Brad Lidge, the mentor

Brad Lidge has had an interesting career, toggling between dominant and punching bag.

SoxandPhils beat writer Scott Lauber says his story can be a lesson for both of the guys at the back of the Red Sox bullpen, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon, which is odd because you get the feeling that both the rising star and the declining veteran can't coexist much longer in the Red Sox bullpen.

But Lidge can relate to where each is in his career:

Lidge, now the Philadelphia Phillies' closer, knows the feeling. He took a back seat to Billy Wagner in 2003 and Octavio Dotel for the first half of the 2004 season. When the Astros traded Dotel in a three-team deal for outfielder Carlos Beltran, Lidge finally got his chance.

"You just have to be patient," Lidge said before Game 2 last night of the National League Championship Series, "and you really have to put in your mind that the team comes first. You have to sell yourself to that idea, and you'll get your chance."

*****

And if Lidge can recapture his dominance, he's certain that Papelbon can, too, as long as the Sox closer doesn't lose faith in his ability.

"For any closer, I think confidence is huge," Lidge said before last night's game. "Last year, I didn't get the results I wanted, and it definitely hurt my confidence. For me, you've got to go through a couple games where you feel like you're making (hitters) look silly again, and then, all of a sudden, you're like, 'Wait a minute, I don't even remember why this was so hard.'"

Series update: Lidge wasn't needed last night as the Phillies turned a game that was a tense duel for most of the night into a comfortable 6-1 win over the Giants. It's all tied heading to San Francisco. That was a real Phillies-type "no more fooling around" win, so I wouldn't be surprised if the next game in Philly is against an American League team.

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.

Another injured SoxandPhils catcher

Victor Martinez, Carlos Ruiz, Jason Varitek, Brian Schneider and now Kevin Cash. Five catchers DL'd by the Red Sox and Phillies this year.

It's incredible that both our teams have lost their entire catching corps for portions of the season. Although, the latest addition, Cash, who I believe is the 17th Red Sox to hit the DL this season, might need an asterisk.

That's because there have been several wink-like references from beat writers that suggest this move was a sham just to call up newly acquired Jarrod Saltalamacchia:

Meanwhile Varitek is working on his throwing with Gary Tuck, playing catch with Cash.

Boy, for a guy who needs to go on the DL Cash looks pretty good.

Whatever. All I know is that the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 10-1, which pulls them within 3.5 games of the Rays. And if the Rangers can clean up Cliff Lee's mess and hold on to beat the Yankees, we'll be just four games from the top spot.

The Phillies partied like the 2005 Astros, beating the Dodgers 2-0 behind Roy Oswalt's first Phillies win and a clean save by Brad Lidge.

Social day, surprise endings

We spent the day introducing Trent to some of our friends, including his first buddy, the other Gregory James in his life. It was a nice day sharing our little guy with some good friends, and we think he's becoming a people person, even though he just sleeps through his social visits.

There were some exciting SoxandPhils finishes today. After Jonathan Papelbon couldn't erase Clay Buchholz's two-on, no-out jam in the 9th, the Red Sox beat the Tigers in the bottom on the 9th on a Marco Scutaro bunt.

All our guests left before the Phillies and Nationals' 11-inning game ended. Christine tried to get a high-five from Trent when the Phillies took the lead in the 11th. He just shot her a look that said, "Yeah, they're just setting up another Brad Lidge special."

Lidge did pitch the 11th. He ended it, like our day, perfectly. So we took Trent to the park for the first time to celebrate. A little girl said he was cute and told her siblings to be quiet near the sleeping baby.

2004 - Trent hardly knew ye

I made a difficult decision today. My officially licensed 2004 World Championship T-shirt, like many others from my past, is too large to wear anymore.

I wore it today, but decided it should now go in the Goodwill donation pile.

I told Trent about my decision and used the opportunity to tell him the story of the 2004 Red Sox and how you can never give up hope.

Actually, he knows the story. Someone had given me a copy of Dan Shaughnessy's The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino years ago and it's a mainstay of Trent's library. I enjoy it too, even if I don't like the way Shaughnessy has marketed the curse.

Anyway, Trent will be well-versed in Red Sox history. Tomorrow, he'll meet the guy who kept my spirits up when the Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the 2004 ALCS, which is when I promised myself I would never give up hope.

You can never give up hope (1): After years of trying, the Red Sox finally acquired catcher Jarrod Saltamalacchia. He's had trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher, but you can't give up on him fixing this problem.

You can never give up hope (2): The Red Sox trailed the Tigers 4-2 in the 9th, but after the Tigers intentionally walked Kevin Youkilis to load the bases, David Ortiz hit a double to win the game 5-4, as if it were 2004 all over again.

You can never give up hope (3): The Phillies kept chipping away and finally took the lead in the 9th against the Nationals. But then Brad Lidge came in. Nats 7, Phils 5.

There are some times, such as any time Lidge steps on the mound, when you should at least temper your hope.

Divergence

Despite another rocky outing by Brad Lidge, the Phillies held on for the 5-4 win today, completing the sweep of the Rockies. Other than Lidge, things appear to be settling for the two-time NL Champs.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, are headed in the opposite direction. They're 4-7 since the All-Star break and have to face the Angels' new acquisition, Dan Haren, tonight. Things are going so poorly that people aren't even watching anymore:

The Boston Red Sox's six-year reign atop MLB's local television ratings is about to end, as the team's local numbers have plummeted from first to fifth this season.

Entering the All-Star break, ratings for Red Sox games on NESN have dropped nearly 36 percent from last year, for a 6.25 average rating.

The last time the Red Sox finished out of the top spot was in 2003, when the Mariners posted an 11.53 rating on FSN Northwest. The Sox averaged a 7.86 rating that year on NESN. This year, Red Sox ratings trail the Cardinals (9.70 on FS Midwest), Twins (7.85 on FS North), Phillies (7.20 on CSN Philadelphia) and Reds (6.52 on FS Ohio).

Christine has theorized that a bad Red Sox season wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing because it might weed out some of the front-runners and pink hats. I haven't given up hope, but if things don't improve, I'll accept that silver lining.

J-Roll and Fattie whack Dobbs

The other day, when we wrote about the surprise recall of Scott Mathieson, whose return to the big leagues lasted one game, we remembered to check on the progress of Mike Zagurski, who we affectionately call Fattie. "He's pitching well in AAA, so maybe we'll see him join Mathieson again," I wrote last week. I was half right. Fattie's in the bigs, but Mathieson is back in AAA.

Also making his return to the Phillies is a forgotten infielder, Jimmy Rollins. To make room for them, the Phillies DL'd Carlos Ruiz - not a surprise because he was hit in the head by a broken bat on Friday - and designated Greg Dobbs for assignment. That's a bit of a surprise because he was so good as a pinch-hitter in 2008, but hasn't done squat since. Ruben Amaro didn't make the move lightly:

"Dobber has been a very, very productive player for us over the last several years," Amaro said. "He helped us win a World Series and he helped us get back to the World Series and it's hard. That role is not an easy role and it's a bit of a rollercoaster ride. I've lived it myself, so I have some empathy about how difficult that job is."

For the record, in 128 games in 2008, Dobbs hit .301/.333/.491, and in 139 games in 2009 and 2010, he hit .218/.274/.341. Does anyone need a crappy pinch-hitter, or is Dobbs going to be an IronPig?

Tonight's games: Jamie Moyer had another good start and has just about supplanted Roy Halladay as the Phillies' ace. Tonight, the old man went eight innings, giving up a run on just two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Unfortunately, he needed 107 pitches (his season high is 111), so he had to yield to the bullpen.

J.C. Romero started the 9th (platoon splits) and got one out, but then put two men on, creating an awkward save situation for Brad Lidge, who hasn't been lights out lately. But he was tonight, striking out two to earn the save in a 2-1 win over the Indians. That's win No. 266 for J-Moy.

The Red Sox returned to the scene of their last World Series victory. Jon Lester pitched the 2007 clincher in Colorado, and he's opening tonight's series against the Rockies. So far, it's 0-0 in the 3rd.

I can't believe we sat through that

We were at the park today as the Phillies played a sloppy first inning and fell behind the Twins 3-0.

"This is going to be an ugly one, huh?" I asked Christine.

"These aren't the Phillies of last week," Christine said confidently.

Turns out, we were both right. Hitting season continued in earnest, and the Phils knocked out Twins starter Kevin Slowey in the 2nd inning with seven runs and two of the five home runs they would hit today. Cole Hamels overcame his rocky start to set down 13 in a row from the 1st to 5th inning.

It was a beautiful day at the park, and everything was perfect until Jim Thome came up with one man on in the 9th inning against Jose Contreras, who was trying to protect the 9-4 lead. Stupid Phillies fans cheered Thome before and even after he hit a two-run homer, giving the Twinkies life. That was bad karma that caused the Phils to cough up a five-run lead in the 9th inning for the first time since July 16, 2000. Brad Lidge also participated in the fun. Both teams volleyed until the 11th when Danys Baez, officially Christine's least favorite Phillie, gave up three runs. Twins 13, Phillies 10. {I am really not happy about this game. It seems just as bad as, if not worse than, last week's debacles against the Red Sox.}

At least the Red Sox, who blew a lead in the 7th inning, came back to win in the bottom of the 9th against the Dodgers.

We'll do a full recap of today's game in SoxandPhils style tomorrow. Warning: There will be a lot of discussion about Twins fans. I never knew there were so many. {And that they could be so annoying.}

Philly's on the board

Thanks to ace Roy, err, Cole Hamels, the Phillies averted the sweep in Boston today.

It was a good, spirited 5-3 game that ended with the potential tying run at the plate after a 9th inning rally. After two embarrassing blowouts, this was the type of game we expected to see all series. And it's the type of game we expect to see seven times when the Red Sox and Phillies hook up again in October and November.

Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge are really reverting to their 2008 forms. Hamels shut down one of the best offenses in the game - one run in seven innings on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. Lidge allowed an inherited runner to score, but he held on for the save.

Tim Wakefield, who joined SoxandPhil Jamie Moyer (and Andy Pettitte) in the 3,000-inning club, battled for 7 1/3, giving up four runs on seven hits and a walk.

Now that the SoxandPhils are once again allies until the World Series, I hope we can look back at this series as a turning point for both teams. At a minimum, there's a new folk hero in Boston, Daniel Nava, who has supplanted Darnell McDonald as the best story on the Red Sox. He followed up yesterday's grand slam debut by going 2-4, including a double and an RBI.

Managing futility

As expected, the Orioles fired manager Dave Trembly and replaced him with Phillies Wall of Famer Juan Samuel. I didn't know that another option for interim Orioles manager was former Red Sox catcher Gary Allenson, but he was promoted to replace Samuel as third base coach. There's a further SoxandPhil connection in that Samuel made his managerial debut tonight against the Red Sox.

The occasion gave Terry Francona a chance to repeat his line about being fired by the Phillies:

"I felt it coming. I knew it was coming," Francona said. "I've always been pretty honest about it. If I was a general manager, I would've fired me also. I think they didn't really have a choice. Saying that, the last however many days that there's speculation, that's the hardest. That's really hard. Now, saying that, I remember thinking, 'OK, when I get fired, it's going to be this huge weight off my shoulders.' And it wasn't. You can't live with people almost 24 hours a day and it just goes away. I thought it would, and it doesn't."

That said, we wish Juan Samuel luck - once the Red Sox leave town, but especially against the Rays and Yankees.

So far, so good. Actually, I wish the Sox would have eased up a little bit as they gave Samuel a 11-0 loss in his debut. Clay Buchholz was dominant, pitching a five-hit, one-walk shutout. On MLB Network, Harold Reynolds felt the need to point out how he now has a shutout and a no-hitter against the Orioles. More notable is that the other MLB Network announcer proclaimed him the ace of the Sox, ahead of even Jon Lester. I'm pleased with his progress, but I don't think Buchholz has supplanted Lester.

The Phillies, meanwhile, as I predicted, did not break out of their hitting slump. But they did manage three runs, which was enough for the 3-2 win over the Padres. Roy Halladay pitched a good game for a mortal pitcher, which means he had a so-so start for the Doc. In seven innings, he gave up two runs on 10 hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Brad Lidge pitched like Brad Lidge circa 2008, picking up his first save since coming back from his second DL stint with two strikeouts in a clean inning.

The Flyers, trying to even up the series, lead the Blackhawks 3-1 in the 3rd period.

Mother's Day

I spent this afternoon wrestling with a prickly shrub because my mother-in-law wanted it removed from her yard, so we missed much of the Phillies game.

It appears that Cole Hamels struggled with the Braves as much as I struggled with the hedge. We both, however, were victorious in our endeavors. I deposited the shrub in a dumpster, and the Phillies trashed the Braves 5-3. Most notable was Brad Lidge's eight-pitch 1-2-3 9th inning to record his first save of the season. Maybe ... nah, I won't say anything.

With their moms in the park, Chad Durbin (who I learned today was delivered by the same doctor who delivered J.A. Happ) and Jose Contreras bridged the three innings between Hamels and Lidge. They were perfect with five strikeouts. Maybe ... nah, I won't say anything.

A great Mother's Day story: The A's Dallas Braden pitched today, and his grandmother, who raised him, was in the park. He pitched a perfect game, the 19th in baseball history, against the Rays. Previously, he was most famous for calling out Alex Rodriguez, who had responded by suggesting that Braden was a nobody. Now, he's in the record books, and his grandmama had some choice words for Slappy (we love this story but question whether it will prove to be urban legend):

After Sunday's game, Braden's grandmother said: "Stick it, A-Rod," according to multiple reporters on the scene.

Amen, never argue with a grandmother.

Tonight: I'm watching Sunday night baseball between the Red Sox and Yankees, but I'm not planning on staying up late to see how it ends. In the 4th, Red Sox 6, Yankees 2.

This might hurt already

I haven't even cracked open my Roy Halladay-covered Sports Illustrated, appropriately titled "This might hurt," and the SI jinx may have begun.

Martin Frank, Scott Lauber's temporary replacement at the Wilmington News Journal, summed up the day in six words: Blanton hurt, Lidge hurting, Halladay rocked.

There's some irony here. Today, the Daily News had a story: Countdown to return of Phillies closer Lidge. One cortisone shot later, and we're still counting.

This morning, on WIP, they discussed an interesting scenario: What if the Phillies kept Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick in the rotation - who would be the odd man out? Obviously, that question is answered if Joe Blanton's injury shelves him.

And, of course, Halladay gets rocked by his former team the day after his SI cover is released.

I wonder who will now represent the National League against the Red Sox in October.

Game shape

Although they're ultra-meaningless, we're just a couple days away from game action. Charlie Manuel has set the Phillies early pitching rotation, and Terry Francona has already posted the Wednesday Red Sox lineups against Northeastern and Boston College.

Christine and I spent the last couple days getting ready to watch baseball again. On Saturday, we caught some of the Pine Tar Game on MLB Network (it was more interesting than I remembered).

Then we watched some extras on Legends of the Fall - the celebration of winning the National League Championship (highlight was Carlos Ruiz shouting "Chooch" like a choo-choo train) and the 9th inning of Game 4 of the NLCS.

Finally, we returned to MLB Network to see the infamous 10-inning game in 1979 in which the Phillies beat the Cubs 23-22. Unfortunately, they used the Cubs broadcast. It would have been interesting to hear Harry Kalas' take. While I was in midseason form, conking out around 11:30 p.m., Christine was not. She couldn't stay up to watch the ending.

Last night, we watched some of the infamous 2008 All-Star game in which J.D. Drew led the American League past Brad Lidge and the National League. Christine grumbled when she remembered the abuse Clint Hurdle subjected Lidge to. Today, I reminded her that that game enabled us to witness this.

Game, well, pre-game on.

Superstitious SoxandPhils closers

Both of our closers are using unusual methods to overcome their disappointing 2009 seasons.

It's been known for a while that Jonathan Papelbon used footage of his blown save that ended the ALDS to motivate him through his winter workouts:

"I've got it on tape and I watched it 100 times in my weight room," Papelbon said yesterday, in his first meeting with the media since allowing three runs to the Angels and taking the blown save and the loss in the game that concluded 2009 for the Red Sox. "I used it as motivation when I was feeling tired and weak. I'd pop it on, and kind of go over and say, 'There's still work to be done.'"

What's new, however, is that Brad Lidge is planning an even more drastic gesture to put his awful 2009 season behind him:

"I'm going to burn my '09 shirts and we'll get this over with and move forward from there."

Awesome.

They should have a bonfire at the park and make a day of it. They should even roast marshmallows and turkey legs.

Or, perhaps, we can forget about the whole arson thing and just have Lidge stop tipping his pitches.

Last pitcher standing

The Red Sox signed Brian Shouse to a minor league deal, but the 41-year-old lefty doesn't have much of a chance of making the team, as the Boston Globe noted:

Here's how much the Red Sox think of having signed Brian Shouse: They didn't announce it.

The Globe also noted that Shouse was a teammate of Tim Wakefield's on the 1993 Pirates. He then went five years without appearing in the majors before he resurfaced as a teammate of Wakefield on the 1998 Red Sox.

How odd is that? Of the 47 players who appeared in a game for the 1993 Pirates, 26 played their last game before 1998. Other than Shouse and Wakefield, no member of that team played beyond 2006.

From the 1998 Red Sox, Shouse and Wakefield are two of eight players still active - Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Tom Gordon and Ron Mahay are the others. Other members of the '93 Pirates also on the '98 Red Sox were Midre Cummings and Orlando Merced.

Of the 47 players who played on that Red Sox team, 10 were gone by 1999 and 32 didn't play beyond 2003.

For the quirkiness of it, I hope Shouse, who was the fourth-oldest player in the American League last year, rejoins Wakefield, the AL's oldest player, in Boston this year.

Other relievers in the news: Boof Bonser doesn't know why his mom started calling him Boof, but he legally changed his name from John Paul in 2001. ... Hideki Okajima signed, avoiding arbitration. ... And before Phillies fans could stop laughing about Carlos Beltran surprising the Mets by having surgery, a similar thing occurred with Brad Lidge.

D-Fence and the new-look Red Sox

It's quite clear by now that Theo Epstein thought the best way to improve the Red Sox was via leather and pitching. Run prevention is the new catch phrase in Boston.

So Jason Bay was banished to New York, and Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek were sent to the bench, and Jacoby Ellsbury was sent to left field.

What?

Interestingly, I was looking at defensive stats this morning in The Bill James Handbook and was surprised to see that, defying conventional wisdom, both Ellsbury and Shane Victorino rank among the worst center fielders in the game. So although I was surprised when news broke this afternoon that the Red Sox will play Mike Cameron in center, I wasn't completely shocked.

I'm really psyched for the new-look defensive Red Sox, even though I'm sure some, like this moron particpating in a Rob Neyer chat, will question Theo's logic:

Steve (NYC)
Rob, do you think the Sox are putting too many eggs in the UZR basket? They've improved their defense, but from a distance it also looks like they've added mediocre bats to 1/3 of their lineup. Are we really so confident in the relative value of defense to offense that these "WAR" numbers are gospel? I guess we'll find out, but I personally find the Sox a lot less scary than in previous seasons.

Rob Neyer (12:10 PM)
Cameron has been an above-average hitter in each of the last 11 seasons; Beltre has been above average in four of the last six seasons. So, no.

Thanks, Rob.

A little longer defense of the Red Sox D-Fence comes from Dave Cameron:

Beltre isn't just a good defender. He is in the conversation of the best defensive third baseman of all time.
[...]
It isn't just the numbers, either. When you watch Beltre play third base, you are amazed at the things he can do. He has perfected the charge on a bunt – no one in baseball comes in on the ball as well as he does. His lateral range is hilarious at times, as he regularly fields balls that are hit directly at the shortstop, just because he can. He has a great arm, often throwing lasers across the field without transferring his weight, showing pure arm strength.

Nuggets gleaned today from Bill James: Chase Utley was the best base-running second baseman in 2009 and was second only to Michael Bourn among all players. Mike Lowell was the worst base runner at third base - another reason the Adrian Beltre signing makes sense. Although he's not an excellent base runner, at least Beltre is on the positive side of the ledger, unlike the guy he is replacing.

Brad Lidge had the worst OPS (.912) among relievers with at least 50 games. He was also tied with the second worst save percentage (74 percent).

Ryan Madson tied for second with 29 appearances in which he pitched on the previous day. But with all the talk about not using the injured Lidge on consecutive days, the closer did have 21 such appearances.

[Photo credit: HuggingHaroldReynolds.com]

Buh-bye, Brett

On July 24, 2002, Christine and I were honeymooning in Niagara Falls. (We took a real honeymoon in Hawaii the next year.) Also on that date, young Brett Myers tossed eight innings of two-hit ball to earn a win in his first major league start for the Phillies.

It was the first of 240 appearances (183 starts) for Myers as a Phillies. In all likelihood, he won't be making any more for the team as the Phillies say they're not bringing him back. Here's the good cop quote from GM Ruben Amaro:

Brett is one of our own. He was here 11 years. It's difficult to let a guy go, just like it was difficult with Pat [Burrell] last year. At the same time, sometimes you have to think about change, so we made the decision. Brett will have opportunities on another club. He's very versatile. He can be a starter or a reliever.

It's not surprising that Brett won't be a Phillie in 2010, but it's kind of odd that the Phillies would publicly sever ties so quickly, even though Myers has caused his share of trouble: the domestic assault charges, using a slur against a reporter, injuring himself in the bizarre SUV incident this year and, most recently, the Cole Hamels "quit" incident.

As Jim Salisbury wrote:

Though no one in the organization would explicitly say it, there were indications that the team had just had its fill of Myers, the club's top draft pick in 1999. The Phils might have put up with Myers' dramatics had he maintained the effectiveness that helped him win 25 games and post a 3.82 ERA in 65 starts over the 2005 and 2006 seasons, but a number of factors hurt his performance, especially the last two seasons, and exhausted the team's patience.

I ran hot and cold with Brett. He was young and immature, but had one of the most beautiful curve balls, a nice little lollipop that literally took my breath away at times. He was on the mound for the final out of 2007 and mostly selfless on the field.

He was one of the longest-tenured Phillies - only Jimmy Rollins has been on the team longer - and his closing comment shows he at least understand the Philly fans:

Myers said he would miss his teammates and thanked the fans, many of whom supported him through his rough times. After eight seasons in Philadelphia, he said, he knows how tough the fans can be, and he expects to feel some of that old tough love when he returns with another team.

"Hopefully, I'll be playing against the Phillies, and when I do, I want the roughest treatment the fans can give me - when I'm pitching," he said, laughing. "I'm an opposing player. You have to give it to me."

I hope the fans remember this quote and give Brett a loving boo before a standing ovation the first time he wears gray in Philly. But after that, respect his wishes and remember he's the enemy.

Other news: Shocker! Brad Lidge was pitching was loose bodies in his elbow; he's headed for the operating room along with Raul Ibanez and Scott Eyre. And Pedro Feliz may join Brett Myers on the Phillies kicked-to-the-curb list this off season.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Monday morning recap

I didn't make it.

Greg fell asleep sometime after 12:30 this morning, but I was determined to watch the whole game. (We are both off today but had various early appointments, so while the game time was not ideal, it wasn't as bad as if we were working today.) I warned Greg that I was not responsible if my cheering or booing woke him up. He was willing to take that chance. [She was surprisingly quiet.]

But by the time the Phillies were ending their failed 8th inning rally, I was conking out. The injury to Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson's subsequent warming up in the 7th had really slowed down the pace of the game. And then Madson completely killed the timing - I never realized until last night how slowly he works, especially with men on base, and especially compared with the speedy Joe Blanton a few innings earlier.

So I turned off the TV not knowing the result of game 3 of the NLDS. Honestly, I was reluctant to find out the score this morning. I couldn't believe that Madson was pitching in the 7th inning - who was going to pitch late in the game if it were a save situation? The last thing I wanted to hear is that Brad Lidge blew yet another game.

Turns out, he tried to blow it, but the Phillies held on. Phillies 6, Rockies 5. It wasn't pretty, but they got it done.

Game 4 tonight, at a very reasonable 6:07 p.m. I expect we'll both be watching the end of this one.

Ready to ride

Christine and I have followed our teams for 324 games, and now it could all be over in three games each, or we could have a long, intense month that ends with one of us not talking to the other.

Nothing is better than winning in the playoffs, and nothing is worse. The long marathon comes down to minutiae right now. Just ask the Twins and Tigers, whose season ended in game No. 163 before the Twins pushed across a run in the 12th inning to win 6-5. You have to love that they needed extra innings in an extra game to complete one of the biggest comebacks in baseball history. And, yes, we're quite familiar with how the NL East was won in 2007.

Before we make our predictions for the first round, here's a quick recap of today's SoxandPhils playoff notes: Cliff Lee starts game 1; Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ join the reality TV stars in The Pen; and Eric Bruntlett, Clay Condrey and Tyler Walker aren't on the roster for this round.

Christine is upset about the last one because Walker has been arguably the second best reliever on the Phillies this year. And he's been prominently featured as the Phillie most looking forward to his playoff debut.

No real surprises today for the Red Sox (although they're not announcing their roster until tomorrow), except for the fact that Manny Delcarmen was in a car crash on Saturday. That's odd they managed to kept that quiet for so long. And I forgot how good Jonathan Papelbon has been in the playoffs, so he's probably going to get rocked in his first appearance now.

Our picks: Of the SoxandPhils' preseason predictions, only Christine and I have our World Series in tact. She has the Phillies over the Angels; I have the Red Sox over the Phillies. We each stand by our picks, but mine was more precise {thanks for rubbing it in}:

World Series: Red Sox over Phillies. Jason Bay hits a walkoff home run in Game 7 - the first blown save in three years for Brad Lidge.

Here are my picks for the first round: I'm not as confident in the Sox as I have been in the past two years, and I am nervous that their dominance over the Angels in the playoffs is bound to even out eventually, but I think the Sox will pull it out in five.

I'll go with my heart over my head and take the Twins over the Yankees in four. But if the Twins lose Game 1, they'll be swept.

Despite the Phillies bullpen issues, I think they have enough to beat the Rockies in four. I'll take the Cardinals in four.

Christine's picks:

Rockies vs. Phillies: Phillies, no doubt.

Cardinals vs. Dodgers: Cardinals. I want an easy road to the World Series, and the Cardinals would definitely provide that.

Twins vs. Yankees: Yankees. Blah. But don't worry, they won't win it all.

Red Sox vs. Angels: Angels. If you'll recall my preseason pick, I wanted to say the Red Sox for the Wild Card, but Greg was kind of pissy over that. So I elevated them to AL East champs over the Rays (my division pick). Should have stuck with my Wild Card instinct. Anyway, this part of the prediction will stand. This is the year the Angels finally beat the Red Sox in a round of the playoffs, setting up an Angels-Phillies finale.

Talking points from the weekend

As we try to clear our heads from the lost weekend, some of our SoxandPhils gave us some talking points today.

1) We do not shoot our friends. (Even a chum with 11 blown saves.)

Last week, I wanted to compare Brad Lidge with a champion race horse that could no longer run. Christine outvoted me 1-1, and the insensitive metaphor wasn't published. Since then, she has said I should say the same thing about Jason Varitek. I don't disagree, except for the fact that we have a longer relationship with the Captain, and he has been supplanted as starting catcher by Victor Martinez.

I say all this as background because Charlie Manuel doesn't think Brad Lidge should be shot:

"I don't want to shoot Lidge. I think he'll get back to where he's at," Manuel said yesterday when asked about the status of the closer's job. "He needs a little break."

Maybe Cholly is just a better person than me.

2) The Phillies aren't playing as poorly as you'd think from Christine's reaction. Yesterday I heard they played .500 on their last road trip. Watching Christine mope all weekend, I thought they were 2-12 or something. Cholly says we're both right:

The 5-5 trip was not easy for manager Charlie Manuel. "As bad as we played, we played .500, didn't we?" he said. "Bad as we played, is that accepted? It will have to be, I guess."

3) It's OK to celebrate the Wild Card. It still feels wrong, but several Red Sox said some things to convince me. Here's a SoxandPhil quoted in coverage of his former team:

"You don't want to take [getting to the playoffs] for granted," said the Red Sox' Terry Francona, the only manager since 2000 to take a defending world champion to the postseason the following year. "Because it's tough. You want to get excited, but you also don't want to lose sight of your goal.

"We always like to say that every year is different. So why shouldn't you celebrate?"

Here's the players' take:

"As of right now, obviously (the Yankees are) the better team," left fielder Jason Bay said. "Once the postseason starts, everything else is kind of thrown out the window."

Didn't it sting just a little watching the Yankees celebrate?

"I don’t care," Kevin Youkilis said. "I want to get into the playoffs. Once we get there, it's a whole other game."
[...]
"I was a wild card once and got a World Series," (David) Ortiz said. "That means I don’t care."

4) It still would have been nice to clinch in New York.

"Damn, man," David Ortiz sad. "It gives the carpet a smell a few days later. It kills me. That's why I want to do it here. But it's not going to happen."

Patience, big man. You can stink up their new jaunt once you beat them 4-2 in the ALCS.

Tonight's games: Days after Jon Lester took a ball off his knee, Josh Beckett was scratched from tonight's start with a bad back. Perhaps the baseball gods aren't happy with a team that was setting up its playoff pitching rotation at least a week before it clinched.

In game action, it's like the SoxandPhils are playing chicken with each other to see who can clinch last.

Emergency starter Michael Bowden gave up seven runs in three innings. The Red Sox trailed the Blue Jays 11-5 in the 7th inning when downpours delayed the game. In case they don't resume this one, it will be up to the Angels to beat the Rangers if the magic number is to be reduced from two.

Cole Hamels gave up six runs in 6 2/3, increasing Christine's concerns that the baseball gods are putting the Phillies on the opposite end of the historic collapses they've dealt the Mets in recent years. In the 9th, Astros 8, Phillies 2. Magic number expected to remain stuck at three.