Closing time

A few nights ago, Christine asked if we should officially kill this blog. I didn't answer.

Last night, I was glad I didn't when I saw that the Phillies agreed on a four-year $50 million contract with Jonathan Papelbon who, pending a physical, will be the biggest SoxandPhil since Curt Schilling.

I don't understand why the Phillies didn't stand pat with Ryan Madson - I'd welcome him to Boston. Christine's not happy with her early Christmas present. She has always been particularly irritated by Papelbon. Trent wasn't impressed when we told him over his Cheerios this morning.

I just can't wait to see what happens when Carl Crawford steps in against Pap in the bottom of the 9th of Game 7 of the 2012 World Series. I'd wager that night ends for Papelbon like his last night as a Red Sox.

10 years too late

Greg and I did not attend Game 1 of the NLDS this evening. We did not win the lottery opportunity to buy tickets for the first round of the playoffs to watch the Cardinals and Phillies; I'm sure that we'll be watching all of the postseason at home this year.

But in 2001 ...

Eternal optimist I am about the Phillies, I bought tickets for Game 1 of the 2001 NLDS. The tickets were $18 each. There was a $4 service charge. Yes, $40 for two playoff tickets. The seats were in the 700 level, but who cares? I was convinced that we were going to the playoffs.

The Phillies ended the season two games behind the Braves; it wasn't even a possibility for them to win the wild card. Alas, my dreams of attending a Phillies playoff game were on hold until 2007.

I love the letter the organization sent to inform me that a credit would be placed on my credit card for the unused tickets. It includes so many gems, from the spot-on ...

--Jimmy Rollins had a magical rookie season, leading the league in stolen bases and triples along with playing spectacular defense.

--On-site work has begun for our spectacular New Ballpark opening in 2004.

... to the "what were they thinking."

--Robert Person emerged as a #1 starting pitcher.

--Rookies David Coggin and Brandon Duckworth solidified their spots in the pitching rotation for years to come.

I found my decade-old tickets and letter while cleaning out some paperwork this summer. I probably shredded some crucial information that I'll need someday, but I'll still have my first pair of playoff tickets.

Ready for next year II

I'm trying to stay positive after last night's loss ...

1) I won't feel the need to stay up late for the next few weeks.

2) Christine and I can root in unison in October.

3) I've long said that no championship will compare with 2004. That's still true, but this year will make me appreciate the next one more.

4) The championship page in Trent's Red Sox picture book is still up to date.

5) Next year, when the SoxandPhils finally meet in the World Series, Trent might understand a little of what's going on.

Ready for next year

Sorry this game recap took so long. I've been busy, plus distracted by some awful baseball.

Despite some September struggles, I'm not giving up on the prospect of a 2011 SoxandPhils World Series.

(Sox in five.)

{Phillies sweep Rays.}

But we are ready for next season after going to our last Phillies game on Sept. 18. Of course, it was night game on a Sunday, so we knew we wouldn't make the whole thing. We agreed we'd leave at 10 p.m., and thanks to some efficient pitching by Cole Hamels and Chris Carpenter, we saw 6 1/2 innings.

I say we're ready for next year because of that early exit. Walking out disgustingly early, I thought of titling this post "The walk of shame."

But I came up with some better spin - it's good practice for when we finally get to take Trent next year and will probably have to leave early.

That's it! What 'til next year! But let's not rush this SoxandPhils Series.

Observations from the stands: The Phillies had clinched the night before against the Cardinals, and the 2011 division flag was already flying.

I bought a scorecard without a program (same edition as the last game we went to), and they gave a sheet with rosters and pitchers from every team. I miss Newsy Notes.

The Phillies and Cardinals relievers looked like a flock of geese trying to form a "V" when walking to the bullpen.

The Phillies honored a whole bunch of staff before the game. Freddy Galvis and Trevor May got minor league players of the years. Trevor May: picture Joe Blanton in high school.

The Cheltenham High School Select Choir did the anthem. I can't remember it, but I've heard they hit all the right notes at the ballpark.

A kid wore a Phanatic head in front of his. He sipped hot chocolate and wore a blanket at times. It was cool, but not as icy as we feared.

The Phanatic skit was odd. He came out to George of the Jungle with a whole bunch of monkeys dancing with him. I joked that he probably bet someone after a Bruce Chen start in 2001 that he would get a whole bunch of monkeys to dance with him if the Phillies ever won five straight division titles.

I felt bad telling Trent about the monkeys the next day because it really sounds a lot more interesting than it was.

Antiquated shirts: Jayson Werth, Darren Daulton, Pat Burrell, Jamie Moyer and a couple others, but my handwriting is poor and the notes are more than a week old

Oh well, that wraps up our game days for the season. See you in the playoffs! (I hope.)

I hate weather

I thought I was going to reprise the hurricane post by saying that it was all worth it because Christine and I allowed Trent to play hooky and attend his first Phillies game.

But with a good chance of rain, which increases exponentially when we go to the ballpark, we sent him to school so we could get cold and wet at Citizens Bank Park. Well, it was clear for a couple of innings, as you can see.

The game started off well. Marlins pitcher Anibal Sanchez settled down after a two-run first inning, giving up only a hit and a walk over his next five innings. Kyle Kendrick, making his first appearance since Aug. 24, was dominant. He didn't give up a hit (one hit batsman) for four innings before giving up a solo home run in his 5th and final inning. Pete Orr made several outstanding plays at second. Chase Utley pinch-hit for him in the 8th.

But as the relievers came, the weather worsened and the game dragged. Each team had lengthy threats but didn't do much to change the score - just enough to make it miserable for those of us in the stands. The Phils held on to win 3-1.

Observations from the stands: We were surprised so many made it to the park for this Hurricane Irene make-up. Many scattered under cover once the rain and wind hit. We were in the last row, so we didn't have to head for higher grand like most of these people did. ... We saw many youngsters in the crowd. We wished Trent were with us, until the cold and wet kicked in. ... Rest in peace Negro League Star Bill "Ready" Cash. ... The Central Bucks West High School Choir, directed by Joseph Ohrt, did the anthem. Not bad, but we've heard it before. And before that. And even before that.

Antiquated shirts: Bobby Abreu (not at the park but at a store before the game), Jayson Werth, Jamie Moyer, Pedro Martinez (Phillies) and Jim Thome, whose 600th homer got a salute in the Phillies program. Not yet antiquated, but Christine spotted a Wilson Valdez shirt in the crowds.

So, we're home. My scorecard made it through the rain. Trent's asleep, and we're waiting to see whether the Phillies will hold on for the sweep and whether the Red Sox can come back against the Rays.

We're going to one more game this year. Disappointingly, we won't see much of it because it's Sunday night. With a baby, we don't do night games on school nights.

But given our track record, we can expect a win (4-0 when we've gone this year) but finally a better starter (Cole Hamels - we've seen Kendrick and Roy Oswalt start the other four games).

Catching up with ...

One of the best things about independent baseball is seeing random former major leaguers. Our game on Sunday didn't yield too many good names: Camden - Manager Von Hayes, catcher Toby Hall, pitcher Mike Koplove; Bridgeport - Antonio Alfonseca (OK, that's a good one) and one name that jumped out at me ... Adam Greenberg.

You don't remember this guy? He played a whole game for the Cubs in 2005. Sadly, he was hit in the head by the first pitch in his first at-bat and is still trying to get back to the majors.

We stumbled across his story because he shares a birthday with Christine.

He got the day off on Sunday, but we saw him in the dugout (No. 5). He's doing well for the first-place Bluefish in his fourth year of independent ball. He's old, but we're still rooting for a Hollywood ending in which he gets another chance in the majors.

Trent's gone pro

Today was a big day for our family: Trent's first outing to a professional baseball game. OK, it was Camden, not Philadelphia, and lacked all the Major League trappings. But c'mon, Citizens Bank Park does not have a carousel.

It was an odd game. Riversharks pitcher J.R. Mathes retired the first nine Bridgeport Bluefish in order before they took revenge with seven consecutive hits (no exaggeration) in a seven-run 4th inning on the way to a 9-3 win. We didn't follow much of the action, and I didn't attempt to keep score.

Trent did OK for a first time. We sat in the front row, and I was proud that he did not get upset when a batter fouled a rocket back against the net two feet from us.

He got a little squirmy in that long 4th inning, but
we were able to coax him through the 7th inning stretch before we went home to watch the Phillies lose a 14-inning game on TV.

Before the game, Trent took a couple of rides on the carousel while enjoying the view of the Ben Franklin Bridge and Philadelphia skyline. The guy who operated the ride was awesome. He was very friendly and a good representative for the organization.

After Trent got squirmy in his seat (mitigating factors: this weekend has been rough - slight cold, three vaccination shots, and the beginning of the end for his pacifier and bottles), we took a walk around the concourse and calmed him. Some Rita's water ice rejuvenated him.

His favorite part of the game seemed to be checking out babes in the crowd. (He's a hound dog.) But he knows when to get serious: Here's a picture of him scouting the 'Sharks for a hidden gem to recommend to Theo Epstein or Ruben Amaro Jr. (Never mind that sippie cup.)

We had a good time and know it won't be long before he takes his first trip to Citizens Bank Park. I just hope he doesn't expect a carousel.

Most expensive cheesesteak and blog post ever

It's a cliche, but ...

Two tickets: $56

Parking: $20

Toll: $5

Pre-game cheesesteak: $9.50

Two tickets for Sept. 15 for which we've already spent about $100: worthless

Holding tickets to Sunday's game, we dreaded the worst of the impending hurricane. We were relieved when the Phillies announced a proactive double-header for Saturday.

We knew we would get wet, but we figured they would be able to get the game in. And, we would have a good story about watching a game during a hurricane when in reality the weather could not compare with Game 5 (part 1) of the 2008 World Series.

The Phillies and Marlins would have been able to play today, especially if they had bumped the start time up from 1 p.m., but no. We stood around in the rain for nothing. And, to top it off, they announced the makeup game will be on a weekday afternoon. Thanks, Phils. That means another pair of our tickets will go to waste, and we spent $100 to eat a cold cheesesteak with half-melted provolone to fetch a story for the blog.

Fish'n'Phils: While waiting out the rain in the concourse, an old-school teal Marlins hat caught my eye. It was even better than I first thought. The dude was wearing a Dontrelle Willis jersey, and his mate was wearing a Phillies Jayson Werth jersey. Classic.

I may be forgetting other scenes from the ballpark, but I didn't have anything to take notes on. I did see a great jersey of a current Phil: bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer.

Oh, and Christine spotted a guy wearing a Dodgers hat with a Derrek Lee Orioles T-shirt. That was an odd one.

So, now we're back home taking advantage of Trent's afternoon nap to post this and clean the house while waiting for Hurricane Irene to blow over.

Stay safe and dry.

Little rain, sloppy game

Driving to the park yesterday, Christine and I listened to sports talk in hopes of hearing something that would tell us how wet we were going to get and how long the game would be delayed.

Instead, we got another reason Christine can't stand talk radio. There was a guy insisting that the Phillies should platoon Ryan Howard because he can't hit lefties. He didn't go so far as to suggest trading David Herndon for Albert Pujols so the Phils would have a first baseman against lefties, but he was very annoying.

So, with minimal delay or rain, Christine and I found our way to our seats (after we stopped to say hi to Nats fan Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump, who was somewhere in this picture) to see Howard battle a tough Nationals lefty, John Lannan. He homered in the first inning and had an RBI single in the 3rd. Against the Nationals righty relievers, Howard went 0-2 with an intentional walk.

I know none of that proves anything, except it reminds me of that saying about opinions and an anatomical part. Yeah, everyone has one, and some are more inclined to share them without any hint of self-concept.

Back to the game. Well, the rains held off for the Phils to win 11-3 against the Nats. It was a very sloppy game, of which the less said the better. Besides, there was plenty of stuff going on in the stands to distract us from the game that featured three errors (all Nationals) and nine walks (mostly Nationals).

It wasn't a banner day for antiquated jerseys - just Aaron Rowand, Jamie Moyer, Ruben Amaro Sr. and a few Jim Thomes, including a pair of couples in which both women had a No. 25. ... The most interesting shirt we saw was a David Herndon jersey. Joe Wolf took this pic and said this guy's a regular in his section. There's no doubting his Phanhood. ... One lady in our section had a bedazzled Phillies hat to complement her "Designated Kisser" shirt. ... The Amaro shirt was an odd spot. I had to check that it was correct because it's odd to see anything other than Schmidt with a No. 20.

Amaro and his son were among a bunch of former Phillies who were brought back for alumni weekend. Christine and I didn't know quite a few of them but noticed most of them lived locally, as if the alums could only come if they paid for their own transportation to the game. ... It was funny seeing Scott Eyre among the old-timers. Christine was interested to see Charlie Hayes after he was announced, but he never came out. We wondered whether he decided to skip the ceremony to keep sampling the fare at Garry Maddox's barbecue cook-off going on outside.

Walking into the park (we were ducking a few drops at the time), a guy rushed passed us and caught my attention. I realized he was carrying a yellow T-shirt and figured the vendor was probably late for work. ... Inside, we were behind two jerseys, "Brittany" and "Sammy." Christine was going to comment, but she realized that those were regulation uniforms for the Phillies ball girls. ... The QVC singers did the anthem. Funny, upon arriving at the park we sat in the car for a while to try to wait out the rain. We did that before a game two years ago in which TV's singing salesmen also did the anthem. They sang well.

Michael Stutes has a new bag to bring goodies to the bullpen. He had been using a nondescript bag, but I guess his mates must have read his Twitter comment a few weeks ago that he would carry an embarrassing pink bag if they asked him to. Stutes pitched two innings in relief of Roy Oswalt. The Phillies 8th inning ended with him on deck. Christine was hoping to see his first major league plate appearance, but Wilson Valdez grounded out.

The Phanatic reprised his Lady Pha Pha bit. That's always a crowd pleaser. ... By the way, one more note on Ryan Howard: In the six games we've gone to since Trent, he has gone 7-22 with three walks, two homers and eight RBIS. Platoon his butt!

We're staying home today, keeping dry and waiting for Trent to come home from his sleepover at Grandmom's. He has a little surprise waiting for him. Two words: Wiffle Ball.

Old sweatshirt

Last week we took Trent to the college where Christine and I met. We bought the little guy a sweatshirt for the fall. Good thing, I said a few days later, because I spotted a Phillies sweatshirt that Christine would have grabbed for him if he didn't have one already.

Upon closer inspection of the fall line of Phillies garb, I noticed an Angels T-shirt. We enjoy it when a random team shows up in our local stores. I flipped it over, wondering if it was a Jared Weaver, Torrii Hunter or Howie Kendrick.

How about none of the above?

It was Vladimir Guerrero, who hasn't played for the team in two seasons. I walked away with pride that we found something older and staler than our blog.

My bad

Cole Hamels, I apologize for jinxing it and saying that you would get your 10th win today. If that ball didn't slam your hand, I think you would have pitched strong and maybe the Phillies would have eked out a few runs to win the game. I won't make any predictions before your next start.

Red Sox 5, Phillies 2. Thanks David Herndon and nonexistent offense. Both better pick up the slack before the October meeting.

We don't need Oswalt, Contreras and Madson

The Red Sox-Phillies series has been billed as a World Series preview. Hitting vs. pitching.

That's not the way it's working out.

Last night, Cliff Lee dominantly shut down the Sox. Tonight, it was Vance Worley, Michael Stutes and Antonio Bastardo. Wait - what?

Yes, the trio of young Phillies pitchers shut down the Sox 2-1. I thought the Phillies would have had an offensive explosion against John Lackey, but the only offense came courtesy of Raul Ibanez.

And I don't want to hear any excuses about Carl Crawford being hurt or not having a DH. The Phillies have had their fair share of position players hurt this year. And oh yeah, if not for Lackey tonight, the Red Sox still wouldn't have a run.

Tomorrow afternoon is Jon Lester vs. Cole Hamels. Yet another good matchup. But I doubt David Ortiz will start, and the rest of the Sox lineup is a bit lacking right now. I'm sure it will blow up in my face, but I'm feeling good about Cole getting his 10th win of the year.

Wardrobe: When I was picking out Trent's clothes for tomorrow, I refrained from going with Phillies gear. Though he might have to go with celebratory red-white-and-blue on Friday - for the 4th of July, of course, not because he has an adorable red Phillies jersey with matching blue shorts.

Phillies strike first

This morning, purely coincidentally, I pulled Trent's SoxandPhils bib out of the drawer. It says, "I'm not torn, I root for the SoxandPhils."

I thought it was appropriate.

He didn't see much of tonight's game, a 5-0 Phillies win. Josh Beckett was a little bit rusty coming off his stomach bug, five runs in six innings, while Cliff Lee was as smooth as he's been all month, a shutout with just two hits, two walks and five strikeouts. That's three straight shutouts, and his scoreless streak is at 32 innings. Watch out Orel Hershisher.

Game 1 goes to the Phils. I'm just glad I was home for it. I doubt I will be tomorrow.

A test of Trent's loyalties

Last week, we thought that Father's Day would be our last regularly occurring "first" with Trent. But I guess we forgot that he wasn't around for last year's SoxandPhils interleague games, so it will be interesting to see how he handles this week.

He'll probably follow his father's tact and be diplomatic and gracious toward his mother.

My only thought is that the Red Sox might sweep if only because they are coming off of two series losses against woeful teams - the Padres and the Pirates. It's an unbelievably crazy week at work for me, so I don't know how much of the series I'll get to see.

I'm more bummed about missing time with Trent and Christine.

Mixing colors

Today, Trent and Christine gave me a nice first Father's Day. Last week, we had Father's Day at Citizen's Bank Park, and I got a white-on-white (I know it looks pink in the picture) Phillies hat. I don't like wearing non-Red Sox garb. I support the Phillies, but they're not my team, and I don't think I should wear their stuff.

But at the park last week, I made a rare exception and mixed up my teams - Red Sox shirt with Phillies hat. I think it's wrong to wear garb from two teams at the same time, and if I saw myself, I'd probably poke fun on my game day recap.

Obviously, it was perfectly acceptable and doggone cute last week for a 1-year-old SoxandPhils fan to mix his colors!

Trent mixed his colors again today. He wore his Red Sox shirt for me, but Christine covered it with a Phillies bib when they went to get me a Father's Day treat.

Incidentally, Trent had a few milestones this weekend - most notably learning how to climb our staircase. Scary.

More impressive is the time when we were hitting a large rubber ball with his baseball bat. It rolled away from him, but he reached out and knocked it to the opposite field. The kid's going to be a right-handed Wade Boggs.

Incredible game

We've been back from the ballpark for more than four hours, and I still can't believe it.

Except for the 2008 World Series clincher and the 2007 division clincher, this might have been the most amazing game we've ever seen in person.

Despite incredible odds and a feeling of doom all day, the impossible happened - it was supposed to rain when we were at a game and it didn't!

Oh, and the Phillies came to life in the 7th inning to win a game in which they were held in check by the mediocre Doug Davis. Phillies 4, Cubs 3.

The first inning was tortuous, but Roy Oswalt shut down the Cubs for six more innings after giving up three in the first. The Phillies chipped away with a run in the 1st and 3rd, but left eight men on in the first six innings. They finally broke through with two runs in the 7th on a base hit by Ryan Howard. He had a deep double in the 1st that almost went out. (He has a tendency to come through for Trent when his parents have tickets.)

Observations from the stands: The little guy stayed home today even though it was early Father's Day at the park. Pete Schneider got to hang with his son before the game. ... They handed out a white-on-white Phillies hat, better than the hat-on-a-hat they gave away a few years ago. ... The sax player outside the ballpark has gone Hollywood. He had a stool and an amplifier. I liked acoustic stand-up guy better.

The Overbrook High School Overtones sang the National Anthem. I don't remember it. Marc Antonelli sang God Bless America. At first I thought it was long, but then I decided it was good. Everyone loved it.

There was a very special birthday on the screen today. Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz. He's 60. ... This guy in front of us is a huge Nationals fan. He had the shirt, lanyard, cap and even a backpack. ... There was a baby in front of us. Not as a cute as Trent, but made me miss him.

Ryan Madson needs better closing music. Don't Stop Believin' kind of puts the place to sleep. Besides, don't you want the other team to stop believing once you bring in your closer?

Antiquated shirts: Not very many. Most were spotted on the way out of the ballpark when I wasn't taking notes. Pat Burrell, Jim Thome, Lenny Dykstra and Jayson Werth.

Etc.: Everyone around us jumped for a hot dog even though the Phanatic's hot dog shooter couldn't reach us in the 400 level.

Oh well, pretty good game, but we've got a nerve-wracking night and morning ahead of us. Trent's been on the DL too many times this season with ear infections, so we're doing the tube thing tomorrow, but we're sure he'll be hotter than the Red Sox by the time our teams resume play on Tuesday.

Memorial Day weekend memory

Last year, our holiday weekend was highlighted by preparing a meal for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House and listening to Roy Halladay's perfect game, old-school style, on a radio.

Little did we know that a week later Trent would be born and that this year we wouldn't be able to do the Ronald McDonald House meal again. But we are preparing a kiddie's meal - Trent's first birthday party next weekend.

Halladay is scheduled to pitch this afternoon. With the Nationals hitting .229 for the season, I think there's a chance he'll repeat last year's performance.

Sorry, Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump.

Thanks, Fox

In an effort to be more positive, we won't complain that we had to give away tickets to tonight's game instead of taking Trent to his first game because of Fox's bonehead decision to move some Saturday games to the night instead of the afternoon.

Nope, we're just going to enjoy the wonderful day we had with our son.

Trent woke up in an exceptional mood that did not diminish all day, even though he took just two 20-minute naps by dinner. We took care of some things for his upcoming first birthday party, went to our local zoo (he was engrossed by a recently shorn alpaca) and then capped it off by taking him out for ice cream (we give him little tastes and he gets cranky when the spoon goes into our mouths instead of his). And, of course, he played as hard as an 11-month-old can.

With the ice cream-fueled sugar kick, he stayed up a little later than normal, so he did get to see a portion of tonight's game.

It was such a great day that we're no longer bitter toward Fox. Although Trent would have been adorable on Phan-o-Vision. (And, he would have gotten to see the Phillies beat the Rangers 2-0.)

The Big Piece comes through for our little guy

On the way to Trent's bath tonight, Christine checked in on the Phillies. Ryan Howard was up in the 1st inning of a scoreless game.

"Hit a home run for a sick little boy," Christine said.

I shot her a look. Trent's had a rough go this week with a fever, sore throat and earache, but "those kinds of requests are reserved for kids with cancer," I said.

Apparently not. As requested, Big Brown came through with a three-run home run.

Whirlwind

In three hours on Saturday I went from sweating my butt off finishing some yard work on a pleasant spring afternoon to holding onto my hat and hoping our Bull’s BBQ didn't get whisked away in gale force winds at Citizens Bank Park.

Yes, the winds were so bad that I was having the blasphemous thought of wondering how it compared with the first half of Game 5 of the 2008 World Series. It wasn't a good sign when we pulled into the parking lot that the first sight we saw was a woman wrapped in a blanket and the first thing we heard was some guy say it was like a tornado.

In other words, perfect weather for Christine and I to make our 2011 debut at the ballpark.

We didn't make our usual predictions this year, but we did predict we’d see Joe Blanton more than any other starter in the five games we go to this year. We stand corrected: Kyle Kendrick is the front runner.

Actually, he pitched a good game – two hits and a walk in five shutout innings. He probably could have gone more, but he hasn't been stretched out to be a starter.

Ryan Howard hit a homer for Trent (who stayed home with his grandmother), and the Phillies manufactured two other runs to spoil the major league debut of Braves prospect Julio Teheran. Phillies 3, Braves 0.

Shane Victorino made a couple of nice catches in center, but the defensive play of the game was Martin Prado, who ran across half a continent to rob the Flyin' Hawaiian of an extra-base hit to lead off the bottom of the 8th.

Observations from the stands: For the second year in a row, we saw the Kentucky Derby at a ballpark. Last year we were in Baltimore. We saw another race once in 2007. … It was Youth Baseball Night as 3,000 youngsters paraded around in their uniforms. One of the teams seated near us was sponsored by a roofing company that uses my last name. (No relation.) We happened to be there for last year’s event as well. It was very windy that night, too. And, we saw Lady Pha Pha. … An Asian tourist sat in front of us. He asked me to take a picture of him, then another without the flash, then another with the scoreboard, then another with the World Series trophy. OK, that last one was a joke, but I thought I broke his camera when the screen went blank and up popped some Japanese words. ... The 7th inning stretch seemed weird. I realized this morning that that’s because we’re rarely at Saturday games and are used to God Bless the America. … It was cold, so I got a coffee. … Christine loved watching a little boy in front of us enjoy himself with the fans. The whole section cheered when he was caught by the scoreboard camera.

Scoreboard: We can pretty much see the new scoreboard from our house. It’s nice to look at, but they could do a better job arranging things on the screen so it’s less busy. It seems as if they've also updated other scoreboards and televisions throughout the park, which makes those that haven’t been updated seem woefully inadequate.

Antiquated Phillies shirts: Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Jim Thome and the debut of Jayson Werth. And a very unusual Geoff Jenkins that said G. Jenkins. We saw a bunch of random teams represented, such as the Reds and Giants, but the strangest was a guy in his 70s wearing a Tigers hat and jersey. A short while later, we spotted an even older gentleman wearing a Ryan Howard jersey. It made us smile.

Tomorrow night

Really? Kyle Kendrick is starting? SERIOUSLY???

In 25 years, our little baby will be a man

The other day it hit me that this is my 25th anniversary of being a Red Sox fan. Before Trent, this is something I would have realized months ago and had some kind of big, stupid build-up on the blog. (Actually, a check of the archives reveals that I did think about it last year.)

I apparently forgot all about it until Friday when trying to think of things to talk about with an almost 11-month-old over his oatmeal as I thought about my first birthday as a father.

This year's celebration was a bit different from last year's mini-cation in Baltimore. I fired up the grill and gave Trent his first taste of flame-charred goodness, and also his first taste of ice cream later. He helped open my presents, which included some baby Red Sox garb: reversible hat (red and blue), onesie and bib.

We also started getting the yard ready for a more important birthday celebration we're planning for June: staining the front porch, picking up a picnic table and assembling a little swing and slide for Trent. He loved it.

Christine and I did have a lingering adults-only meal on Saturday.

But back to Friday's oatmeal ... when I remembered the anniversary, I thought about all that has happened since Roger Clemens first struck out 20 batters and what will happen in the next 25 years: Our little baby boy will be a young man finding his own way in the world. Maybe he'll wear a Red Sox cap, but I doubt it'll be reversible.

Bunnies all around

A newly mobile Trent wishes you a Happy Easter. And continued West Coast winning streaks for the Red Sox and Phillies.

Among the goodies in Trent's basket today was a two-pack of Phillies shirts. Now he's all ready for his first game (no, it probably won't be this season).

Hopping along

Tomorrow, Trent will have his first visit from the Easter Bunny.

Earlier this week, we had a bunny nesting in the yard for the first time this year. Ironically, we noticed him on the day the Phillies called up SoxandPhils favorite Mike Zagurski.

I'm not automatically inclined to fill the hole. I may because it is a safety hazard, and I don't particularly enjoy picking up baby bunnies after a cat gets into their nest. But for the moment, I'm inclined to let Momma Bunny use our yard.

I know, I'm a complete mush since Trent.

Nobody sleeps if nobody hits

The Red Sox and Phillies are playing late games on the West Coast this week. For no reason, I teased Christine last night that Trent wanted to be woken up if Josh Beckett were pitching a no-hitter.

Sure enough, when I flipped on MLB Network to check the score, they did a live cut-in to Anaheim where a story was brewing - Josh Beckett had a no-hitter into the 6th inning. He immediately gave up a little bloop infield hit.

But, no worries, the network quickly switched to San Diego, where Roy Oswalt was working on his own no-hitter. I didn't bother to watch. It was late. I was tired.

Besides, as I told Christine, who was worried about staying up herself, he had thrown nearly 80 pitches and there was no way he would pitch a no-no.

"But there could be a combined no-hitter," she countered.

There wasn't. Oswalt gave up a hit in the 5th and combined with three relievers on the 3-0 shutout. Beckett, who may actually be back this year, gave up two runs in eight innings, but had to settle for a no-decision in the Red Sox 4-2 11-inning win.

Thoughts from the week

Today, for only the third time this season, both our teams won on the same day. Yay!

I haven't been avoiding posting because the Red Sox started out in a slump. I've been avoiding this blog because our adorable baby boy gets all my time, attention and interest.

But I noticed that yesterday a former SoxandPhils battery, Randy Wolf and George Kottaras, now on the Brewers, dismantled Roy Halladay and the Phillies.

Also, in team Red Sox news, Trent officially joined our charitable efforts on Sunday with our annual charity walk. He did well, except that he skipped his morning bottle right before we left for the walk. He realized he had done so about three-quarters of the way in, and we weren't prepared with a backup bottle. We're still learning, too.

Sox are mush

The Red Sox are two games out, with 160 to play.

Since they came back from a three-game deficit with four to play in 2004, I don't get too worked up.

Still, I needed something to talk about with Trent as he ate his oats this morning.

"So, what are we going to do about the Red Sox?" I asked him.

He just grunted back. {His grunts are, unfortunately, reminiscent of the grunts that Tim Allen would do on Home Improvement.}

I guess a 10-month-old who has never seen either of his teams win a World Series has a little bit less patience in these matters.

Clay Buchholz will start a winning streak today.

Opening Day

We didn't watch much baseball yesterday, but it's an Opening Day we'll never forget.

We had a very nice day in court wrapping up the procedural parts of Trent's adoption, and we had the Phillies on in the background as we celebrated with his grandparents. Everyone left before the 9th inning, and I had a feeling Trent had a rally in him on his special day. He did, helping the Phillies score three runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Astros 5-4.

I thought he was working his magic for the Red Sox when they tied the game in the 8th, but Daniel Bard imploded for four runs in the bottom of the inning, and Trent had nothing left to spur a SoxandPhils Opening Day sweep on his Adoption Day. Rangers 9, Red Sox 5.

Big day tomorrow

Opening Day is today, but the SoxandPhils are waiting until Friday to make their 2011 debuts. We didn't train as well during the spring as we usually do, but we're ready for the season to start. We capped the off-season last night by watching the last exhibition games that the Red Sox and Phillies played.

As usual, I entered the drawing for the chance to buy Opening Day tickets for the Phillies. I had a feeling that we were going to win that chance but that something more important may pop up on April 1. Well, we didn't win the drawing, but we do have important business to take care of tomorrow morning. It will be a happy day for this family as we finalize Trent's adoption and then watch the Phillies and Red Sox get their first wins of the season.

The 2011 season is going to have a great start.

Former Tiger prospects try to change their stripes

It just occurred to me the other day that the Red Sox and Phillies each have a reclamation project in camp who was a first-round draft pick and highly touted prospect of the Tigers.

Both Andrew Miller and Matt Anderson had a successful first appearance in an inning's work last week (though they both had less impressive second outings since then). It's still early and the odds are long - especially for the Phillies' Anderson - but I wouldn't be surprised to see one of the sidebars of the 2011 World Series is how each team can thank the Tigers' scouting department for one of their bullpen finds.

Early spring lessons

This week, Trent learned the most important thing about spring training: The games don't matter.

The Red Sox lost to the Phillies 2-0 on Thursday, getting only one hit in the game, off Cole Hamels, in the first - and least important - of the games the two teams will play in 2011.

We also learned that you should take advantage of nice early March weather. We took Trent to a local farm/zoo on Saturday. It was much more fun to watch Trent look at roosters, chase lizards and try to grab a fish than to watch a rare spring Red Sox broadcast. They lost to the Marlins 11-2 (see my first paragraph).

We're still here

So, spring training has been under way for weeks now, and almost a week worth of practice games are over. But still, no updates from SoxandPhills-ville. Bad bloggers.

Greg, Trent and I are definitely looking forward to the upcoming season, but Greg and I just haven't had as much time to read and watch about spring training as we're used to. After we get home from work, feed Trent, eat dinner, straighten up around the house, play with Trent, put him to bed and do whatever else needs to be done on a random night, we don't have time or interest to troll around for baseball stories. So that's why we haven't discussed injuries, rosters and all that other good stuff that happens in February and March.

We hope to start to get back in the swing of things soon. We won't be able to do daily posting, but we'll pop in when some fun little nugget catches our eye. Or when Trent does something adorable, whether baseball related or not. And we'll still provide our game updates this season. Basically, we can't wait for spring to get here, and baseball will be the icing on that warm cake this year.

And, of course, we need to get things ready on this blog for October's Red Sox-Phillies showdown.

Big SoxandPhils addition, take two

Both the Red Sox and Phillies signed big names this offseason, but the Red Sox have officially signed the biggest. They landed the whopper that Ruben Amaro couldn't. Yes, Dennys Reyes, a SoxandPhils favorite since December, may be bringing his hotcakes to Fenway.

Pass the syrup.

Out of hibernation

Wow, I can't believe I've gone nearly a month without posting, but time flies with Trent, especially when all of us have been fighting an assortment of ailments, including routine colds, sinus/ear infections and other not-so-pleasant bugs. Not to mention a weekly blizzard that rolls through the area.

We're finally getting back to normal, preparing to celebrate Christine's birthday, as well as the first for one of Trent's little buddies.

Christine is getting ready for pitchers and catchers. I guess I am too; not so much for the baseball, but because it means this wretched snow and ice may end.

I did have my baseball juices flowing the other day when I saw MLB Network's countdown of the greatest games. It should have been ranked higher, but I enjoyed reliving Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. I'm not a big Kevin Millar fan, especially as a studio analyst, but I liked listening to his perspective on the game that changed Red Sox history forever.

Christmas week recap

Trent, Christine and I survived our first Christmas together, although it's been a rough week with Trent battling another ear infection that causes him to have awful screaming fits. He's probably screamed more this week than in the rest of the six months that we've known him.

Christmas morning was fun watching the little guy jump right into the wrapping paper, but the day was too rushed with all the driving - especially with his ear wreaking havoc on his (and our) sleep schedule.

As I suspected, there was some SoxandPhils paraphernalia under the tree, but there were two differences this year: I did not get Christine any Phillies items, and nobody got me any Red Sox stuff.

Well, we did get a SoxandPhils item, but it came from the North Pole and was addressed to the whole SoxandPhils family. It was a bib that says: "I'm not torn, I root for the Sox and Phils" with pictures of Trent in his Sox and Phillies garb. Trent also got Christine a mouse pad for work with a picture of him wearing his Ryan Howard shirt with his Mom. It says "Mom and I have plans 162 days a year. Go Phils!"

Santa also brought Trent a Phanatic doll. As you can see, he loved it. He's partial to stuffed green toys. The Grinch is his favorite.

Balancing out the day, he received some Red Sox stuff from my sister - a nice ABC book that teaches him important words such as Impossible Dream, Green Monster and Pesky's Pole and a Red Sox ornament for the tree.