Beatdown

The Rangers have knocked the Red Sox out of the Wild Card slot, and witnesses are denying that Brett Myers really injured his eye in a bar fight.

And we still have plenty of time for more bad on-field news, as the Phillies are playing the Braves on Sunday night baseball. (Or will play, if it stops raining in Atlanta.) I can't think of any good examples, but it seems like the Phillies have more than their share of lousy outings on the featured game of the week. So far, all I can come up with is the franchise's 10,000th loss.

Thankfully, the Red Sox weren't on national TV today when they dropped their second straight to the Rangers, who are now the American League Wild Card leaders. That's in large part because they have gone 7-2 against Boston this year.

We suck right now.

Junichi Tazawa is no J.A. Happ, who is scheduled to pitch tonight. Our rookie pitcher got beat around a bit today - four earned on 10 hits and three walks without a strikeout in five innings. Where's John Smoltz?

Speaking of beatdowns, more is unraveling from the Brett Myers saga. He says, and witnesses back him up, that his bruised eye had nothing to do with a fight that happened in the bar he was in. Maybe that's the truth, but he lied about the initial story, and his current version seems awfully suspect.

Next time, bring in Eaton

"I've never been so glad to see Clay Condrey come into a game," Christine said in the 11th inning after the Phillies new long man, Adam Eaton, was warming up.

"They should have brought in Eaton," Christine said after Condrey gave up a lead-off single to Alfredo Amezago.

Condrey then walked Hanley Ramirez and hesitated on a sacrifice bunt to load the bases. Jorge Cantu then singled off the wall to end the game. For a moment, it looked like it could have duplicated the walk-off grand slam Dan Uggla had against the Phillies earlier this year. Instead, it was Marlins 3, Phillies 2.

Cole Hamels had another tough-luck outing - two runs, four hits, two walks and seven strikeouts in eight innings.

Condrey and the Phillies offense aren't the only ones getting blame around here. Christine and I are heading to Atlantic City tonight to celebrate the sixth year of officially uniting the SoxandPhils. When Hamels was up 2-1, I mentioned how quick the game was going. I then said I jinxed it and it would go into extra innings. Sure enough, Cody Ross tied it up with a home run.

The Phils have again lost their sole share of first. They're tied with the Mets, and the Marlins are just a half game out. Up next: Phillies at Mets, starting Tuesday.

Red Sox: Tim Wakefield gets the ball tonight with hopes of ending this little losing streak against the Angels, the best team in baseball. We'll miss the game because of dinner plans - we'll catch up tomorrow. The Rays, who won last night to take a 1.5 game lead, are losing today. The Red Sox-Angels game starts at 6 p.m. Eastern. This time slot for Sunday Night Baseball is an annual occurrence because the ESPYs are aired the Sunday after the All-Star game. Last year, the Phillies played in that game and notched a milestone - the first franchise with 10,000 losses - on national television.

Feel those Goosebumps

Something Santa left under the tree for Christine was GOOSEBUMPS, the story of how the Phillies managed not to blow it in '07.

I enjoyed reliving the season, but noted two glaring omissions:

1. The first franchise to reach 10,000 losses. We were there -- thanks to Brian. I still have the scorecard.

2. Another fateful Adam Eaton loss, his last of the year on the season's final Saturday. See, the day before the Phils took their first division lead -- one game over the Mets. On Saturday, Eaton again made Christine cringe, tying things up heading into the final game.

But on the video, hosted by J-Roll, Saturday never happened. The Phils took their first lead of the year on the Friday, which meant on Sunday a win and a Mets loss would give them the division. The same was true for Saturday if not for Eaton and the Mets winning a rare September game.

I had GOOSEBUMPS Sunday -- that's the name of the DVD, and the Phils slogan in 2007. They finally had a fitting one after years of losers like "Bring it On" for the 65-97 2000 edition managed by Terry Francona who was still learning to be a World Series genius {note from Christine: this grandiose way of thinking is one of the reasons why I don't like the Red Sox} and another favorite "Real Grass. Real Fun" to celebrate moving from the Vet to the new park, which still lacks a decent nickname.