O nO

The Red Sox were swept away by the Orioles this weekend, and I'm all O'd out because Christine and I spent the weekend in Baltimore to witness Saturday's debacle for ourselves.

Beside the Red Sox - our reason for the trip - it was a nice little getaway.

It was weird seeing so many Red Sox shirts throughout the city. Christine, wearing her Phillies shirt, got to experience what it's like to wear an unrelated team's garb to a ball game.

Besides the game, we walked around the Inner Harbor and took a water taxi over to tour Fort McHenry, and I ate a crab cake sandwich.

During one of our travels, a Red Sox fan (wearing a Cubs shirt?) excitedly stopped us to tell us the Red Sox were staying at his hotel, the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. The team did a number on the breakfast buffet - especially Hideki Okajima with the fruit - and Daisuke Matsuzaka was a bit surly, the fan reported. We doubt that the team would eat at the same buffet as the rest of the guests, but we wanted to pass along the man's story anyway.

Walking to the game, a church had a sign out front that said something along the lines of, "Lord bless the O's, maybe the Sox, but the Yankees? Forgive our thoughts." Amen.

At the park: When we went to Camden Yards in 2007, we couldn't believe how poorly it has aged compared with Citizens Bank. It didn't seem as bad this time, probably because we entered with lower expectations, but it was still bush league.

Prime example: CoverGirl was giving makeovers inside the park. "Philly chicks come for the game," I said to Christine, who pointed out that the booth was full of Red Sox fans.

The makeup company also sponsored Kiss Cam. It found a Red Sox fan whose mate was conked out. She seemed angry and embarrassed by the sleeping and started deeply kissing another nearby fan.

Christine and I recently discussed whether a poor year by the Red Sox would "thin out the herd" of some of the bandwagon jumpers. I was starting to warm to this idea until we saw a group of drunken girls merrily singing Sweet Caroline on the way out of the park. If fans are so oblivious to the games, I don't think they'll give up their Neil Diamond fixes because of some losing seasons.

Other culture shocks: Culture Club was playing before the game, the Orioles sold Red Sox memorabilia throughout the park, vendors were so bored they invited you to buy from their food stands, still no cup holders in the seats!, a random fan threw out the first pitch, and fans (mostly Red Sox) started a wave. And they did it backward - counterclockwise.

Other annoyances: Fans were obnoxious, and ushers did not enforce the rule that says you don't move to or from your seat during a pitch. ... A family near us asked an Orioles fan to take a picture of her "large family from out-of-state." The Orioles fan wasn't happy but obliged even as she was introduced to every one of the 20 members of the Red Sox woman's family. ... A guy had the gall to wear a Yankees hat with a Dustin Pedroia jersey - unforgivable. ... The fans. ... The game.

Game notes: The highlight was watching Super Saver win the Kentucky Derby on the scoreboard. This was the second time Christine and I watched a Triple Crown race at a ballpark (first time was 2007). ... Maxx Factor sang the anthem; it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. ... Dice-K, making his 2010 debut, was actually efficient and effective until giving up six runs in the 5th. ... It was sad watching Tim Wakefield take a beating in his first relief appearance. ... David Ortiz hit two home runs. The game was played in beautiful 84 degree weather and moved at a great clip considering it was a 12-9 game - two hours 48 minutes.

Antiquated SoxandO's jerseys: Jeff Conine, Rick Dempsey, Rafael Palmeiro, Nomar Garciaparra, Gregg Zaun, Manny Ramirez, Jason Bay, Curt Schilling, Melvin Mora, Trot Nixon and Brady Anderson.

Huh? We spotted a Schilling Red Sox shirt with white writing, a Chase Utley UCLA-themed shirt and a couple of Babe Ruth Red Sox shirts. Phillies fans were also representing throughout the city - we saw shirts for Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Utley, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Citizens Bank Park.

I rocked a new Red Sox T-shirt Christine got me for my birthday.

Oh yeah: The Orioles new scoreboard is an improvement, but it still seems dated. One improvement is the out-of-town scoreboard that is much more detailed than the ones at Citizens Bank. A random example is pictured above: You can see that the Phillies beat the Mets 10-0. Roy Halladay beat Mike Pelfrey. Utley went 3-5 with a double and three runs. Shane Victorino hit a home run.

Curiously, the picture we took of the final score between the Red Sox and Orioles didn't turn out too well.

Oh well, time to finish unpacking so we can watch the rubber game between the Mets and Phillies on ESPN. Mets are leading 3-2 early in the game.

Last pitcher standing

The Red Sox signed Brian Shouse to a minor league deal, but the 41-year-old lefty doesn't have much of a chance of making the team, as the Boston Globe noted:

Here's how much the Red Sox think of having signed Brian Shouse: They didn't announce it.

The Globe also noted that Shouse was a teammate of Tim Wakefield's on the 1993 Pirates. He then went five years without appearing in the majors before he resurfaced as a teammate of Wakefield on the 1998 Red Sox.

How odd is that? Of the 47 players who appeared in a game for the 1993 Pirates, 26 played their last game before 1998. Other than Shouse and Wakefield, no member of that team played beyond 2006.

From the 1998 Red Sox, Shouse and Wakefield are two of eight players still active - Nomar Garciaparra, Jason Varitek, Pedro Martinez, Derek Lowe, Tom Gordon and Ron Mahay are the others. Other members of the '93 Pirates also on the '98 Red Sox were Midre Cummings and Orlando Merced.

Of the 47 players who played on that Red Sox team, 10 were gone by 1999 and 32 didn't play beyond 2003.

For the quirkiness of it, I hope Shouse, who was the fourth-oldest player in the American League last year, rejoins Wakefield, the AL's oldest player, in Boston this year.

Other relievers in the news: Boof Bonser doesn't know why his mom started calling him Boof, but he legally changed his name from John Paul in 2001. ... Hideki Okajima signed, avoiding arbitration. ... And before Phillies fans could stop laughing about Carlos Beltran surprising the Mets by having surgery, a similar thing occurred with Brad Lidge.

OK, no more interleague until the All-Star game

The Red Sox finished up their last interleague series by dropping a set to the Astros. Their magic number is now 76 - to clinch the Wild Card over the Twins. Yes, the Rays - the team no one took seriously - is in first place at the midway point. I never wrote them off. They won't choke like the Yankees, but I'm confident my guys will pull away with the division at some point.

In today's 3-2 loss, Josh Beckett pitched OK. I won't mention who allowed an inherited runner to score the decisive run. Did I mention I dropped Hideki Okajima from my fantasy team tonight? On a bright note, Dustin Pedroia has taken over for J.D. Drew as the hottest bat in the Sox lineup, hitting .484 since the Sox crossed leagues on June 13. The Sox finished their interleague schedule 11-7.

The Phillies, meanwhile, finished 4-11 against the American League. There will be no sweet sorrow for the Phils leaving Texas, where they lost tonight 5-1, dropping the series to the Rangers. Typical Jamie Moyer gave up three runs, but untypically he couldn't get out of the 6th. The vaunted Phillies hitters are MIA again - they can't wipe their asses with a tent pole, to paraphrase Charlie Manuel.

Finally, how has there not been more mention of the fact that Jamie Moyer was in the Mitch Williams-Rafael Palmeiro trade between the Cubs and Rangers in 1988? When that deal was made, who would have thought that the last man standing wouldn't be the 23-year-old lefty flame thrower, nor the 23-year-old All-Star outfielder, but the crafty 25-year-old lefty?

Serves me right

I guess the baseball gods didn't take kindly to me yawning at both of our teams winning on Sunday. They each lost tonight.

Young Brett Myers gave the Marlins a 3-0 lead in the first. The fish never grew that beyond three runs, but the Phillies never caught up. It seemed like it would be a classic Phillies comeback, but it ended 5-4 Marlins.

Funny little occurrence in the 6th: With two outs, Pat Burrell lined one to left. Luis Gonzalzez missed it (looked like it glanced off his face), and Burrell reached on the error. He should have been on second, but Charlie Manuel didn't bench him like he did J-Roll. I wonder what Mike Schmidt, the scribe, thinks about that.

Burrell scored but tried to give it back by misplaying a ball in left in the bottom of the inning. They ruled it a double. I joked that Pat the Bat was trying to justify all the times Cholly subs him out for running and defense. He then redeemed himself a little bit by hitting a homer in the 8th.

The Red Sox lost to the Orioles, 10-6. They survived another poor Josh Beckett start before Hideki Okajima blew it. His season ERA is now the highest it's been in America since his second appearance of last year - 2.89.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a hit in his first start since turning his wrist into a fruit roll-up. Manny Ramirez extended his hitting streak to 14-games. And the redeeming J.D. Drew homered in his third straight game - fifth in nine games. He has nine on the season compared with 11 last year. I'll take it.

Daisuke Matsuzaka is going to throw a side session tomorrow, but no one's saying when he'll pitch again.

Sox-Phil interleague history, 2002: Red Sox and Phillies didn't play each other.

Smooth sailing for the Phils, not so much for the Sox

The Phillies held off the Reds 5-4 tonight, keeping their hold on first place. Kyle Kendrick didn't pitch particularly well, but the bullpen kept the game in check. Another great game all around for the 2008 MVP Chase Utley. Even Harry Kalas doesn't know how to handle it. After Utley ended the game with a diving catch, Harry revived his "Chase Utley, you are the man," but it sounded forced. Tom Gordon pitched a clean 8th without a chat with Jimmy Rollins.

Things weren't as smooth for the World Champs tonight, as they finished their series with the Orioles before beginning their big showdown with the first-place Rays. For the second time in a row, they wasted a great Tim Wakefield start. Tonight's culprit was Hideki Okajima (four runs in two-thirds of an inning). He's been in my fantasy team's doghouse, but I started him this week.

More importantly, with our best pitcher already on the DL, David Ortiz could be out for a month, or even the whole season. Not good.

Manny trivia: Guess which pitcher has been most victimized by the newest member of the 500-homer club? Jamie Moyer. Christine points out that J-Moy is 45. When Manny Ramirez is 45, Moyer will be 54 and more likely than Manny to still be playing then.

No shot at a no-hitter

Tonight is an annual work function that keeps Greg out late. Last year, he missed Cole Hamels take a no-hitter into the 7th.

No need to worry about that this year.

Brett Myers gave up a home run to the first Brave he faced tonight. And the third. And the seventh.

All told, the staff "ace" gave up eight runs, six earned, before leaving the game in an 8-0 hole in the top of the 5th inning. He's now sporting a 5.91 ERA. For comparison, Adam Eaton's ERA is 5.40.

[I got home earlier than expected. Late night guy on WIP had two theories on Myers' struggles, either injury or disgruntled about not relieving.]

The Phils chipped away and had the winning run at the plate in the 9th, but lost 8-6.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox lost their fourth straight today, 6-3 to the Orioles, after Hideki Okajima gave up a grand slam to Jay Payton in the 7th inning. We have Okajima on our fantasy team - lucky for him that he was benched this week.

Too late to change my mind? I struggled when we were making our preseason picks. Should I play it serious, or should I pick the Pirates and the Rangers to win their divisions? I mostly played it straight. But I'm kicking myself over one choice - the Tampa Bay Rays. I did not want to pick either the Yankees or the Red Sox, but in the end I let the spirit of the blog get to me and I chose the Red Sox.

But I'll put this on the record now: I wanted to pick the (Devil) Rays. I always feel bad for their team, their fans, everything about them. They have always been down on their luck. Plus, they're pretty much the only team in baseball that I don't hold a grudge against in some way. (And I guess this little trade endeared me as well.) So I think it's awesome that they have been playing so well lately - actually, the best they have played in their 10-year history. Go Rays - I'll be cheering you on until you face the Phillies in the World Series.

Ottley: Via The 700 Level. Not sure where the typo came from (Politico, the transcriptionist, whoever), but I'm tempted to call Chase Utley "Otter" from now on:

Q: Mr. President, I know you're going to hate this, but I'm hoping that we may twist your arm and talk about baseball for just a moment. (Laughter.) Mr. President, you're a Major League Baseball team owner again. Everyone is a free agent. You have a Yankees-like wallet. Who is your first position player? Who's your pitcher?

THE PRESIDENT: That's a great question. I like Ottley [sic] from the Philadelphia Phillies. He's a middle infielder, which is always -- you know, they say you have strength up the middle -- there's nothing better than having a good person up the middle that can hit. And Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays is a great pitcher. He's a steady guy, he burns up innings.

Ottley will soon be playing for the Deciders, an expansion team forged by W, who needs something to do after January.

Secrets

While we wait to learn whether Brad Lidge's knee tweak really is nothing or the first sign of another year with an unnerving bullpen for the Phils, there was some intriguing news coming out of the Red Sox bullpen.

Hideki Okajima is working on a secret new pitch:

Okajima has deemed his new pitch the "Doki-doki," appropriate both for the play on his nickname and its meaning in Japanese, which, according to translator Jeff Yamaguchi, means "sounds of a heartbeat," and "he makes me nervous."

"He doesn't know which way it breaks, and it works for either hitter," Yamaguchi said. "He started working on the new pitch since August last year, throwing catch against me."

Okajima said he thought he needed to improve last season, but that he was better served saving it until this year. Asked if the pitch was a two-seam fastball, Okajima leaned over and said, "Secret."

Etc.: The Sox gave a new contract to Terry Francona, owner of the best undefeated World Series record ever. {I'm sickened by this. If a Yankees fan pointed out that they have won 26 World Series, Greg wouldn't shut up about it.} He's also the only manager Scott Rolen hasn't had a problem with:

Rolen clashed with Larry Bowa in Philly, and it got so bad with Tony LaRussa in St. Louis that the third baseman, who as recently as 2006 pledged he would never return to Philadelphia, now says he would have come back this off-season:

That's how intense his desire was to get away from the St. Louis Cardinals' manager.

"Yes," the Toronto Blue Jays' new third baseman said after a workout Friday. "I would have accepted."

Though Scotty does have some a small measure of personal accountability:

It's legitimate to wonder if he has a problem getting along with people, particularly those in authority.

"Fair question," Rolen said. "I've thought about people thinking that. I'm the common denominator in both situations. I'm smart enough to see that.

"All I'll say is there is more to the stories. Everyone has a story. Everyone has a side. I have a side, too."

I'm no fan of the Pedro Feliz acquisition, but with Scotty's attitude I might prefer the never-on-base Feliz at third for the Phillies this year. Scotty, hope you enjoy fighting the Empire for third place.

Nomo-mania II

I forgot yesterday to mention the small-print news of the week, Hideo Nomo, the last Red Sox since Derek Lowe, err Clay Buchholz, to pitch a no-hitter, is going to try a comeback with the Kansas City Royals.

In honor of this, and the champs opening the title defense in Asia, here's my ranking of the Sox/Phils Japanese players:

1) Hideki Okajima. According to public opinion, he was signed to ease Dice-K's transition, but he turned into a shut-down reliever, an All-Star, and the #2 guy in the pen for the World Champions.

2) Dice-K. I was thinking about giving Nomo the nod here, but Nomo was just about league average during his year in Boston. Though, maybe he should get bonus points for also being a Phillie for a day in 1999. Nonetheless, Dice did pitch well, though a little disappointing, especially in the playoffs when he averaged less than 5 innings per start. We expect more this year.

3) Nomo. Like I said, about league average, but threw a no-hitter in his first start for Boston.

4) Tadahito Iguchi. Solid contributor for his 45 games with the Phils last year. Filled in admirably after Chase Utley broke his hand.

5) Tomokazu Ohka/So Taguchi. This list has a couple of stars, but then it's slim pickings. I can't decide between these two. One had 6 wins for the Sox before being traded to the Expos for a pre-felonious Ugueth Urbina. The other is a scrubby backup outfielder who's coming to the Phils this season after six years in St. Louis.

Honorable mention: If I knew this, I had forgotten that Dave Roberts -- he of the most important stolen base in history -- was born in Japan. I won't count him, but if I did he would rank 2 or 3 and I would entertain arguments for #1.

In other sports: Got three of four of the football games. Darn Redskins.

Baseball Mogul update: Didn't do that trade with Seattle. But made a couple swaps [Gordon, Burrell, Lieber, and four scrubs for Manny Corpas, Ubaldo Jimenez and Garrett Atkins] and then [Eaton, Coste and Geary] for Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Christine wasn't thrilled with the first one, but she's couldn't get me to hit "accept" fast enough with the prospect of getting rid of Adam Eaton, even in a computer game. She didn't even consider her usual objections to trading with a division rival.

So far, the verdict's out... Phils have gotten off to their real-life slow start... at .500 on May 3, but only 2 games behind the Braves. I'm a little concerned that Cole Hamels would prefer a higher rotation slot on the Royals. I don't get it either.