Big-time bullpen addition

While the mystery continues whether the Red Sox approached Mariano Rivera or he approached them, I'm focused on the facts:

1. I respect Mo, but he's still the enemy, and I enjoy it when the Red Sox beat him.

2. The Red Sox signed an All-Star closer to help Jonathan Papelbon and Daniel Bard close out games.

I admit it. Last night I wasn't thrilled with getting Bobby Jenks and told Trent so. But that's because I fell into the trap of listening to the media harp on conventional stats. Turns out he didn't pitch too poorly last season despite the higher-than-usual ERA.

So, we have a pretty dominant back of the pen. I just hope it's enough to make up the edge the Phillies have in the starting rotation.

***UPDATE*** Christine was grumbling that she would have to edit a post tonight, but since I've written, MLB Network announced that Carlos Ruiz won its X-Factor of the Year Award, beating Pat Burrell. Now she's happy.

MVChooch ... really?

We had fun this summer when the local scribes talked about Carlos Ruiz as the Phillies MVP. It must have caught (no pun intended) on nationally because Chooch got three separate votes for MVP, including appearing as high as fifth on someone's ballot

He was the last of four Phillies recieving votes: Roy Halladay (sixth), Jayson Werth (eighth), Ryan Howard (10th) and Chooch (17th).

I guess this means Chooch has made it big time.

Lucky PJs?

On Monday, the choice of PJs for Trent was between his elephants and baseball uniform. Christine voted elephants because the Phillies were off.

Yesterday, the Phillies had already lost when we were picking out PJs, so Christine voted for his doggies because she was mad at her team.

Tonight, we went with the baseball uniform.

It didn't work early. Joe Blanton threw two wild pitches (Carlos Ruiz prevented a third) and had the Phillies behind the Giants 2-0 by the third inning. Then, the Phillies bats woke up in the 5th inning, scoring four runs (there could have been more if Chooch wasn't thrown out at home).

But Blanton couldn't survive the bottom of the inning, and we have to keep watching to find out whether we have to do laundry to bring back the baseball PJs tomorrow or whether they're getting banished to the bottom of the drawer.

They're leaning toward banishment. In the 6th, 5-4 Giants.

SoxandPhils revelations

After yesterday's wrestling snafu, Todd Zolecki redeemed himself with today's post.

Nothing has consistently driven traffic to our humble SoxandPhils blog like people looking for the names of players' intro songs - especially Jayson Werth.

Today, Zolecki listed every Phillies' intro song. We couldn't place our finger on J-Dub's current song all season. Thanks to Zo, we know now it's Right Above It by Lil Wayne. We've also been fascinated by how Carlos Ruiz uses Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight, but we didn't know that his backup, Brian Schneider, uses the same song.

Zolecki still needs to work on his knowledge of wrestling history, but I certainly appreciate this effort.

That wasn't the only SoxandPhils theme in the news today. We've often discussed how injured both teams were this year. SoxandPhils beat writer Scott Lauber takes a look at how the Red Sox are home licking their wounds, while their brothers in pain have survived.

Even our general managers felt a kinship:

At one point during the summer, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and his Phillies counterpart, Ruben Amaro Jr., even had a phone conversation in which they commiserated over their teams’ respective misfortune.

"We were having some trade dialogue," Amaro recalled yesterday, "and I guess we were both woe-is-me-ing for a while."

I wonder what they were talking about ... Werth for Jonathan Papelbon, perhaps? {Ugh, the idea of Papelbon as a Phillie ... awful.}

If you're interested, Lauber has a sidebar listing every injury suffered by a Red Sox or Phillie.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Business-persons special

Despite some teasing threats to Christine, Trent and I didn't sneak off to the park for today's business-persons special against the Astros. It was also "kids run the bases," and Trent and I promised to bring home a scoopful of dirt from the infield.

We also, despite Trent's pleading, did not blow off our liquid lunch for some filet mignon to watch the game at the neighborhood steakhouse.

We just watched the game from Trent's blanket on the living room floor. It was very odd watching a Phillies game in the middle of the afternoon without Christine, especially when it marked the first time they've ever been swept in a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

It was fun watching the Roy Halladay perfect game tribute. It was a bit overblown and campy, but good mental mush for me and the boy. Christine would have liked seeing Carlos Ruiz get home plate. I couldn't decide whether I was touched or freaked out by the bronze casts of Doc's hand that was given to his sons. Maybe I'm just jealous because I don't think anyone will bronze my hands and stick them to a keyboard for Trent.

With no reason for Christine to watch the replay of today's game, we have the Twins-Rangers game on. Christine noticed that Trent was focusing on the game. We fear that he's now a Twins fan. As long as he doesn't root for a team with N and Y on its hat, we'll deal with it.

Our first game back

Yesterday was our first game back to Citizens Bank Park since we became parents. Lots of things were different - bootleg vendors sold ponchos instead of pretzels, the sax guy wasn't playing, and they now have a trivia game outside of Bull's BBQ.

But one major thing didn't change - it rained. We sat through it. We got wet. I got grumpy but hung in there.

Despite the hour and 45 minute rain delay - including a scary moment when I dozed off and thought I was blind because I could see only the white of the tarp on the field - it was a pretty good game. Roy Oswalt shut down the Nationals, giving up five hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over seven innings in the 6-0 win. The lack of runs was impressive because he let the leadoff guy on in the first four innings. And in each of those innings, someone got in scoring position, including the first inning when Oswalt struck out Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman after letting the leadoff guy get to third with one out. Roy also went 2-3 with a run and came close to an extra-base hit in his final at-bat.

But he might not have been the player of the game. That award could be claimed by Christine's favorite, Carlos Ruiz, whose only hit was a meaningless single in the 4th and whose fielding was marred with a throwing error and three stolen bases.

Despite those feats, Chooch set up the big two-run 6th inning, which iced the game. With two outs and runners on second and third, the Nationals elected to walk the fearsome Chooch, who's actually been intentionally walked 33 times in his career (nearly all in front of the pitcher), to get to Wilson Valdez.

Valdez, filling in for a resting Chase Utley, was never so insulted in his life and stroked a two-run single to put the Phils up 4-0. Raul Ibanez hit a two-run home after the rain delay in the 7th.

Observations from the stands: It was a fairly uneventful game on and off the field. A funny moment came after the rain delay when the new Nationals second baseman, Alberto Gonzalez, complained that the field was too wet. He was booed when the grounds crew came out to sop up more water. After they left, a bunch of sea gulls (you can sort of see them on the right) swarmed the field, mocking the Nats.

We weren't sitting in our usual area of seats, and it seemed much more quiet than usual. We could hear the radio broadcast floating through the stands. In fact, the crowd never really seemed to wake up until the end of the rain delay when they played Chubby Checker's Let's Twist Again, followed by the original The Twist. The crowd was really going as the Nats took the field and an usher was shown on Phanavision while Twisting.

The team honored Philadelphia native Jerry Crawford, who was umpiring his last game in the city before retiring after a 33-year career. He also umped the last game at the Vet and the first at the Bank. You can read about him in the Inky and Daily News. Instead of giving him a gold watch, the Phillies gave him a plush Phanatic. More on that later this week, but I wonder if that's why the Phillies won so easily.

Debbi Kee's Keenote Chorale did the anthem. ... WPXN's Ben Arnold did God Bless America. No one told him it was raining. He could have trimmed a few minutes off it.

Antiquated T-shirts: We didn't see that many: Cliff Lee, Jim Thome and Jacoby Ellsbury's No. 46.

Babies on the brain: Of course, when we saw the Cole Hamels lunch bag, I was upset we didn't bring Trent. (OK, I was upset we didn't bring Trent as soon as we left the house.) The several young tots we saw in the stands didn't help. There was one nearby (kind of looked like Peyton Manning) who kept staring at Christine. Of course, being the proud, responsible parents that we are, we compared every youngin to Trent. There was no contest: The cutest baby wasn't at the park. ... There were some youngsters on the field with the Phanatic in the middle of the game doing some Latin dances. I dunno why we were amused by this; probably because it's the most people we've seen involved in a Phanatic skit.

Tonight's games: The Phillies faced former mate Brett Myers. On the radio broadcast, Scott Franzke said young Brett was starting for the Phillies. I think somebody is stuck in 2009. Myers pitched well in his return to Philadelphia, but was outpitched for seven innings by Blanton. Myers left trailing 2-1, but Ryan Madson blew it in the 8th. Astros 3, Phillies 2.

Unfortunately, the big story involving a former SoxandPhil is that the Red Sox put in a waiver claim on Johnny Damon, who's considering whether to waive his no-trade clause to Boston. I hope he stays in Detroit. John Lackey was also locked in a pitcher's duel but outpitched the Mariners Doug Fister and got a well-deserved 6-3 win.

Oops

When I handed last night's post to Christine for her superb editing, I had written that the Dodgers were cruising to a victory. She toned it down a bit to say the Phillies were attempting a comeback, but I don't think she seriously expected them to come all the way back from an seven-run deficit in the 8th inning, even though they had scored a couple of runs by the time she posted.

I certainly didn't.

Oops ... Chooch did it again, knocking in the winning run in the best comeback of the year, in what could be the only game to rival Roy Halladay's perfect game as the Phillies game of the year.

Tonight, however, they couldn't come back from a one-run deficit. For the second time in a week, Cole Hamels pitched a gem against the Mets, but had to eat a 1-0 loss. The Phillies have been shut out in all four games they've played at Citi Field this year. Incredible.

The Red Sox and Rangers aren't participating in such a pitching duel. David Ortiz, Adrian Beltre and J.D. Drew went back-to-back-to-back in a seven-run 4th inning, but Josh Beckett couldn't keep his foot on the Rangers' neck. The Red Sox still lead, 9-8 in the 8th, but I'm not comfortable at all.

Everybody loves Chooch

The other day, Todd Zolecki noted what a great year that our beloved Carlos Ruiz is having:

Ruiz is hitting .298 with a .395 OBP and a .443 SLG this season, all of which are career bests. Ruiz has been a regular since 2006. He hit a career-high .259 in 2007. He set career-highs with a .355 OBP and .425 SLG last season.

If Ruiz had enough plate appearances to qualify, he would rank fifth in the National League in OBP and 13th in batting.

As if that weren't heady enough, today the Daily News and Inquirer upped the ante by taking a multifaceted look at whether Carlos Ruiz is the MVP of the 2010 Phillies:

Playing on a team filled with accomplished all-stars, an argument could be made that Ruiz has been the Phillies' most valuable player through the first four months of the season. His five home runs and 27 RBIs cannot compare with the statistics of most of his fellow position players, but Ruiz's manager, teammates and coaches understand the hidden value of what their catcher does.

"He gets the tempo of the game moving the right way," leftfielder Raul Ibanez said. "He stands up back there and you see him punch his fist into his mitt and he's barking and showing his intensity. He's the guy who is facing us. We're all looking at him. A lot of times if a guy is dead back there, it's human nature to imitate what you see. But when you see all that intensity back there, I think it rubs off on the rest of us in a positive way."

There's lots of love for Chooch from Rich Dubee, Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick and, especially, Jamie Moyer, the Chooch Whisperer, who was credited for Ruiz's development:

"I don't want to take credit and I don't think I can," the 47-year-old said. "But when he first came here, I would talk to him about some basic things I saw in catchers when I was a younger player. I know the game has changed a little bit from that time to now. But, for me, the catching part hasn't."

Too bad the MVP couldn't help Kendrick tonight. Kendrick was so bad that Chooch was double-switched out of the game in the 4th inning. In the 9th, Dodgers 15, Phillies 7. ... Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez couldn't keep Daisuke Matzusaka's recent magic going. Dice-K was knocked around a bit, but the Sox hung in there and beat the Blue Jays 7-5.

Trent likes Chooch too

It was the best game of Trent's life.

I know, we're talking about only little more than a month's sample size, but it was a pretty darn good game.

Reds rookie Travis Wood took a perfect game into the 9th before Trent worked his magic, willing a double for his mother's favorite Phillie, Carlos Ruiz, who was just activated from the DL.

The Phillies didn't score in the inning, but it didn't matter because Roy Halladay also pitched nine shutout innings.

Trent toyed with the Reds for two more innings before willing another double for Chooch, who later scored the winning run on a hit by Jimmy Rollins.

So in our three nights with Trent, there have been three walkoff extra-inning wins for the Phillies. I swear I didn't mean to turn this into a baby blog.

The Red Sox lost ugly to the Blue Jays 9-5.

More hurtin' SoxandPhils

The SoxandPhils injury bug is reaching epidemic proportions. Off the top of my head: Dustin Pedroia, Chase Utley, Ryan Madson, J.A. Happ, Clay Buchholz, Victor Martinez, Josh Beckett, Jacoby Ellsbury, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz are all injured.

Now, Manny Delcarmen has hit the DL. And, Utley's injury is worse than expected: He's gone for eight weeks. And, Ruiz is still showing concussion symptoms. And now, Brian Schneider left tonight's game with a hand injury. At least Dustin Pedroia is not taking his injury sitting down, or standing up.

Not content to sit on his duff, he took grounders on his knees:

"I'm just keeping my [expletive] ready," Pedroia said. "That's all I've got for you. I've just got to keep my arm in shape."

Pedroia — amused that he was at the center of media attention yesterday — clearly cannot stand to be on the disabled list. So, while being driven around in carts, the second baseman is doing all he can to remain sharp, even though he is unlikely to be back for six weeks.

"I'm pretty bored," Pedroia said. "There's not really a lot to do for me right now. I really don't do much. I just sit down, lift weights sitting down. That's about it."

I love the spirit, but won't be happy when we learn about how someone can cause serious injury by taking grounders on their knees.

Tonight's games: The Red Sox are off. The Phillies lost to the Pirates 3-2. Christine is fearing a four-game sweep.

Sore SoxandPhils

We like it when the SoxandPhils emulate each other in good ways - they draft well, they have rivals in New York and, most importantly, the 2008 Phillies followed the 2007 Red Sox as World Champions.

But there's a disturbing trend we'd like to see end. Both teams are getting hammered with injuries this year. The Phillies have had their starting lineup together just seven times, and the Red Sox have probably lost more players. And, they seem to be matching each other player for player. Dustin Pedroia for Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz for Victor Martinez, for example. There's no direct match for Placido Polanco and Clay Buchholz, so Adrian Beltre and Roy Halladay better be careful.

SoxandPhils limbo: Fabio Castro was sent down. That's the second time he's been a Red Sox without getting into a game.

Tonight's games: The Phillies lead the Reds in the 10th; the Red Sox lead the Rays in the 8th.

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.

Extracurricular multi-sport potpourri

I was a bit worried that we may have jinxed the Flyers last night, but they held on and will play for the Stanley Cup. I guess there are a lot of people in the Eagles front office rooting hard for the Blackhawks right now. Can you imagine if the Flyers join the Phillies as Philadelphia champions before the Iggles get over the hump?

When we were watching some of the post-game analysis, we missed this gem. Classic stuff - it's almost as if Michael Barkann planted this girl to drop the F-bomb on live TV:



Poor Steve Coates. I never heard of him before last week, but now I'm quite fond of Coatesy, primarily because of this Joe Conklin Flyers parody of Lada Gaga's Bad Romance. Lady Pha Pha would approve.

From ice hockey to ice football: Super Bowl XLVIII is coming to New Jersey. I still can't believe it.

Back to baseball extracurricular stuff: People, including Christine and me, have stuffed the All-Star ballots for the Phillies. Jimmy Rollins, who has played in slightly more games than me, is the leading shortstop, but Carlos Ruiz trails Yadier Molina. Early AL results were released yesterday; fans in New York and Texas are stuffing the ballot.

Today's games: The surging Sox lead the Rays 2-0 in the 9th; the phlopping Phillies trail the Mets 7-0 in the 8th.

Draining night

Sorry for tonight's post. I'm distracted and under time pressure ...

With the struggles of the Red Sox, I was honestly looking more forward to the Pirates-Phillies game than the Red Sox-Yankees on ESPN tonight. I'm getting tired of waiting for the Sox to turn it on, and I was a little curious to see whether the surging third-place Pirates would make a statement against the reigning NL champs.

We had to run an errand and when we got home, the Sox, behind Daisuke Matsuzaka, were already down 5-0 to the Empire. WTF!!! Something is off this year. They're playing like they're dead. I know, I should remain patient and take life as it comes, especially when there are more important things to worry about, but I'm starting to lose it. David Ortiz hit a big solo home run in the 4th. J.D. Drew hit a three-run homer in the 5th, so maybe they're showing their old pluck. Never give in. In the 7th, Yankees 7, Red Sox 6.

In Philly, Chase Utley got the flu, spoiling the family reunion planned for the return of Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz to the lineup. To make room for J-Roll, Wilson Valdez was designated for assignment as if he were dead to the Phillies. I wonder if he started crying hysterically when he got the news. {Even though he's a former Met, Valdez did well defensively for the injured shortstops. I wouldn't mind having him around the minors in case of any other major infield injuries. But let's hope that doesn't happen.}

After giving up a leadoff home run, Kyle Kendrick settled down and the Phillies made a statement against a potential playoff opponent. Phillies 12, little doodles, err, Pirates 2.

Catching crisis

Or ... A funny thing happened on the way

to the All-Star Game

This week it seemed everybody caught Carlos Ruiz fever. He is off to a great start, and some think this might be a breakthrough year at the plate for Chooch:

"You develop through experience," Manuel said before the game. "You develop relaxation, concentration, confidence ... all that comes together."

With Charlie Manuel getting to select the All-Star team this year, Chooch's chances of making the team seemed pretty good.

But then, today, I got an e-mail from Christine with "Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" as the subject. I knew it was going to be about a Phillies injury. I was kind of relieved when she said it was Ruiz, not Roy Halladay.

He has a capsular strain in his knee (whatever that means), and the Phillies expect him to avoid the DL, but it's not reassuring that the catching depth chart for the immediate future (starting with tonight's nightcap with the Rockies) is Paul Hoover, followed probably by Jayson Werth.

Although I love the resurging Jason Varitek and what he has meant to the team, and the fact that he is the best backup catcher in baseball, I have offered to trade him to the Phillies. I told Christine that I'd start the bidding with Halladay (she said he stunk after he couldn't hold a 3-1 lead in the 7th).

Today's games: After they lost Chooch and that 3-1 lead, the Phillies dropped the first game of their doubleheader with the Rockies 4-3 in the 10th. The Rockies catcher, Miguel Olivo, survived the game, going 5-5 with the game-winning home run off Chad Durbin.

Tim Wakefield pitched well for the Red Sox and notched his 2,000th career strikeout, but he did not get much support as the Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays 3-2. They nearly came back in the 9th, but wound up with just some gripes at the umpires:

"Thank God I wasn't hitting righthanded because that would have hit me in the ribs," (David Ortiz) said.

Suffice it to say, the strike zone was expanded all game. Replays and Pitchf/x showed the pitch to Ortiz was well was outside.

We'll leave the final word to Dustin Pedroia:

"[The umpires] must have had a flight. I'm actually going to check on that," he said. "If they had a flight, we're going to make sure it was delayed. Because I can do that. I have that kind of pull."

Tonight's game: Jamie Moyer takes on the Rockies. I hope he's over his preference for experienced catchers because he is kind of stuck with Hoover. If they even get the game in, because it's raining again in Denver and game 2 has been delayed.

Philly phans

It's official: The Phillies have overtaken the Eagles as Philadelphia's favorite.

The Daily News conducted a survey to determine that 54 percent of the area's fans favor the Phillies compared with 30 percent who prefer the Eagles. The fans also gave 74 percent approval ratings to Citizens Bank Park and Charlie Manuel.

I know it's a combination of the Phillies recent championship run and the Eagles long-running championship futility, but I can't believe how times have changed since I first became acquainted with Philadelphia sports 15 years ago. The Eagles seemed like they would dominate the scene forever. Congrats to the Phightins'.

The most favored Philly sports traditions? Kate Smith singing "God Bless America" at Flyers games, the E-A-G-L-E-S chant and the Big 5. I'm surprised the Phanatic's antics didn't crack the top three. Booing came in 7th.

Coming in 9th: running onto the field and getting tasered.

OK, I made up that last one.

I'm just glad, and I know Christine is, that this episode has not devolved into another indictment of Philadelphia fans. Public opinion seems to view this as an isolated case of stupidity that was properly handled by the police.

Tonight's games: Marquee pitching duels.

You couldn't ask for much more out of Cole Hamels or Adam Wainwright. In the 10th, the Cardinals and Phillies are tied 1-1. Another dolt (why couldn't he be an Eagles fan?) ran on the field in the 9th as Hamels tried to finish a 1-0 shutout before giving up consecutive doubles. Not fair.

{Update: Carlos Ruiz just ended the game with a home run in the bottom of the 10th. Choooooch!}

Ervin Santana and Jon Lester were just as good, but in the 9th it's now Red Sox 5, Angels 1.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]