Wake wins battle of the aged; Cholly mixes things up

In the battle of the 40-somethings, Tim Wakefield outdueled Randy Johnson. It was much closer than the 5-0 final. I actually got to see the ESPN Red Sox broadcast and Wake's knuckleball flutter past the Diamondbacks, giving up only two hits and a walk in seven innings. The Big Unit gave up two runs in six innings before Kevin Cash hit a three-run homer off Juan Cruz.

And, honestly, we weren't thinking about our fantasy team when Craig Hansen loaded the bases in the 9th, setting up a save for Jonathan Papelbon.

Off the field, however, the focus was on the two biggest names on the DL for the Sox: Curt Schilling may not be done, and David Ortiz relived his T-ball days.

In Phillyland, Charlie Manual might want his slumping bats to go back to T-ball to get reacquainted with that strange little white orb that's baffled them lately:

We've got guys not hitting. I mean swinging bad. Swinging at balls in the dirt. Chasing balls over their heads. It looks like they've never seen a baseball. Really. They can go back to square one and think about what they've always done. And that's be aggressive, but at the same time be patient enough to get good balls to hit. That right there is how we're going to come out of it.

His theory tonight: Pick a lineup out of a hat.
1. Jayson Werth, RF
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Jimmy Rollins, SS
4. Pat Burrell, LF
5. Ryan Howard, DH
6. Pedro Feliz, 3B
7. Shane Victorino, CF
8. Chris Coste, C
9. Erick Bruntlett, 1B.

So far, it's working. The Phils are leading the A's 2-0 in the 4th. My alarm clock is set to WIP; I'm sure Angelo Cataldi will greet me in the morning with how they blew it.

And, breaking news: Shawn Chacon beat up Ed Wade.

Get ready

It hasn't been the best opening week for the Red Sox or Phillies. Both Eastern Division champs stand 3-4; the world champs opened today in last place for the first time in three years.

That all changes tomorrow. Both teams will be reminded of their 2007 greatness. The Red Sox, after their three-country opening week marathon, finally come home to play the Tigers and get their rings - a token reminder of how they felt last October.

The Phillies will go to their home-away-from-home, New York, to see their favorite whipping boys and rekindle last year's magic against the Mets.

It sounds like they're ready:

Pat Burrell:

I enjoy going to New York and playing. There's always a little extra excitement there. Especially with what happened last year, I'm sure they're gunning for us. And that's the way it should be.

Charlie Manuel:

When we play them, it's always kind of like a rivalry to us. Them, too. They make a big deal out of it. As long as we put the whip on them, we'll let them make a big deal out of it. They'll talk, we'll hit. That's how I see it.

Game on, season on.

This wouldn't be a problem if we lived in Boston: With several early-season games in the afternoon or on CN8, Christine notes the Phillies are 3-0 when she's unable to watch them and 0-4 when she can.

Baseball Mogul update: In my fourth season, I finally have built the Phillies into a 104-win powerhouse heading into the playoffs. My lineup has four guys with 30+ homers, two others with more than 25. Brad Lidge has 40 saves anchoring a shut-down bullpen. The big story is atop the rotation where Brett Myers and Cole Hamels went 29-8. I think my computer is broken - young Cole (who is now pining to be a Rockie) only has six of those wins and all eight losses.

Happy birthday: Bobby Doerr.

Broadcast blues

At the end of 2006, Greg decided that we needed an HD TV. We were still on old-school cable and dial-up(!) Internet, but we held out until Verizon FIOS was available. Greg wanted to see whether Comcast or Verizon had the better offer; I didn't care as long as Comcast SportsNet was offered so we would still get Phillies games.

We didn't get a good idea last season of what the local broadcast in HD would be like. Services were installed Friday, Sept. 28, so we saw that thrilling victory, but then Saturday's debacle was on Fox - as if an Adam Eaton start isn't bad enough, it had to be combined with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver. Sunday's game was live and in person.

This year, there is something we hadn't considered: CN8 isn't available on Verizon. There are only four CN8 games, all to be played by April 16, but one is tonight, only one day after a business-persons special. They're killing me. Next week: two day games and two CN8 games. That means I'll get to see only one Mets game. The Wednesday night CN8 game is also supposed to be on ESPN2. My fingers are crossed that we'll get the broadcast, but it will probably be blacked out.

And as for the HD, I'll keep it. It really is amazing how much better the game looks.

Strange times: Every year when the Phillies are in Cincinnati, something odd seems to happen. Todd Zolecki has the highlights here.

Conspiracy theory: This tidbit has Greg speculating whether Charlie Manuel is trying to make sure that Eaton pulls a hamstring:

There's no telling what would have happened if Adam Eaton had rounded third with the chance to score a valuable insurance run and faced a home-plate collision with a catcher. But the righthander, who is scheduled to start against Cincinnati Saturday, didn't have much time to think about it when Charlie Manuel told him to get ready to pinch-run for leftfielder Pat Burrell in the seventh inning. At the time, the Phillies were leading, 7-6, and had men on second and third with no outs. Not wanting to burn a possible pinch-hitter to run for Burrell, Manuel sent Eaton scrambling into the home clubhouse. The veteran starter threw on his cleats, laced them up, and made it back in time to take second.

"I was hoping we'd hit a home run," Eaton said.

If Cholly is thinking like that, then he is more brilliant than anyone has ever given him credit for.

[Nah, he probably just still can't manage.]

Red Sox fans: Don't worry, I'll let Greg do some writing again this weekend.

Comforting words

It's still two weeks from Opening Day (only one for the Red Sox), and the Phillies are already pining for the centerfielder toiling away in San Francisco. Charlie Manual, who recently realized his teams start slow, says the team's awful spring training play could be because Aaron Rowand isn't here:

Rowand has been missed. I believe in players policing themselves if they can. Some guys can't police themselves and they actually don't know how. If that's the case, then somebody has to police them.

Great, what's next, blaming the starting pitching problems on the departure of Curt Schilling? (I'm currently listening to WFAN's Ed Randall talk about going to see Starvin' Marvin Freeman's big-league debut.)

{I'm giving Manuel a little bit of credit here. I think he's trying to embarrass the team. The way they have been playing this spring has been embarrassing, and they need to step it up. Someone in this million-dollar clubhouse should be able to fill the role that Rowand played. And let's face it, this is no time to look back fondly on Rowand. He turned down more money per year and a chance to win for a 5-year contract for less money per year playing for the Giants. When someone willingly signs with the Giants, it kinda makes me wonder about his desire to win in the first place.}

Another Phillie, J.D. Durbin, is looking for a light. Maybe his candle got snuffed out in his cooler pants:

I look in the mirror every day. I try to find myself more than anybody, I think. I lost that fire that burns inside me. I still go out there and compete 100 percent, but I don't have that over-the-top, kick-butt, Brett Myers attitude, and I think that's hurting me.

This is just the mindset you want your team to have when it's supposed to build on last year's surprise win. It could be worse. Imagine if the Phillies had drafted Rocco Baldelli, who's injured again, and fans had to watch Chase Utley starring for the Devil Rays:

"The crystal ball is not always real shiny on draft day," said assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle, recalling the 2000 draft. "If Baldelli would have been available, it would really have been a toss-up between him and Utley. It would have been one of those serious draft-morning discussions."

{Luckily, it's all a moot point, and the Phillies ended up with the player they needed. As for Cooler Pants, well, have fun starting the season in AAA. I've rooted for you, despite the hideous MySpace page and photos. And if you don't have that fire to win right now, let someone who does fill that roster space.}

Better news out of Sox camp this morning: Daddy Daisuke Matsuzaka is likely to start in Japan with Jon Lester going in game two. And Josh Beckett throws today.

Baseball Mogul update: Had a relatively quite offseason. Ryan Howard signed for $8 million a year, so I'll keep him and Prince Fielder for awhile. Signed Pat Neshek to bolster the bullpen and Scott Moore to replace Garrett Atkins at third. I couldn't find a taker to dump Atkins, but probably will next offseason. I'm not happy with the 9-13 start, though.