Now what?

The Phillies' domination of the Reds - fewest hits ever allowed in a first-round series - is over, and now we have nearly a whole week until Game 1 of the NLCS.

What are we going to do with all this time on our hands? Trent, who nearly made it to the end of Sunday's 2-0 finale because he still was not feeling well, is already getting antsy about the prospect of five whole days with the Phillies. Christine also is not happy there's such a long down period.

I'm sure Trent will find ways to fill our Phillies-free nights.

Meanwhile, we had a little reprise of Daddy Daycare today. (Apparently, real day care closes for occasional professional development days.) We caught the end of Curt Schilling's SportsCentury. I didn't know they made one, and I would have liked to see the whole thing. Trent knows they don't make them like Curtis Montague Schilling anymore.

Because of the show, I chose to wear Curt's "Why Not Us?" T-shirt today.

The Phillies need a better scheduler

An ad caught my eye in the Phillies program I bought last week. It was for a sports card and memorabilia show. It's odd because the featured athletes are Curt Schilling and Joe Blanton. (Another current Phillie, Ben Francisco, is also listed.) Fine, you can theme Schilling and Blanton as two rotund pitchers with Phillies connections, but the date is the odd part. The show runs Sept. 24 through Sept. 26.

That's the dates of the Phillies last home series of the year. It's against the Mets, who I'm sure would love to play spoiler against the team that has ruined their recent seasons.

I thought maybe someone made sure the show didn't conflict with games, but nope. Friday's show runs from 5 to 9 p.m. when there's a 7 p.m. game. While Saturday's game time hasn't been announced, it's hard to imagine one not conflicting with a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. show. And there's no way a player can participate in a 1:35 p.m. game Sunday and a show that runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

I think somebody screwed up. I went to the show's site to investigate further and found out that the appearance times for everyone, even former Phils like Curt, Darren Daulton and Geoff Jenkins, are listed as TBD. And there are additional current Phillies booked for the show: Placido Polanco and Ryan Madson.

Christine won't be happy if the Mets beat the Phillies that weekend with a quarter of the team signing cards with Curt Schilling.

Speaking of members of the 2004 Red Sox: Manny Ramirez is leaving the Dodgers, who start a series with the Phillies today, and joins the White Sox, who play the Red Sox on Friday and seven times until the end of the season. As if the end of this season won't be annoying enough.

Tonight's games: The Red Sox are off. The Phillies play late in Los Angeles. I had a nice day with Trent, but I'm pooped and won't attempt to get the beginning of the game into this post.

Things that made me say hmm ...

I learned a lot of interesting little nuggets this morning. Actually, the first I learned last night, but not until after deadline.

Other than the occasional political comment or plug for his wife's book, SoxandPhil Curt Schilling has been sort of quiet lately. Judging by how he ended a recent interview with Dan Patrick in this week's Sports Illustrated, the 2004 hero seems to be out of practice when it comes to speaking to the media. {Out of practice? Please. That interview was pure Curt Schilling. He knew exactly what he was doing and how he was saying it.}

He tried to make it clear that he does not think he is bigger than the game and just fortunate to have played for some great teams at some great times, but he failed and came out with this:

"I was part of some of the greatest moments in the sport. I can remember sitting on the bench in 1993 with John Vukovich watching Joe Carter hit that home run. I was obviously devastated, but not initially. My first thought was 'Oh, my God! I just witnessed one of the greatest moments in the history of the game. How cool? Oh, my God, we just lost!' I love the game."

I'm sure 2008 erased a lot of the Joe Carter-induced pain for Phillies fans, but I can't imagine them liking that attitude. Can you picture David Ortiz saying how cool it was to watch Aaron Boone end the 2003 ALCS? I can't.

I cannot believe that quote has not caused an uproar around here yet. Maybe, as the Inquirer points out in today's series, it's because Citizens Bank Park has ushered in a new era for the Phillies.

The last time Christine and I went to Camden Yards, we were disappointed. It has not aged well and does not compare with Citizens Bank. We should be grateful:

The Phillies' timing was fortunate. By waiting eight years before jumping onto the retro bandwagon launched by 1992's opening of Baltimore's Camden Yards, they were better able to tailor the ballpark to a vision that was far more fan-focused than when the Vet debuted in 1971.

Things might have turned out differently. In the late 1980s, the Phillies wanted to remodel the Vet, which would have meant no shiny ballpark today:

Right about then, team president Bill Giles visited Camden Yards.

"Once we saw that," Montgomery said, "we said, 'Uh-uh. We need to change the focus here. We have to look for a new facility.'"

The rest is history and the Phillies have filled their new park with stars like Jim Thome, Ryan Howard and Joe Mauer. Joe Mauer?

The other night, we were playfully discussing the Twins star's new contract, and Christine, out of sheer loyalty for Carlos Ruiz, said she would rather keep Chooch than add Mauer.

Charlie Manuel has my back on this one:

Manuel raved about Mauer after watching the Twins catcher go 2 for 4 with two RBIs.

"We might be able to find a place in our lineup for him," Manuel said. "A couple of years ago, we were at the winter meetings and I was sitting with some [Minnesota] guys, and we got in an argument. I said I'd like to see him pull some balls. Last year, when he started hitting some bombs to right field, I got a message from one of the guys and he said, 'Hey, Charlie, is Mauer pulling the ball enough for you now?' He's special."

Today's post is all over the place. This blog is going to the (bull)dogs. No, Elvis Burrell has not returned, but Jonathan Papelbon's pooch, Boss, is accompanying the reliever to work today:

Never have been much of a morning person, which is a function of my [the Globe's Peter Abraham] job. But some things you can't help but notice no matter how
tired you are.

Such as Jonathan Papelbon walking into the clubhouse at 8:44 a.m. wearing wraparound black sunglasses with a three-legged bulldog on a leash. Now that got everybody's attention.

Boss is the dog that supposedly ate the 2007 World Series ball. Papelbon went back to his truck to get the dog's bed, so apparently Boss is here for the day.

Hmm, the Red Sox are playing the Rays on Tuesday. I don't know whether Papelbon is scheduled to pitch then, but if he faces off against Pat Burrell, can we please have temporary replacements? Boss vs. Elvis. Bulldog-a-bulldog. Bring it on.

Numerical musings

There is not one stat in this post.

When the Red Sox recently brought back Alan Embree for a looksie, they gave him No. 43 again. Since he left midway through 2005, Chad Harville, Mike Holtz and Devern Hansack have worn that number.

I guess despite tossing the last pitch in the great 2004 ALCS, the Red Sox clubhouse guy didn't feel a need to freeze that jersey number, as is the custom of the Phillies clubhouse guy Frank Coppenbarger.

Comcast SportsNet's Jim Salisbury had a fascinating piece the other day on how the Phillies dole out uniform numbers for newly acquired players and how Roy Halladay wound up with Cliff Lee's No. 34.

Basically: Hallady wore 32 in Toronto, but that is retired for Steve Carlton in Philly. Last summer, the team decided he would wear 34 but had to reverse plans when Lee became the midseason acquisition. This year, when Halladay-to-the-Phillies was imminent, the staff decided he would get back the 34 he never had and gave Cliff Lee the No. 31 he had worn previously. But that wasn't necessary once Lee was shipped to Seattle.

Interesting SoxandPhils number notes from the column: In 2008, when there was a Manny Ramirez for Pat Burrell trade rumor (which Christine has completely forgotten about), the Phillies special-ordered a pair of long pants for Manny.

After drafting J.D. Drew, the Phillies reserved No. 39 for him, which he wore in college.

Curt Schilling's No. 38 was frozen for a while after he left. Pat Burrell's No. 5 is currently frozen, and they didn't know what they were going to do if Nomar Garciaparra joined the Phillies last year.

Old guys with bum ankles

When we watched Brett Favre gut it out on an injured ankle on Sunday, Christine made some derogatory remarks about putting ketchup on a sock or something. I have no idea what she was talking about, but watching the old guy reminded me of Curt Schilling in the 2004 ALCS. (Although Curt didn't choke like Favre did.)

Then, I learned that Schilling might be pulling a Favre:

The following post just came across Curt Schilling's official Twitter page:

"Working out again...not sure I can add anything to that other than I feel it in every fiber of my being, every step I take..."

John Tomase, the Boston Herald's diligent reporter, followed up with him:

"Just working out," he said.

So no plans to come back?

"Nope," he said.

OK, guess that settles that, then.

So, we don't have to worry about Schilling rumors as we spend the next several months discussing whether Favre will make his umpteenth comeback.

More retirement: Mark Loretta, a Red Sox in 2006, has retired and will join Jed Hoyer in the Padres front office. He played well in his year with the Red Sox, but his stint in Boston probably wouldn't merit a mention here except for the fact that his Chris Berman nickname - Mark "Get Back" Loretta - has become a running joke for Christine and me.

Congrats, Chuck: As a Yankee hater who has gone from obese to slim, I don't know whether I'm more proud of Charlie Manuel for saying the Phillies "owe the Yankees one" or for taking care of his health. (He's looking quite dapper.)

Today's talking points: SoxandPhils stud pitchers

It was nice to hear Mike & Mike's "What everyone's talking about" open this morning with a discussion of Tuesday night's outstanding pitching performances by Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon and Jon Lester.

The trio combined yesterday for two wins and a save in 17 innings, two runs, nine hits, three walks and 21 strikeouts.

Yesterday, Christine thought I was a little down on Lester's line and maybe I was, but only in comparison with the gem Hamels put up there.

Anyhoo, here's some of the tidbits of their stellar performances:

Cole Hamels:

It was the lowest-hit shutout in Citizens Bank Park. Two others had three-hit shutouts, most recently by Hamels last year.

Yesterday, I said he has tossed 17 straight scoreless innings, repeating what I heard from Tom McCarthy. Technically that's true for his last two starts, but it's actually 19 if you include the last two innings of an otherwise clunker of a start against the Mets.

I forgot to mention yesterday that Hamels also had a stolen base. It was the first for a Phillies pitcher since 1997 by ... possible future U.S. Sen. Curt Schilling, R-Red Sox Nation. I wish I could go back in time to see the big lug steal a bag in that game.

Jonathan Papelbon:

He had a two-inning save in the 2007 ALCS, but last night was his first in the regular season.

People often talk about cheap saves, but this one was anything but. Two innings, including entering the game with the bases loaded.

Batters facing Papelbon with the bases loaded are now just 3-38.

Last night was the 13th time Papelbon has gone two or more innings in relief (regular season only). He has five wins, two blown saves and last night's save. He has a 0.95 ERA in those 28 1/3 innings. Mariano who?

Jon Lester:

He now has 196 strikeouts for the season - more than any other Red Sox lefty has recorded in one season.

It's not you, it's me: All week, since we learned Brad Penny was going to the Giants, I told Christine he was going to shut down the Phillies. She would get insulted. Not her Phillies, she'd say.

I'd reply that it has nothing to do with the Phillies, it's just that he has to pitch well to make the Red Sox look foolish for dumping him. I fully expected a strong outing, but I couldn't have imagined this: eight shutout innings with five hits and a walk. Unreal. And, he needed only 102 pitches. We're surprised they didn't let him finish the job. Giants 4, Phillies 0.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, with Josh Beckett, the unquestionable ace of a team with an excess of pitching, trail the Rays 5-4 in the 8th. Beckett struggled for his fourth straight start: five runs (four earned) in six innings. We may come back, but we need Beckett to return to form ASAP.

SoxandPhils swap

Aside from the fact MLB Network is broadcasting a Red Sox and Yankees spring training game, there's not much going on.

If Curt Schilling hadn't made his big announcement, yesterday's post probably would have been about this nugget in a Boston Globe story on our new backup catcher George Kottaras:

The Phillies have been talking to the Sox about prospect Lou Marson, but the price tag seems to be Buchholz or Daniel Bard and the Sox aren't going there.

It would be an interesting swap of prospects from a SoxandPhils perspective, but I don't think the Red Sox would give up either pitcher for Marson since they wouldn't deal either for Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Taylor Teagarden.

The last time our teams traded a player was Ed Yarnell in 2004 who was sent to the Phillies in a "conditional deal," according to Baseball Reference. I don't know what that is. The last real trade was Josh Hancock for Jeremy Giambi in 2002. Then we have to go back to 1996 for the last blockbuster: Heathcliff Slocumb, Larry Wimbley and Rick Holyfield from the Phillies for Glenn Murray, Lee Tinsley and a certain lad named Ken Ryan. I highly recommend clicking on his page.

Back to TV broadcasts: Last night, Christine thought I knew ESPN Classic was showing the bloody sock game. I didn't. By the time I tuned in, Curt had already left the game. Bronson Arroyo was pitching. I turned it on just in time to see Alex Rodriguez earn his slappy nickname.

Thanks, big guy

It has been more than a year since I resigned myself to the fact that Curt Schilling's career was probably over.

Although, knowing his ego, I thought he'd make a comeback.

He did not.

The cartoon to the left pretty much sums up my feelings. He rode into Boston, welcomed all the pressure of the so-called curse and got the job done. Twice.

He probably had the most significant career from a Sox and Phils perspective of any player who was a member of both our teams. And, according to Rob Neyer, he should be a Hall of Famer.

In the afterglow of 2004, I e-mailed Curt to thank him for his efforts and to let him know the Red Sox championship helped me get through a rough obstacle in my life. I figured I was one of countless fans who e-mailed their stories to him. I didn't think he would even read it. But the next spring, Curt wrote to ask how I was doing.

I know he grates on people. I know he's a bit self-righteous and overblown. But his bond with the fans is rare in this age of self-absorbed athletes.

I'll always remember that little note he sent; it's tucked away with my memories of Curt's heroic 2004 and his tip of the cap in 2007.

On-field news: As expected, Kyle Kendrick was sent to the minors. But it happened today, much earlier than anyone thought it would happen. He took responsibility:

I'm not going to lie. I knew they [J.A. Happ and Chan Ho Park] were pitching good, and I had a couple games where I didn't pitch good. I knew what I needed to do, and I didn't do well, obviously. Those guys pitched good. But I know what it's going to take to get me back here. I thought about my options, what could happen. All the options kind of crossed my mind.

[Photo credit: Frank Galasso via Boston Dirt Dogs]

March Madness

Despite my recent attendance at a St. Joe's game, I'm not a big college basketball fan. But I love tournaments. One of my favorite wrestling moments was the Wrestlemania IV tournament to crown a new champion after the title was deemed because of a controversial match between Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan.

Yes, I can vividly remember all the events leading up to that, plus all 16 matches on the card, but sometimes I can't remember what I walked into the kitchen for.

Curt Schilling has a little bracketology going on where you can vote on pitching matchups to determine the best hurler since WWII. I love the concept and enjoy playing along; I just wish he had given the entire bracket and seedings up front so I could predict it all the way through. So far, through two rounds, there have been no surprises. The only one I would have gotten wrong has been the closest: a second-seeded Roger Clemens over a 15th-seeded Dave Stewart, 53 percent to 47 percent.

I thought the pro Red Sox contingency of Schilling's blog would be biased against the roider. I voted for Stewart. Yeah, he pretty much knocked us out of the playoffs in 1988 and 1990, but I blame our ace (Clemens) for not being able to match him.

A new administration

We'll find out tomorrow night or early Wednesday whether Barack Obama or John McCain will head the country on Jan. 20. The Phillies didn't wait so long, installing Ruben Amaro Jr. as general manager to replace Pat Gillick. Now we know why Gillick said "Let's do it again" on the World Series podium. He's staying on as an adviser.

Red Sox: Theo Epstein may have to pony up the team's resources, as Kevin Youkilis and Jonathaon Papelbon could demand huge raises. Papelbon, like Cole Hamels, whined about his contract offer last off-season, so things could get ugly again. Youk seems to be a solid citizen who won't complain like the younger superstars.

The Globe's Nick Cafardo suggests that situation, along with the economic downturn, could make this off-season's arbitration process very interesting.

Meanwhile, while explaining for the 10 millionth time that he's voting for McCain, Curt Schilling once again referred to himself as retired, or a likely retired baseball player who owns a small start-up. It's unlikely that Jake Peavy will replace Curt on the roster. That's good - I worried enough about overpaying in prospects for an ace last off-season. Jon Lester started but lost Game 7 of the ALCS. I forget what Johan Santana did this postseason.

Getting back to presidential politics, and giving each candidate equal SoxandPhils time, Jimmy Rollins did a robo call for Obama. We had four calls on the machine today, but none from J-Roll.

Phils, Rays keep on rolling

Although the Mets remembered how to win a September game tonight, and the Brewers may follow suit, the Phillies put their blinders on and took care of the task at hand, beating the Braves 6-1.

J.A. Happ earned his first big-league win with a dominant performance - three hits and a walk with two strikeouts in six innings. The Phillies scored four in the 1st and never let the Braves back into it, except for a slight scare in the 8th when Chad Durbin - who has been pitching more like J.D. Durbin lately - got two out then gave up a hit and a walk. J.C. Romero got him out of the inning.

MVP-to-be Ryan Howard knocked in the first run and went 1-3 with two walks. Christine is worried about Shane Victorino, who hurt his thumb and/or finger in a failed bunt attempt. He stayed in the game and went 3-4 with a run.

The win keeps them a half game ahead of the Mets, who - assuming the Brewers hold on to their 6-1 lead against the Cubs - will stay a half game ahead of Milwaukee for the Wild Card.

Red Sox: Everyone loves it when the scrawny little kid lands a haymaker on the bully. That's what the Rays did in these last two sets. I'm not yet conceding the division, but we really needed two out of three this week.

Tim Wakefield got shelled - six earned in 2 1/3 - and the bottom half of the lineup went M.I.A. as the Sox lost 10-3. Mike Lowell is still out of the lineup, and I have a gut feeling he's not going to be a factor in the playoffs, if he plays at all. Jason Bay has deserted the team during the pennant race - OK, he's just going to be a father.

And, Curt Schilling and Lou Merloni gave some insight on the team's experience with Carl Everett, er, Manny Ramirez. Also in the interview, Curt avoids answering the question of why he chose to speak out now. But he does note that he has been robbing payroll all season - as some cynically suggested was his intent when he negotiated his contract in the offseason.

The thing about it for me, is, I haven't thrown a freakin' pitch all year, I've been the biggest waste of space, I've been robbing payroll for the entire season, no one feels worse about not contributing than me.

Injuries happen, and I'm not blaming Curt for anything. But if he truly feels like a thief, shouldn't he give the money back? I know, union rules would forbid that, but there's nothing saying he couldn't give it all to charity - he's been known to support a few.

Cheers, boos and prayers

The Phillies bats bailed out Joe Blanton and gave the front-running Phillies fans something to cheer about. Jimmy Rollins, though, got the expected boos after ripping the fans last week. He was hitless tonight.

Jayson Werth won the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th. Phillies 5, Nationals 4. Incidentally, Jason Bergmann started for the Nats. He started for them against the Phillies on the last day of 2007. I remember because we recently popped in the DVD of that game. It made Christine sad to remember when Chase Utley could hit, J-Roll could lead and the Phillies could win.

Competitors: The Mets won; the Marlins are winning. Phils are 1.5 out.

Illness and ailments: Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski is said to be doing well after triple bypass surgery. Get well, Yaz. ... Curt Schilling's pendulum is swinging toward retirement. If that's it, I'm pleased that his last game ended with a tip of the hat in Fenway during a World Series win. ... And Josh Beckett's arm is numb. That doesn't sound good.

Games: Daisuke Matsuzaka had one of his typical high-pitch, low-inning starts but improved to 15-2 as the Red Sox beat the Orioles 7-2. It looks like all competitors will win. The Rays, White Sox and Blue Jays are in the books; Twins look like a lock with a 13-2 lead late over the A's. That means we'll stay 4.5 out of first, 1.5 up in the Wild Card.

If not the Phillies ...

From the looks of it, the Diamondbacks might make worthy foils to the Red Sox should the Phillies continue to falter and spoil the chances of a Sox-Phils World Series.

{I think Greg conveniently forgot that, like the Phillies, the Sox have a Florida team right on their heels. It will take two teams to win to make it a Phils-Sox World Series.}

Last night, the billed pitching match-up of Dan Haren and Josh Beckett lived up to the ESPN hype. Haren won 2-1. Even though it was a loss, I prefer low-scoring pitching duels and would have loved to watch, except I only caught an occasional pitch because of work.

Tonight the Red Sox, who blew a prime opportunity to come back against the D-Backs in the first game, stole one back with four runs in the 8th to win 5-4.

In other Sox happenings: Kevin Youkilis injured his eye during infield warmups Monday; he didn't start tonight but came in for defense in the 9th. Curt Schilling's surgery went well; he could start throwing in January if he decides to try a comeback. And the Sox are slumping at the polls, especially Jason Varitek, who's now trailing Joe Mauer for the starting spot in the All-Star game.

The Phillies are playing too late for us East Coasters. They're scoreless through three in Oakland.

Another open letter

Dear Phillies,

Remember when you used to win games? You would pitch, you would hit, you would score. I know, it's becoming just a blurry memory for me, too. Sure, you've lost only three in a row, but that makes you 3-7 in your last 10 games. Not too hot. And coincidentally, this downturn has come at the exact same time that you really started to receive national attention, that analysts started to say, "Hey, this team is for real. The Phillies are the team to beat in the National League."

I hope that this is just a bump in the road and that there won't be many more 7-1 games like tonight, where you got outhit by the Angels 17-2 - at home, no less. I hope Brett Myers can stop the bleeding tomorrow night because it will be good both for him and for the team. I hope Chase Utley breaks his ugly hitless streak.

We're all waiting for you to resume the level of play you were at before the Marlins series. I'll see you on Sunday, when you'll try to extend your new winning streak to two.

Love,
Christine

The Red Sox lost too, 5-4 to the Cardinals. But the story is that our champion, and probably the player with the best stints as both a Phillie and Red Sox, is likely done. It's not like we were expecting Curt Schilling to come back, but it still stings - sort of like when an elderly loved one dies. It's not tragic, but still sad.

Curt thanked us today, but anyone who rooted for the Sox before 2004 thanks him again. In his words:

If this was my last shot, and it is over, I wouldn’t change a thing (ok well that’s not totally true because I WOULD push rewind, go back to a few instances and shut my mouth, but hey we can’t all be perfect) that happened to me, with me or on any teams I played on. In 22 years I would say I had the honor of playing with some of the greatest of all time, and at most 3-4 really bad people, that’s not a bad thing.

Happy feelings

Baseball began in Japan on Tuesday morning. Its season opens in earnest next week. Are you happy?

Adam Eaton is:

"The results weren't great, but I felt good," Eaton said after the Phillies' 14-5 loss at Joker Marchant Stadium. "I felt like my stuff was just as good at the end as it was at the beginning. The way I feel and the way my stuff is, I'm pretty happy."

I guess I'd be happy if I could pocket $140,000 a week with no discernible skill set. Adam Beaten, who had a 6.29 ERA last season, somehow found a way to get 2008 off on a worse foot. Let's get one of the monkeys to be the fifth starter until Kris Bensen is ready.

Spring training wrap-up: Christine and I will train for the season by attending the Blue Jays-Phillies final spring training game on Saturday - our first live action of the spring. We won't get to boo Scott Rolen, but maybe Rod Barajas will make an appearance.

Similarly, Nomar Garciaparra is out for the Dodgers and will miss the pinball game against the Red Sox in Los Angeles, a city where, the Globe notes, Terry Francona made his managerial debut for the Phillies, piloting Curt Schilling to victory.

Curt's not fat, and other "bad body" pitchers

Jim Rice has a new blog, thanks to a tire shop. He's tackling the tough issues and unafraid to say something controversial, such as explaining why Curt Schilling is not fat:

Last year people said Curt Schilling was fat. I thought Schilling was in fantastic shape. If you see him in the locker room, he’s not fat, he just has a bad body.

Josh Beckett, whose body hasn't been that great this spring, pitched well today in a minor league start:

Beckett threw 47 pitches, 33 for strikes, in four innings of work. He allowed one hit, a single by Rene Tosoni to lead off the fourth inning, and struck out five.

Hopefully, he'll start in Toronto.

The Phillies, meanwhile, may be scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill out their staff. Never mind the 11th or 12th man, the hefty Brett Myers says the Phillies have the best rotation in the league:

"That's what I think," he said. "Of course, that's my opinion, and nobody's going to care about my opinion."

One gimmicky series down, one to go

Wow. How has this not come up before? The New York Times reports that when the Red Sox play the Dodgers in the Los Angeles Coliseum on Saturday, they will be playing with left field dimensions that will make Fenway Park look like a cookie-cutter stadium.

Because of the football dimensions, a 60-foot fence (made of netting) will be placed 200 feet from home plate for the exhibition. Turns out they have done it before - in the 1959 World Series, as shown in this photo.

Juan Pierre is scared:

I’ll be like 180 feet from the hitters, and those Boston guys hit the ball pretty hard. I might have to wear a cup.

Don't worry about Manny Ramirez; he'll probably bounce one off the net in the first inning and still be standing at home watching it when it's time for him to take the field.

Too bad that game won't be on ESPN. I'd wake up at 6 a.m. for that one. Speaking of which, how is it possible that today's game started at 6 a.m. and I was able to leave for work on time? If it were a postseason game or any Yankees game, it would have still been in the fourth inning at 9 a.m.

Bummer of a game. I don't mind the loss, just wish Jon Lester pitched better. David Aardsma looked good.

A real interesting thing happened when Gary Thorne and Steve Phillips discussed Jose Canseco's hatred of Alex Rodriguez. (Hope you read the excerpt before Deadspin had to yank it.) Thorne said, "There will be some real interesting throws from third to first in the Bronx this year." I was tired and had no clue what he was saying until he then referred to Canseco as Jason Giambi. I know all drugged up A's-turned-Yankees look alike. But one is still playing and the other is a Surreal Life alum.

What do you expect from Gary Thorne, who last year "misunderstood" a conversation with Doug Mirabelli and said Curt Schilling faked the bloody sock?

Backup catchers

Most members of a championship team will be fondly remembered. Doug Mirabelli will always hold a special spot in Red Sox lore. Yesterday, Art Martone, of the Providence Journal, put Doug's Red Sox career in perspective, essentially comparing him to Forrest Gump - right place, right time. And he had the ability to catch Tim Wakefield's knuckler before it rolled to the wall.

That's why we'll always remember him. When push comes to shove, Mirabelli isn't much different than any one of a number of guys who spent years backing up the Red Sox' starting catcher. Some of them, like the ones in the accompanying list (Bob Montgomery, John Marzano, Russ Nixon), you may remember. Others, like Matt Batts or Roy Partee or Moe Berg, you probably don't. (At least not for their ballplaying. Berg earned a whole other level of notoriety for his work as a scholar and a spy.) No rings for them. Two for Dougie. It's what separates him from Marzano, Partee and others of their ilk, like Johnnie Heving and Roxie Walters.

That radiated glory, coupled with the big knuckleball mitt and his talent at using it, led the Sox to value Mirabelli beyond his station.

Cue the famous Bob Ueker quote, "The way to catch a knuckleball is to wait until the ball stops rolling and then to pick it up."

Platitudes, of course, have been coming from teammates, including Curt Schilling, who offers a SoxandPhils-esque tribute on his blog:

In the 20 years since I was first called up to the big leagues I've played with exactly 2 players who's presence in the clubhouse carried onto the field. Darren Daulton in Philadelphia, and Doug Mirabelli here in Boston.

I'm surprised Jason Varitek wasn't mentioned.

Chris Coste, the Phillies backup catcher, also transcends his role, thanks to his storybook career that's about to hit bookstores. He did a Q&A with the fans through Todd Zolecki. Some of the nuggets: He prefers some tiger mascot in Mexico to the Phillie Phanatic; he doesn't mind that MLB '07: The Show gave him gray hair, as long as he has all his teeth; and he wants Matthew McConaughey to play him if his book, The 33-Year-Old Rookie, is turned into a movie.

And, we learn, that the euphoria felt when the Phils won last year will always have two sore points for Coste. Here's his account of catching that fateful last pitch:

Get rid of my gear. Get rid of my stuff. Try to get out to the mound as soon as possible. Unfortunately, in my slight delay, Pat Burrell, the slowest man in major-league baseball, beat me, the second-slowest man in major-league baseball, to the mound. As excited as I was, every time I see that highlight from here on out, I'm going to be embarrassed by the fact that, No. 1, I didn't keep the ball - go figure - and that Pat Burrell beat me to the mound.

Speaking of keeping balls, I forgot to mention that Doug Mientkiewicz had a good line earlier this month about Jonathan Papelbon saying his dog ate the ball that ended the 2007 World Series.

"Try using that one with the ball from the first World Series that broke an 86-year curse," Mientkiewicz told the Boston Globe. "If I had used that, that dog would have been strung up on a tree somewhere."

Our first tiff of the season

After railing against Carlos Beltran yesterday, Christine saw this nugget from Jonathan Papelbon:

If we're not the team to beat, I'd like to know who is. I think that our No. 1 thing is to stay healthy. If we do that, I don't know who can really compete with us.

Truth be told, I had read that quote before I saw Beltran's and didn't give it a second thought when I wrote:

Carlos Beltran has made a bold prediction: The Mets, with the league's highest payroll and probably the best team on paper, will win the division this year. The team that should win has no right making that pronouncement.

Clearly, the Sox have a higher payroll than any team except the Empire and possibly the Mets. And since the Sox won last year and have suffered no major losses in the off-season, it qualifies as a team that should win it this year.

So the question becomes: should Papelbon be talking like that, and is it hypocritical of me to have glossed over it? My gut reaction is that Papelbon has earned the right to say his team is the best until it's proved otherwise.

I disagree, on two levels.

1. I think Greg is being a hypocrite. He is willing to call out one player for being classless but not willing to do the same when that player is on his own team. What I think it boils down to is, and I have said this before, he is an apologist for his team. That’s not always a bad thing. I make excuses for the Phillies. I try to justify most of the things that they do. But I’m also willing to criticize and be upset with them when they say or do something stupid.

If my team won last year, I know I would be more critical of them and the things they say and do. I would hold them to a higher standard because they would be the standard that everyone else is trying to achieve. There would be no need for them to proclaim themselves the team to beat. Which leads into my next point.

2. What Papelbon said is not necessary. Greg has said that he thinks the Beltran statement is newsworthy because of last year’s choke.

However, if the Mets won last year, that quote would not exist. The Red Sox won last year, and Papelbon still said that. Why? What are you trying to prove? You won last year. You’re expected to win again this year. You can’t play underdog and act like you’re going to upset the frontrunner when you are the frontrunner.

Jimmy Rollins said the Phillies were the team to beat in 2007, and it surprisingly turned out to be true. He has predicted 100 wins for 2008, but is anyone really taking that seriously? I don’t think so. (But I hope he’s psychic, and they cruise to an easy NL East title this year.) The only reason why that is newsworthy is because of what he said last year, and he had to try and top it. But note what he didn’t say: that they are the team to beat this year. He does not have to say that because the first-place finish shows that the title goes through Philadelphia. He has not called out other teams and said they are not competitive, like Papelbon did.

I realize that all of the back-and-forth is mostly to get the fans fired up, and the Phillies-Mets rivalry is going to be ridiculous this year – both on the field and in the stands. It will be scary fun. But come on: Do Red Sox fans need firing up? Everyone loves a ballplayer who gives good copy, but Papelbon just comes off sounding pompous.

While Christine wrote this, I sat downstairs watching the ’07 DVD. One of the first omissions I noticed was all the Manny showboating and lollygagging when it looked like we were going to lose to the Indians. I didn’t blog back then, but I was very critical of him. If the Sox didn’t come back, he would have put us fans in a tough spot of dealing not only with a playoff loss, but also the media rightfully killing Manny for poor sportsmanship. And I was very mad at management when they traded Bronson Arroyo after he took a hometown discount to stay in Boston.

Papelbon is the closer of the reigning champions; he has the right to talk a little smack. He’s not playing an underdog card. He’s basically saying “We proved our mettle last year and until someone proves otherwise, we’re top dog.”

OK, maybe he didn’t have to shoot down the whole league and say no one can even compete with the Sox.

Other pitchers talking: Today was a big day for pitchers on the squawk box. First Curt ends his silence, saying he didn’t say anything for days because he didn’t want to be a distraction. Yeah, it’s less distracting if Curt, who’s been at the center of a firestorm over his medical treatment, keeps his mouth shut.

Nationally, of course, the big story was Andy Pettitte. Give him credit for actually taking questions for an hour instead of issuing a prepared statement. But not too much since we still don’t know if he’s given the whole truth or just what he thinks is provable by others.

And old friend Eric Gagne issued one of those bogus statements, apologizing for distracting his new team and lauding baseball for cleaning up the sport – although we’re told the statement he gave to the French-speaking media may have been stronger. He should have apologized for giving me heartburn during the playoffs last year, although management deserved that tummy ache for knowingly dealing for a roider.

And which pitcher isn’t having issues today? Kyle Kendrick.

The real 2004 World Series MVP

Earlier this week I said Curt, probably more than any other member of the ’04 Sox, deserves pretty much a free pass from criticism because he risked his career and body to win that most important championship.

But another pitcher risked his body for us that year - Keith Foulke. Now, he didn’t help things by saying fans who boo him work at Burger King when he struggled the next year, but I’ve always felt he’s got a bum rap from fans.

He may have been the most valuable Red Sox during the ’04 postseason, pitching in 11 of 14 games – yielding one run and 15 hits and walks combined in 14 innings. He logged 257 pitches that postseason.

That’s an often overlooked performance from 2004 from which Foulke hasn’t recovered – he was awful in 2005 and mediocre the next year. Last year, he attempted to pitch for Cleveland but retired before spring training got under way. I hope he finds more success in Oakland.