Former friends and current competitors

Between the Giants playing for their playoff lives on Monday Night Football and a couple of unexpected errands, I'm going to be quick tonight.

It caught my eye that several former SoxandPhils have recently signed or are about to sign contracts - probably because the stories were lined up consecutively on ESPN.com: Scott Rolen restructured his deal with the Reds, Coco Crisp may sign with the A's, and Darren Oliver (how is he still pitching?) may sign with the Rangers.

Also, there is talk that a true SoxandPhil, Pedro Martinez, is under consideration by the Mets. Ha! It's not a good day for the Mets - as Rob Neyer points out, they can't get players to accept their millions despite no evidence of any interest from another team.

The Yankees, however, have no such problem and have to pay more than $25 million in payroll tax - the only team to exceed the threshold. In fact, since the tax was created, the Yankees have paid more than 90 percent of the $190 million assessed. That lonely trophy sure was expensive.

Coco goes bye-bye

It seems like Coco Crisp has been on the trading block for years, but somehow today's trade to the Kansas City Royals for Ramon Ramirez took everyone by surprise.

Coco came to Boston with high hopes, and although his defense was a valued component of the 2007 World Championship, his bat never produced as expected.

My first reaction to the deal was, "Who the hell is Ramon Ramirez?" I think I'm going to call him Razor Ramon, who apparently doesn't like jokes about the late Owen Hart.

Looking at the numbers, I'm quite pleased with the trade - pretty odd given the fact that I had never heard of the guy until this morning. He will be 27 next year and has had two real good years under his belt. He was probably the best reliever you never heard of in 2008, posting a 2.64 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 8.78 strikeouts per nine innings in 70 2/3 innings.

Those numbers will look really good in front of Jonathan Papelbon next year. "You can never have too many good relievers," I said. "I know, Greg," Christine replied. "Relief pitching is why the Phillies won the World Series."

Two things of concern with the new guy, according to the Boston Globe's research: Jose Mesa took him under his wing in Colorado. And, he may be a bit of a hothead who'll engage in bean ball wars.

Christine was more concerned about the latter. I dismissed it, figuring Papelbon will be a calming influence on him. Ha!

Until we meet again

It wasn't the prettiest game, but the Red Sox beat the Phillies 7-4, to win the 2008 Sox-Phils regular season series 2-1. But come October, each team starts 0-0.

Today the bats, led by Philly favorite J.D. Drew's three-run home run, stoked young Justin Masterson to a 4-0 lead in the 1st. Mike Lowell then hit a solo shot. Boston added two more in the 3rd when Brandon Moss, pinch-hitting for Coco Crisp (we learned after the game he somehow hurt his hand grounding out in the 1st), hit a two-run single. Drew had another RBI in the 4th and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Masterson was better and worse than his line (five innings, two runs, four hits, two walks and a strikeout). The side-arm slinger was a bit wild and gave up runs in the 1st and 5th; he had a couple 1-2-3's in between. His counterpart, Kyle Kendrick, was yanked after three.

The Phillies, meanwhile, never really seemed into it except for a two-run 7th inning rally that created a save situation for Jonathan Papelbon. Craig Hansen didn't retire any of the three batters he faced before yielding to Manny Delcarmen, who put out the threat.

Observations from the stands: Our seats were much lower and closer to the action, but we were a bit off center and had trouble judging fair-foul balls down the left field line. ... I saw an old-school Twins T-shirt with the "Win Twins" logo. ... An older couple in front of us wore complementary home and away Mike Timlin jerseys. The woman's was autographed, as was her visor. We couldn't read the names, though. ... Jeanette Bayardelle, from The Color Purple, sang the National Anthem. She was good, but I want the song done quickly. ... I didn't bring a pencil - it doesn't run like ink if it gets wet - and of course there were a few raindrops as the game started. But it wasn't much, and the weather turned out to be one of the nicest of the season for us. ... In the 2nd, the Phillies had runners on first and second, and Kyle Kendrick's bunt was snagged on a fly by Sean Casey. I pointed to second, where Greg Dobbs was way off base. Casey threw him out - score that 3-Greg-6. ... In the 4th, Geoff Jenkins couldn't hold onto his bat after a strikeout - it flew down the line.

Elbows: I got an elbow from Christine in the 5th when Masterson got Chase Utley (hitless in his last 20 ABs) to ground out, ending a threat. I got another elbow the next inning when I said, "I just said they would get to the World Series, not that they'd win it" when Christine lamented that her team stinks. I got a third for slapping my scorecard when Ryan Howard struck out, ending the Phillies best rally in the 7th.

More observations: The Citizens Bank Seven prize packs were won in our section, two rows down. Christine, who is on a quest to win some sort of prize from her team, was very disappointed. ... Howard made a couple of nice plays; Christine noted how we go crazy when he makes a routine play. "He's set the bar low," I said. ... We loved our beer guy. He had some sort of custom-made gadget to automatically unscrew the caps. It was attached to his hand by a glove and appeared to be a drill with a fitting to grab the cap. Christine kept hoping people would order more beer so we could see it in use. ... In honor of the 60th anniversary of his debut, Robin Roberts threw out the first pitch to Cole Hamels. ... I'm sure Christine is glad to see the Red Sox leave town, but we both concede that each fan base didn't embarrass themselves with any real craziness. I got only one "Red Sox sucks" the entire series. Hopefully, each side can remain civil when they battle again in October.

All tied up with one to go

Not pictured is Ryan Howard's fourth strikeout to lead off the 9th against Jonathan Papelbon, who also struck out the next two batters to close out Jon Lester's 3-0 win. The Red Sox-Phillies series is tied at one. The decisive game, a Businessperson's Special, is tomorrow at 1:05.

Tonight's story was Lester, who like Cole Hamels last night, showed how a good young lefty can dominate even the best of offenses. He tossed seven shutout innings with a walk, six hits and five strikeouts.

It looked like it would be a short night for the venerable Jamie Moyer, as the Red Sox rolled up his pitch count thanks to five walks. (Christine thinks the umps weren't calling strikes for him.) But the cagey pitcher managed to last five innings, yielding only two runs.

Not much to speak of from the Red Sox bats. Coco Crisp hit a two-run homer in the 2nd and scored the third run in the 6th. Led by his two stolen bases, the Red Sox tied a club record with six, including one by the dreamy Sean Casey. It's not what you think: Look closely at his scoreboard photo above. It's not the typical game face or smart-ass grin that typically graces the big screen. No, it's puppy dogs and rainbows. He looks head over heels or something.

Observations from the stands: We were still higher than usual, but aligned nearly directly behind home plate. ... The field looked a bit better, but you could still see the Jimmy Buffett remnants. ... They're no Hooters, but the Dartmouth Cords did a good job with the National Anthem. ... In the 1st, J.D. Drew had a good strategy, hitting a grounder right at Ryan Howard, who promptly coughed it up. But it bounced right toward Chase Utley, who retired Drew 3-4-3. ... After Jimmy Rollins grounded out on the first pitch in the bottom of the 1st, Shane Victorino bunted his first pitch for a single. "What the hell is he doing?" Christine said before she even knew he'd be safe. Utley then made up for it with an 11-pitch fly out. ... We saw a guy in an old-school Expos hat. I guess all Expos hats are old school. ... Pat Burrell likes newspaper word jumbles, according to the "Ask the Phillies" segment that runs between innings. ... After a leadoff walk by J-Roll in the 6th, Mike Lowell speared a liner from Victorino and was able to double off Rollins at first. ... After Hideki Okajima struck out Chase Utley to end the 8th, I did a little fist pump. Christine punched me. ... Before the 9th, they showed Jon Runyan of the Eagles on the scoreboard to pump up the crowd. Didn't work.

Also ineffective was the Phanatic's attempt to spoof Papelbon by breaking out his Riverdance shtick. When the "umpire" ripped off his uniform to show off his kilt and join the dance, Christine thought it explained why the Red Sox seemed to get all the calls tonight.

The fans bugged us more than usual tonight. No one can stay seated during a game. I understand getting up once or twice, but people were getting up once or twice an inning with no regard to whether a pitch was about to happen. I think I missed 25 percent of the pitches in the game because people were standing in the way. "Why do we go to games again," mused Christine, who was also aggravated by some obnoxious Phillies teenagers sitting behind us. They came to "beat up some Red Sox fans" but showed their mettle by taunting Jacoby Ellsbury after he was caught stealing in the 9th and Papelbon for striking out Howard because "he's the easiest guy in the world to strike out." I won't mention the crude things they said.

Odds and ends: It seems Bartolo Colon, headed to the 15-day DL, tweaked his back Monday when he struck out so poorly his helmet fell off. There's more ammo for Hank Steinbrenner's crusade to bring the DH to the National League. And listening to the Mets game on the way home, the announcers said there was already some incident with Jose Reyes and Jerry Manuel. Details fuzzy at the moment.

Phils lick Braves; Sox lick their wounds

Christine was a little cranky tonight as Chris Coste popped up his first pitch in the 9th with the tying run on second and two outs in a 2-1 game.

"When Jamie Moyer gives up two runs, the Phillies should not be losing the game," she said earlier.

But Braves 2B Kelly Johnson dropped the pop-up, allowing the tying run to score; Pedro Feliz, trying to score the go-ahead run, was thrown out at home.

The Phils survived Tom Gordon's scary 9th inning and scored two in the 10th inning, highlighted by Shane Victorino's second triple of the game. The bottom of the 10th was also scary for Christine - who was blaming me for confidently starting a "Phillies win" post - as Brad Lidge put two on. Another hit seemed like it would tie the game, but Shane-O gunned out the tying run at home. Phils win, 4-3.

Will the Gordons match the Griffeys?: One of Gordon's sons, Devaris Strange-Gordon, was drafted by the Dodgers.

In Looneyville: The Sox lost an 8-0 drubbing to the Mariners, ending their 13-game home winning streak. Bartolo Colon had his first poor outing. Only three of his six runs were earned, but he can only blame himself for making two errors.

Suspensions have been handed down for yesterday's fight. Red Sox: Coco Crisp, 7 games; Jon Lester, 5 games; and Sean Casey, 3 games. Rays: James Shields, 6 games; Jonny Gomes, 5 games; Edwin Jackson, 5 games; Carl Crawford, 4 games; and Akinori Iwamura, 3 games.

Manny and Kevin Youkilis patched things up, but still no strong indication what that dust-up was about. They say Jacoby Ellsbury is day-to-day.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 1998: Phillies swept two in Boston, then split two at home. I can't believe they played four games home and away without a day off. I don't remember interleague play being set up like that. I digress. I had come down to Trenton from North Jersey for a school function, so Christine and I caught the Wednesday night game at Veterans Stadium. It was our first major league game together; we had been to a couple of minor league Trenton Thunder games previously (when they were an affiliate of the Red Sox, not the Yankees).

What a treat. Steve Avery was knocked out in the third after giving up seven runs. The Sox chipped away at Carlton Lower, but could only manage a not-as-close-as-it-looks 11-8 loss. Gregg Jefferies was the star of the game for the Phils. A general admission ticket cost $5. Other winners in that series were Wayne Gomes, Mark Portugal and Bret Saberhagen. Other losers were Tom Gordon (then a starter), Derek Lowe and Matt Beech, who in subsequent years would be part of a more infamous footnote in SoxandPhils lore.

What the *&^%$?????

You would expect that the mid-game benching of reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins for not hustling would be the story tonight on a blog dedicated to all things Red Sox and Phillies.

Unfortunately, it isn't.

The Red Sox couldn't just quietly finish their sweep of the second-place Rays, who were looking for blood after some questionable plays last night. (I haven't seen them; I can only go by Globe accounts, so I make no judgement.) Coco Crisp accused Rays shortstop Jason Bartlett of a shady block of second base in the 6th inning on Wednesday. He took revenge with a hard slide into 2B Akinori Iwamura in the 8th.

Tonight, James Shields beaned Dustin Pedroia in the 1st. In the 2nd, he nailed Crisp, igniting what looks to be (from Globe photos) a great brawl. Crisp, Shields and Jonny Gomes (who pummeled Crisp when he was held down by C Dioner Navarro) got ejected.

Things got worse from there: Jacoby Ellsbury sprained his wrist in the 4th inning; it bent backward and rolled up like the ground tarp. Then, Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis got into some sort of shoving match; it looked like Manny threw a punch. I'm not the biggest believer in intangibles anymore, but I wonder if David Ortiz's injury has contributed to the Sox losing their cool all around.

Oh yeah, Manny left the game in the 7th with a tweaked hamstring. Great.

But the Sox held on for a 7-1 win, sweeping the Rays, who now trail by 1.5 games. It looks like we have a new spirited rivalry brewing. (I'm still rooting for Tampa Bay to keep the Empire out of the playoffs.)

I thought this would be the quirky news of the day: A matinee 5-0 shutout by Cole Hamels was overshadowed by the fact that J-Roll was removed from the game for not hustling. He popped up to short left field. The shortstop dropped the ball, but J-Roll wasn't hustling and remained on first instead of second. Charlie Manuel is getting props; the star shortstop is saying the right things.

There is no explanation. I just didn't do it. It happens every once in a while. Sometimes the manager gets you. It shouldn't happen. I'm not disappointed in myself. I know better. Just go out there and make sure I don't do it again. Nothing to get disappointed about. Something you learn from. Don't do it again.

Draft day: The Red Sox took high school SS Casey Kelly. I once interviewed his dad. The Phillies also took a high schooler, Anthony Hewitt, with their top pick.

Sox-Phils series: We're days away from the Red Sox-Phillies series. It'll be the first time since 2001 that we've gone to the entire series and probably the first time ever both teams have squared off as legitimate World Series contenders. With Red Sox fans grating on people more than ever and Phillies fans emboldened by last year's division crown yet still frustrated by the championship drought, things could get ugly in Philly when the Red Sox come to town.

We thought we'd take a look back at the on-field history of these teams that are sometimes linked as interleague rivals but always linked by me and Christine.

1997: This was "pre-C" (pre-computer with decent Internet and pre-Christine). So to me, this series was probably just a box score in a Yankee-covering newspaper, no different from games against the Twins or Mariners. In a June series featuring two teams more than 15 games out, the Sox swept at home. Winning pitchers were John "Way Back" Wadsin, Aaron Sele and Jeff Suppan. Losers were Ricky Bottalico, Scott Ruffcorn and Curt Schilling. The Red Sox won the first game in the 10th inning when Ricky Bo hit Troy O'Leary with the bases loaded. Attendance ranged from 25,000 to 27,500.

[Photo credit: Boston Globe]

Put me in coach

Coco Crisp, the leading Red Sox cheerleader since being supplanted by Jacoby Ellsbury in Game 6 of the ALCS, doesn't want that job anymore:

"I want to play. Like I said, I wouldn't be happy sitting on the bench. A lot of people say, well, I don't deserve it. Well, that's understandable too. I didn't have a good offensive year like I did in the past. I think I proved myself that I can win healthy and shown that my defense is way better than what people thought. People think that my offense is terrible. Now it's time to show them that my offense really isn't. Went through a couple of bruised up years, everybody goes through that. Unfortunately I just went through that when I came over here to mega-media central."

Sounds like he has a good attitude. He acknowledges his weak offensive years in Boston, touts his defensive strength (he plays the best CF in baseball) but hints he'd rather start than win. Sounds like it could be a bad sign, but really, do you want a player who doesn't want to play?

If the Sox get a good offer - obviously hasn't happened since he's still on the roster - then Coco should be traded to a team he would start for. Until then, hopefully he realizes that he won't be traded to a team that has a better chance of winning than the Red Sox and that he'll get plenty of playing time as Manny's late-inning defensive replacement. Also, J.D. Drew has played at least 140 games in each of the past two seasons, meaning he's overdue for an injury. (I know, I promised myself no more griping about that signing since his Game 6 grand slam.) {That grand slam was meaningless. As is J.D. Drew.}

G.I. Manny: Manny Ramirez reports. Then he leaves. The Globe has a picture of him ... well, his car, at least. Maybe if Ryan Howard wins his arbitration hearing he can buy a set of wheels like this: