What a day

From South Jersey to North Jersey for a noon Communion, to Philadelphia for the finale of the Mets-Phillies series, and back home for a few hours sleep before work. We had a long Sunday. Here are the details:

5:24 a.m. - I wake. I want to get up and go for a walk, but I had promised Christine I wouldn't. I roll over and accidentally kick her. It's not going to be a good day.

5:57 - I wake up again, relieved because I didn't think I'd fall back asleep. My mind doesn't properly compute the time and I think it's 7, not 6. Back to bed for another hour.

6:57 - I finally wake up for real. Do my morning sit-ups. Christine wakes up. We have bagels, pack up in case we don't have time to come home and change, and are out the door at 10:04.



11:37 - We arrive at the church; mass starts at noon.

12:15 p.m. - Christine remembers why we worship at the church of baseball. Services drag more than a Red Sox-Yankees game.

12:29 - During the part of mass where we're supposed to pray for specific dead or sick people, I pray for Adam Eaton. Immediately, I realize I should have prayed for Jimmy Rollins.

1:13 - Church ends. Picture-taking ends at 1:35, and we arrive at the restaurant 15 minutes later after getting some bad directions.

4:00 - We leave the party so we can stop at home to get changed before the game.

4:47 - While listening to the Yankees game, the announcers mention Alex Rodriguez's injury - another victim of the 2007 MVP jinx. And we don't even know yet that J-Roll was DL'd.

5:57 - We get home, change and are out the door at 6:18. Three minutes later, Christine says we're going to switch our ballpark seats because of last week's beer incident. We park at 6:44.

7:01 - Inside the stadium, a squirrel runs in front of us and under a sausage stand. We've never seen a squirrel in Citizens Bank Park before. Three minutes later, while buying a scorecard, I notice they sell Red Sox yearbooks. I buy one to match the 2005 championship edition.

7:58 - Mets fans boo a Richie Ashburn tribute; I don't think even Yankee fans are that classless. Minutes later, they refrain from booing during a moment of silence for John Marzano.

8:15 - Drunk guy from last week feigns an apology; turns out he dropped something again (his ticket) and needs me to get it from under my seat.

8:26 - Chase Utley homers, giving hope that we may actually see a win.

8:46 - Big cheer when they display the score from the 76ers surprise comeback win against the Pistons. (I don't understand why they don't post running scores in the park when baseball games coincide with playoff hockey and basketball.)

8:50 - Mets fans do the Jose soccer chant for Jose Reyes; Phillies fans tauntingly sing it back after he flies out.

9:25 - Kyle Kendrick appears on the big board wishing a happy birthday to all.

9:45 - Utley homers again, giving the Phillies a 4-0 lead, which seems like it may be enough.



9:53 - Mets fans do the Jose chant again; Phils fans can only boo in response after he triples.

9:55 - A cute little kid who spent the game looking through a pack of baseball cards taps me on the shoulder. "Are you a Mets fan?" he asks. "No," I reply to his satisfaction.

10:00 - The prayer didn't work. Eaton is removed without retiring a batter in the sixth. Game is tied by inning's end.

10:13 - We don't know J-Roll or Chris Snelling was DL'd before the game. We add to the chorus of "Who?" when T.J. Bohn is announced as a pinch hitter.

10:37 - Pedro Feliz hits a pinch-hit homer, seconds after Christine cringes that he's in the game. She apologizes.



10:47 - Charlie Manuel does his usual move of pinch-running So Taguchi for Pat Burrell in the 7th inning. Only problem, he waits a whole at-bat before making the move. It's like he's teasing us that he may actually leave Burrell in.

10:59 - So Taguchi misplays a single into a double for Raul Casanova. And Burrell would have botched it worse, how?

11:23 - After a little scare, Brad Lidge ends the game with a great (lucky) play by Eric Bruntlett. The ump hesitates, almost teasing the crowd before calling Carlos Beltran out. Guy in my row starts yelling at me that Bruntlett's the MVP. The play is the Web gem of the night, we later learn.

12:57 - In bed and lights out.

Random notes from the stands: Eaton led off the bottom of the 3rd with a walk. Werth grounded into a fielder's choice that could have been a double play if not for Eaton's hard slide into second. It didn't lead to any runs, but it was good, hard base running by a pitcher. ... Ryan Howard actually made some nice plays in the field. ... A kid in front of us had a sign - the back said "Mets suck," but we never got to see the front. He also wore a mask and gloves to look like a skeleton. He kept putting them on and off all night. We called him Skeletor. ... It was painfully cold and windy again.

Day's stats:
-235 miles driven
-5 hours in the car
-1.5 hours in church
-4 hours in the ballpark
-2 wins, 1 each from Red Sox and Phillies
-2 tired SoxandPhils contributors

Magic number = 162

Great game. I woke up to Joe Blanton finishing his warm-ups and saw a good chunk of the game before heading to work. I thought I had blown it by showering after the Sox took a 3-2 lead. They trailed 4-3 by the time I finished getting ready.

Great job by Manny Ramirez and last-minute replacement Brandon Moss.

Etc.: It was hard to get updates on the radio driving to work this morning. When the A's walked David Ortiz to pitch to Manny in the 10th, I started flipping through the sports stations to hear what happened. WIP came through with a rant about what awful managing and how only Charlie Manuel would do something like that.

Even more whining

It looks like my wine review has inspired other ballplayers to get into the act of slapping their names on a bottle to benefit charity. Mike Schmidt has Mike Schmidt 548 Zinfandel, and I've heard of others for Ernie Banks, Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray.

Now, the sad news: Manny Being Merlot is being made no more. Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield have been replaced by David Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis on the "championship edition" wine bottles.

They're all for charity.

Beckett's back: Josh Beckett says he's getting closer, whatever that means.

Cholly: My favorite manager who hasn't won a World Series, Charlie Manual, is losing his cool already:

"Some of them like their position. They like how it's going to go. They take for granted that just because they're a regular player that they're always going to be. That's not the right attitude to take. It might be time for us to have a little chat. Really."

The Phillies are hitting .256 this spring, but their regulars have struggled: Jimmy Rollins (.156), Chase Utley (.200), Pat Burrell (.194), Geoff Jenkins (.162) and Jayson Werth (.174). But you know this team is going to score runs. The real issue is pitching. The Phillies have a 6.88 ERA this spring. Now, pitchers like Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and others have pitched in minor-league games, which skews the numbers a bit. But not that much.

Christine's not happy; I say it's only spring training, wake me when we're down 3-1 in the ALCS.

Game on

Outside smells like a freezer, and the grass and sidewalks are coated with frost. I'm now in the mood to watch some football played in the desert.

This week, I've talked football, wrestling and competitive eating. Today, Jim Salisbury, I'm sure to Christine's gratitude, takes me back to the basics, err, baseball. He's got 42, or XLII, nuggets to tide over baseball fans who have to sit through one more football game and a few more days before spring training.

Some of the more interesting points:

For Christine:
VIII. The Phillies' equipment truck leaves for Florida on Thursday.

A decade ago, I was very happy that the Sox traded Jamie Moyer for Darren Bragg:
X. Unless Roger Clemens or Julio Franco surface this season - and that's doubtful - Jamie Moyer will be the oldest player in the majors. Moyer turned 45 in November. He has 230 wins, 196 coming after he was released three times in three years in the early 1990s.

This is why Billy Beane's a genius and the new guy in Minnesota's just a boy playing with men:
XIII. Santana and Dan Haren were the two top pitchers to be dealt for prospects this winter. The prevailing wisdom is that Oakland made a better score for Haren than the Twins made for Santana. The A's got six players from Arizona for Haren, including Venezuelan outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, who has game-breaking offensive skills, and lefthanded pitcher Brett Anderson.
XIV. The rebuilding A's also nabbed two good arms - Gio Gonzalez and Fautino de los Santos - from the White Sox for Nick Swisher.

Who pointed out this before?
XV. Yes, that's the same Gio Gonzalez who came from the White Sox to the Phillies for Jim Thome then was sent back for Freddy Garcia. The White Sox have now traded Gonzalez twice. The 22-year-old lefty led the minors with 185 strikeouts in 150 innings in double A last season.

Another reason Johan's a Met:
XXI. Baseball America ranks the Phillies' farm system 22d out of 30 teams.
However:
XXII. The Phils have a chance to do some significant restocking of their system in the June draft, provided they're willing to spend on top talent. They have three picks in the top 50 and six in the top 107.

I love this guy's name for a relief pitcher, a former Sox farmhand:
XXIV. Rule 5 pick Lincoln Holdzkom will be an intriguing newcomer in Phillies camp. The 6-foot-5 righthander has the kind of power arm teams dream of, but he has been unable to stick in one organization, partly due to attitude issues.

Sorry Christine:
XXV. There's not much interest in Wes Helms, so look for him to be in camp for a while with the Phils.

And I used to think they were chokers.
XL. In Charlie Manuel's three seasons as manager, the Phillies are an NL-best 133-89 after the all-star break.

That's all I got - enjoy the big game. I'm taking Jack with the points. And though I've got a nagging feeling the super-charged, early-season Patriots will show up, I think the Giants will at least cover. Goodbye to the '72 Dolphins.

Baseball Mogul: Finally finished year two with the Phils. Got them back to the playoffs, this time as a wild card. Three and out. I've already started retooling. I've signed Scott Olsen to a pretty good deal. And I'm considering a radio-caller type move: trading Adam Dunn to break up my three lefties and replacing him in left with Prince Fielder. Christine's wary of putting the big guy in left, but I promised if I do so I won't trade Ryan Howard. (This offseason anyway.)