big on him, but it's close enough to pose for a picture just like his Daddy.

Because of the shirt, Christine has dubbed Howard Trent's favorite player.

When we went to the game on Aug. 22, our first since Trent arrived , we wanted to bring him back a little Phanatic doll, but they only have big ones, and because they're not baby safe, we decided not to get one. Instead, we brought him back a Phanatic book - The Phillie Phanatic's Parade of Champions.

He seems to like it.

Now we just have to find Wally the Green Monster's account of the 2004 parade.

Tonight's games: The Phillies are off, but they were rebroadcasting Roy Halladay's perfect game. It started when Trent's bed time was approaching, so we didn't miss the beginning because we were taking a walk.

The Red Sox are off, too.

More scoreboard watching

During last night's game, there was a lot of talk about scoreboard watching as the Phillies win, coupled with the Braves loss, sent the Phils back to their customary spot atop the NL East.

The fans cheered every time the scoreboard revealed another run for the Pirates against the Braves, and the announcers noted how Mike Sweeney, who has never been to the playoffs in his 16-year career, acknowledged that he has been scoreboard watching.

Christine and I like to scoreboard watch at the ballpark. Well, we like to note the different screens they have for players' photos.

Here's what caught our fancy from Sunday's game, starting with Amoroso's. Jimmy Rollins had been slumping, but he's been on a roll since moving to the 5th spot in the batting order two games ago. (Ed's note: I wrote this before J-Roll left tonight's game because of a tight hamstring. I'm too tired to change it.)

Charlie Manuel likes the new lineup, so he's locked it up. Too bad that Steve Urkel, err, Ben Francisco can't crack it.

Of course, the Phillies scoreboard operators seem to have it locked in their minds that Jayson Werth is still clean-cut. They really seem to be in denial about the various wild looks he has sported in 2010. Or maybe they're just helping J-Dub audition for a job with the Yankees.

It's not just the home team that participates in these screen shots, although I doubt the visitors get any say whatsoever in what happens with their mugs.

It also seems like more of the nonprofit billboards go to the road team. I wonder if the Phillies give them a discount.

Casey McGehee demonstrates the Please Touch Museum advertisement.

Prince Fielder, with a very cheesy smile, has gone artsy, advertising the Cleopatra exhibit at the Franklin Institute.

We actually saw the Cleopatra ad at our previous game but didn't get a picture. It worked out well anyway because we really like Prince Fielder's big grin.

His squishy eyes remind us of the first studio pictures we got of Trent last weekend. The kid wouldn't smile for the camera except one shot where his eyes are half closed.

Of course, as soon as we left the store, he wouldn't stop smiling for the rest of the weekend.

Tonight's games: The Red Sox are done. I'll lead with them because they are done. I don't like admitting that prematurely, but Terry Francona has waved the white flag and started Tim Wakefield, scotching plans to start the league's ERA leader Clay Buchholz.

It doesn't matter, but the Sox beat the Rays 11-5. Should I have rooted for them to blow it so the Rays didn't lose ground to the Yankees?

The Phillies held on to their half game lead over the Braves, beating the Marlins 10-6. (The Braves beat the Pirates 9-2.)

The Phillies led 10-0 in the 8th, but Nate Robertson's mop sprung a leak, allowing six runs and making the game much closer than it needed to be.

There's only one Phanatic

We got to the park early for Sunday's game. We always get there early, but there was actually something special going on - a whole bunch of Phanatics, on display, in art form.

It was so cultural.

We snapped a bunch of random pictures of the various examples of Phanatics that were fashioned by local artists. They were on display before being auctioned off this month.

Here's a listing of the Phanatics in our pictures(except the first picture). I'm pretty sure the one on the far right is P. Phanatic Star Voyager, but I'm not sure which golden Phanatic is next to him.

1. The Phanatic Paints A Mural

We really liked this one. "It's so meta," Christine quipped. "It's a Phanatic painting on a Phanatic."

2. Ben Phranklin Phanatic

I'd hate to see our electricity bill if this guy and not Benjamin Franklin flew the kite on that infamous night.

3. Key to Golden Love Phanatic

We don't get it.

4. Phanatico Latino

That's a tribute to all the Latin Phillies stars including Ruben Amaro, Juan Samuel and Carlos Ruiz.

5. Yesterday Today and Tomorrow

That's a tribute to all Phillies - past, present and future. It's one of the five statues that the Phillies are keeping.

6. (Not pictured) PhanaTrent.

More info about the rest of the real Phanatic statues can be found here.

Forgotten from yesterday: I didn't mention this in yesterday's recap of our experience at the park on Sunday because it happened on the walk out of the ballpark after I stopped taking notes on my scorecard.

Some guy saw my Red Sox hat and said, "Yeah, Red Sox," and punched me in the arm.

It was random and confusing. I'm not sure if he was sarcastic or not, but even if he were the punch did not seem offensive.

My Red Sox hat elicited another comment today when Trent and I dropped off his application for a local baby parade. We're not going Little Miss Sunshine, just thought it would be a nice little campy thing to do with the little guy.

Anyway, the woman at the counter saw my hat and told me her fiance loves the Red Sox.

Today's games: It was a SoxandPhils double header on the tube tonight. MLB Network was supposed to show the White Sox and Tigers, but the Red Sox and Rays were on instead.

I wish they stuck with their original broadcast.

I thought I'd have an enjoyable moment with Trent and the Sox. They were up 2-0 when I flipped it on.

But then Daisuke Matszuka blew up, giving up eight earned in 4.2 innings. The Rays won 14-5. I'm still holding out hope, but I'm not sure Terry Francona is: "Every player in the Sox starting lineup has either been replaced or changed position," reports Gordon Edes.

The Phillies, despite Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero's efforts to blow the game, beat the Marlins 8-7 to reclaim first place.

The Phillies led 7-4 in the 8th, but Contreras gave up three runs. J.C. couldn't clean up the mess.

In the bottom of the inning, Placido Polanco drove in a run, and because the Braves lost to the Pirates, the Phillies have a half game lead.

Lots of things amiss

You're never happy seeing Kyle Kendrick give up a three-run home run in the first inning, but once he did, there was still a sense Sunday's game could be a classic Phillies comeback - especially when Ryan Howard came up in the bottom of the inning with two men on.

But when Howard couldn't match Prince Fielder's big blast, Christine knew the Phillies weren't going to come back.

The Phillies showed some spark at times, but the offense kept sputtering against Randy Wolf, and there were just too many things - besides Kendrick - that were amiss when we were at Citizens Bank Park yesterday.

Observations from the stands: The first sign that things were off-kilter was the fact I forgot a writing utensil and had to use the little stubby pencils for scorekeeping. Using a Trent-sized pencil wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and they accidentally gave me two scorecards in my program, so that's $2 I'll save at my next game.

Another thing askew was that there were way too many Phanatics at the park. We like the big guy, but the park was getting overrun by creatures from the Galapagos Islands as part of the Phanatic Around Town Auction (we'll have more on this later in the week).

After getting our lunch and settling in the stands, the next odd sight was Jamie Moyer on the field. It's become a running joke whether it's too soon to include a Moyer shirt in our "antiquated" listings, but the injured old-timer was on the field Sunday to award the winners of the Phillies home run derby.

The moment gave us a sense of deja vu. Probably because we saw this in 2008. Pat Burrell handed out the trophies then, but it was noted that J-Moy had won the home run derby in his younger days. The Phillies also played the Brewers on that day in 2008, part of the big four-game sweep that resuscitated their playoff drive. They also trailed in that game, but Howard was able to come through with a game-tying home run to set up a big Phillies comeback.

Musical entertainment: The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club, directed by Dr. C. Erik Nordgren, did the anthem. "Oh my god, they sound just like a glee club," Christine said. "And they look like it, too."

They never said who he was, but Joseph Goldberg sang God Bless America. I'm rarely a fan of GBA singers, especially when I don't know why they were selected.

Christine was miffed that for our second consecutive game the Phanatic mid-game skit consisted of a troupe of random dancers. Sunday's episode featured girls from the Dance Team from The College of New Jersey, which is our alma mater.

I'm still shocked because I thought the dancers looked like they were 12 years old.

The Phanatic's dugout dance was Minnie the Moocher, which made me happy because it's a song Trent and I like to sing.

There were lots of youngsters in the crowd to get the free Jimmy Rollins tee. We wanted to bring our little guy, but we know he's not ready for the big leagues yet.

Scoreboard glitches: The players weren't the only members of the Phillies that were off-stride on Sunday. There were several scoreboard glitches as well.

For the "Ask a Phillies" segment, they flashed the question "Do you like to cook?" but the video was asking for their first concert.

Then, in the "Who am I?" segment, they flashed Roy Halladay's name immediately after the first clue - that he was born in 1977 in Colorado.

Finally, in touting Carlos Ruiz as a star of the game, there was a bunch of jumbled, overimposed words, and we weren't able to read any facts about Chooch.

PhilsandBrews: Zack Braddock, the local kid whose family was in full force as he pitched in Philly for the first time on Saturday, did a little better in Sunday's game.

He was summoned to pitch to Chase Utley after Wolf allowed a single to Rollins in the 7th. Braddock got him out for the hold in front of his family and friends.

While we didn't have a TV, we knew his family was back for Sunday's game because we saw them and their clever "Phillies by choice, Brewers by blood" shirts as we walked back from Bull's.

Nice touch with Braddock's name and number on the back.

Funny moment of the day: Leading off the 7th inning, Chooch was robbed of a hit by a great catch by Ryan Bruan. "Chooch was robbed," Christine said, before noticing that he was standing on first base.

Chooch was out, but apparently he didn't think so.

Antiquated T-shirts: The best of the day was of the day's winning pitcher, but it was from Wolf's Phillies tenure. We also spotted Cliff Lee, Scott Rolen, Mike Lieberthal, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreu, John Kruk, Mitch Williams, Hal McRae and Jim Thome.

Today's games: In the afternoon game, Vance Worley pitched well in his first major league start, but the Marlins' Adalberto Mendez had a more impressive big-league debut in the 7-1 Marlins win. In the nightcap, the Phillies survived a so-so Roy Oswalt start and split the double header with a 7-4 win. They are now 0.5 games behind the Braves.

The Red Sox, fielding a team of minor leagues as if they've given up on the season, beat the Rays 12-5. The miracle starts tonight.

Watching Randy Wolf down the Phillies

We left Trent with Grandmom and headed to the ballpark on a pleasant sun-filled 80-degree day. Unfortunately, the Phillies' performance, notably Kyle Kendrick's, did not match the lovely weather, and former Phil Randy Wolf kept the Phillies offense quiet in the Brewers 6-2 win.

But the 9th-inning meltdown today by the Red Sox in a humiliating 7-5 loss to the White Sox was worse. After being swept by their paler Sox brethren, I am still willing to go down with the ship, but I'll admit that it's about to capsize.

We'll be back tomorrow with all the details from our day at the park – including a bunch of Phanatics, some dancing kids and a very confused Carlos Ruiz. We may also have some other surprises later in the week – time permitting.

Flashback

This week, we found out the Phillies are doling out the opportunity to purchase playoff tickets. And, they're playing the Brewers.

That combination has given me flashbacks to 2008, when I almost talked Christine into not reserving playoff tickets because I thought it was a waste of $20 when the Phillies were 3.5 games behind the Mets and four games behind the Wild-Card leading Brewers. I didn't think they'd sweep the Brewers and Braves to propel them to their World Series win.

How would my life be different if I convinced Christine not to buy tickets and we sat home instead of being at the park for both halves of Game 5 of the World Series? Would I still have a wife? I posed that question to Christine tonight. I didn't get an answer. I'm glad I don't need to know the answer.

More PhilsandBrews: We loved the shirts worn by the family of Brewers pitcher Zack Braddock, a South Jersey native. They said "Phillies by choice, Brewers by blood." We'll have to remember that if Trent winds up playing for a team other than the Red Sox or Phillies: "SoxandPhils by choice, Trent's team by love."

Tonight's games: The Red Sox dropped their afternoon game to the White Sox, 3-1. Then, for good measure, they duplicated that loss in the nightcap. The Phillies beat the Brewers 5-4. The local kid got a blown save.

I forgive Manny

It takes a big man to admit his mistakes. And it takes an even bigger man to remind us that it takes a big man to admit his mistakes after admitting his obvious mistakes.

Manny Ramirez is a big man (no steroid pun intended):

Manny Ramirez was at Fenway before the game was called off and told a small group of reporters (and NESN) that he regretted how his tenure with the Red Sox ended in 2008.

"I think everything was my fault," he said. "You've got to be a real man to realize when you do wrong. Hey, it was my fault, right? I'm already past that stage. I'm happy. I'm in a new team."
[...]
Ramirez said he apologized to Youkilis in June when he played a series at Fenway with the Dodgers.

"I said, 'Hey, what happened between you and me, I'm sorry. It was my fault,'" Ramirez said. "It takes a real man to go and tell a person, 'Hey, it was my fault,' and that's what I did."

Good. Now that the deplorable ending of the Manny Ramirez era has closure, can we just play this weekend's games without documenting every time he scratches himself in this big series - the second time he has come to Fenway as a visitor since his Red Sox tenure ended.

Today's games: The White and Red Sox were hurricaned out. The Phillies scored just one run for Cole Hamels, but this time, it was enough for the 1-0 win over the Brewers. Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson finished the game to give Brad Lidge a day off. The Braves lost, so the Phils are just one game out and still lead the Wild Card by 2.5 games. The Red Sox just need to make up seven games in September, so a SoxandPhils World Series is still possible.

Silver lining

Despite the storyline of how the Red Sox patched things together to keep battling through crippling injury after crippling injury, the best story of the 2010 Red Sox is the development of Clay Buchholz, who has emerged as a Cy Young candidate after being named pitcher of the month for August.

Interestingly, this analysis shows that Buccholz's career, despite some fits and starts, has actually been slightly better than Jon Lester's when he signed a five-year $30 million extension in 2009.

The report suggests that's about what Buchholz would get if he were to sign an extension. I've got three words to say to that: "Book 'em Danno."

Tonight's games: Trent and I took a road trip to visit Christine at work for lunch today, and the Phillies took a road trip to play one game in Colorado. Unfortunately, they had to take Joe Blanton with them. He gave up six runs (four earned) in 4.1 innings. The Phillies battled back, so maybe they'll let him travel with the team when they return to Philly tonight. They scored nine runs in the 7th inning and held on for the 12-11 pitchers' duel. Former Sox Manny Delcarmen took the loss.

The Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-4.

This is just piling on

Trent and I still aren't conceding, but it's hard to say there's much reason to believe the Red Sox are going to pull this off.

With that said, do the baseball gods have to keep picking off the bones of the Red Sox carcass? Can we at least end the season quietly without any more injuries?

Apparently not: Felix Doubront (I forgot he was even still on the big-league roster) strained his pec.

He's not headed to the DL and obviously wasn't going to fuel the great comeback of 2010, but it's still deflating.

Today's games: In a game we managed to stay awake for the ending (because it was an afternoon tilt), the Phillies beat the Dodgers 5-1 to stay three games behind the Braves. ... Jon Lester, who will be needed for an amazing comeback, survived a rocky start (five runs in the first two innings) to put himself in line for a win after his mates scored six runs in the 7th inning. The Red Sox beat the Orioles 9-6 to stay eight and seven games behind the Yankees and Rays, respectively.