Free fall

Sometimes the dropoffs are quick in sports.

Look at Jacoby Ellsbury: He has already gone from being a rock star like Nomar Garciappara was early in his career to the whipping boy Nomar Garciappara became at the end. Now, he could be headed for a fall from 2007 World Series hero to the ultimate doghouse ... a New York Met.

Nick Cafardo had two tidbits this week that are a little too close for comfort:

3. David Wright would fit nicely in the Red Sox lineup; 4. A couple of Mets officials have told me they may make a run at Jacoby Ellsbury this winter.

I'd hate to see Ellsbury dumped because of public opinion, and I'd hate to see him become an enemy of the Phillies. But I wouldn't mind David Wright; I think his production can return in the right environment.

Tonight's games: The Phillies won their ninth straight (yawn), lowering their magic number to six to clinch their fourth straight division title (yawn) as Roy Halladay won 20 games for the third time in his career (yawn) in the 5-3 win over the Braves. The Red Sox trail the Orioles 8-1 in the 9th (mega yawn).

Rotating door at the top

It's the middle game of the SoxandPhils series, and each team had a different look at the top of the order.

The Red Sox finally got their speedy leadoff man, Jacoby Ellsbury, back off the DL. He made his first start in more than a month. The Phillies reinserted their speedy leadoff man, Jimmy Rollins, to his usual spot in the lineup on Friday, but he got injured again. He was officially DL'd today. Welcome back, Wilson Valdez.

Tonight's tilt: Joining Ellsbury in the lineup was David Ortiz at 1B and Jason Varitek at C, which is interesting given the reports of the little scuffle between Daisuke Matsuzaka and Victor Martinez.

Replacing J-Roll in the leadoff spot was Shane Victorino, replacing him at SS was Juan Castro.

Actually, the most important lineup machinations were Varitek and Castro - not because of the riff between V-Mart and Dice, but because Tek is the only catcher to squat for four no-hitters. That's notable because he came pretty close to a fifth.

The 8th inning was the most dramatic. Raul Ibanez walked. Then, Carlos Ruiz lined a rope to third. Adrian Beltre made an amazing spear and then doubled off Ibanez. That was followed by a little bloop by ... Castro (where's J-Roll when you need him?). The little duck snort fell just out Marco Scutaro's reach.

At first it looked like it would be a no-doubt hit. "There it is," Christine said happily. But then it looked like Scutaro had a play. She got quiet, before clapping when the ball hit the ground. Her hands still sting. I don't think she's clapped so hard at baseball since the 2008 World Series.

I'll admit it, I wanted it. This might be a season where you have to take moral victories along the way.

That bloop turned a potentially special night into a ho-hum 5-0 victory. Daniel Bard pitched a perfect 9th to end it.

Friday night link dump

The Phillies are playing late tonight, so I have time to catch up on some of the news of the week.

But first, kudos to former Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy who was among eight men who subdued a nut who was threatening to blow up an airplane.

Here's the stuff I have missed.

***Jacoby Ellsbury decided he needed more tests after he was having trouble breathing - turns out he has four fractured ribs. Great.

***A day after everyone reported that Tim Wakefield was going to the bullpen because Daisuke Matsuzaka was coming back, the Red Sox announced Dice-K will throw a simulated game. We're still waiting to hear from Wakefield:

Tim Wakefield came into the clubhouse 45 seconds before the media had to leave. I asked him if he would answer a few questions. "Nope," he said.

I hope we're not seeing a repeat of Jaime Moyer from last year.

***To cure the inability to stop anyone from stealing bases - even Vladimir Guerrero had a couple swipes the other night - the Red Sox are shopping for a catcher, which probably would mean the end of the line for David Ortiz, who accepted blame for his failures.

Red Sox: Papi homered for the first time this season. Jon Lester wasn't dominant, but he didn't give up a run in 5 2/3 innings against the Orioles. But the bullpen is blowing it - three runs in the 7th and 8th innings after going 21 straight scoreless. It's 3-3 in the 8th.

Phillies: When the game started, I was downstairs and Christine was upstairs. I heard the annoying Chris Wheeler babbling on. "Wheels is on," I angrily yelled upstairs. Christine didn't hear me and came down to tell me that Wheels was back.

We thought he was going to be on the radio again because Scott Franzke is home with his wife and their newborn son August - congrats to the them. By the way, Jim Jackson is doing radio tonight, now that the Flyers have a few nights off before the second round of the playoffs.

The Phillies lead the Diamondbacks 1-0 in the 4th. Cole Hamels continues his Roy Halladay impersonation, even hitting a double and scoring the lone run so far.

Dropping like flies

The media has been burying the 2010 Red Sox for several days.

I agree, this hasn't been a pretty start to the season. As Theo Epstein said today:

"It's not the time for excuses or sugar-coating it. We've played bad baseball. It's a bad stretch of play and when you do that at the start of the season, it looks even worse. We haven't played well, there are no excuses for how we've played. We haven't played smart baseball; we haven't really played aggressive baseball."

But the GM is confident things will turn around:

"We'll get back to our level. As an organization we have a track record. We have a standard we need to live to up to. One way or another we're going to get there collectively."

I'm trying my best to keep a positive attitude. I was OK with the news that Mike Cameron could be gone for a while; I think Josh Reddick will play well. I'm a little concerned that our other center fielder, Jacoby Ellsbury, joined his elder teammate on the DL. OK, I'm very concerned because I've never heard of his replacement - journeyman Darnell McDonald.

Tonight, they're still playing bad baseball after six innings. Tim Wakefield has given up six runs and Victor Martinez has allowed nine - NINE! - stolen bases. Yikes. Rangers 6, Red Sox 4.

Phillies: Kyle Kendrick, possibly pitching for his career, outpitched Tommy Hanson. In the 7th, Phillies 3, Braves 0.

Friday fun with flags

Earlier this week, I mentioned the huge flag that was on the field during the Opening Day pregame ceremonies. Tonight, we present our little photo essay of how the flag was 1) unfurled; 2) displayed in all its glory; and 3) refurled.

While the flag was stretched over the outfield, we wondered how they would fold it up without letting it touch the ground. We decided that they knew what they were doing.

They did - they ran as quick as possible. It did touch the ground, but surprisingly few times for a flag that size.

With this, I conclude our leftover pictures from Opening Day.

Well, there's one more, but it's not enough for a post, and I'm not sure whether it will see the light of day.

Phillies: Christine and I were driving in separate cars when Roy Halladay had his first at-bat in Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies had the bases loaded and a three-run lead. I was certain he was going to further his ever-growing legend with a big hit. He didn't. Christine booed, in joking appreciation that he is not perfect.

It didn't matter because his teammates had his back - including a three-RBI game for Juan Castro and home runs by Placido Polanco and Chase Utley, who has gone deep in four consecutive games.

I wasn't happy when they let Halladay hit in the bottom of the 7th in the pouring rain with a seven-run lead. He pitched another inning and gave up a second run before David Herndon nearly blew it, giving up four runs in the 9th and setting up a save for Ryan Madson, who did finish off the 8-6 win over the Marlins.

Red Sox: While watching the Phillies, I had a feeling that I should switch to MLB Network. My ESP was rewarded by a live look in at the Red Sox and Rays game, which was then tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 6th. David Ortiz was up with a man on, and I cringed at the thought of him making another out. He didn't. He laced a solid hit to right, but the third base coach waved home Kevin Youkilis, who was out by a mile. Arrgh.

The two teams that will likely battle for the division all summer long remain tied 1-1 in the bottom of the 9th before a rain delay kicked in. Nice start by Josh Beckett, one unearned run in seven innings. Jason Varitek hit a solo home run - his third homer in his second start.

Because the Captain is back, maybe we could trade Victor Martinez for an outfielder. We could use one with Jacoby Ellsbury injured and Mike Cameron recovering from kidney stones. Ouch.

Changed my mind: Here's that last picture I was saving from Opening Day. We were planning to break it out when Herndon had a bad game, so here's a shot of Herndon and his pink bag:

Joe Maddon goes SoxandPhils

Rays manager Joe Maddon was all over SoxandPhils news this week.

First, he's a big Jacoby Ellsbury fan, offering a different prediction on our speedster:

"I could see this guy, he's going to get beyond just being speed," Maddon said yesterday before the Rays edged the Sox, 11-9, at City of Palms Park. "He could hit 20-plus home runs this year."

Maddon has based that prediction on his perception that Ellsbury "looks bigger and stronger," although Ellsbury said he gained only 3 pounds since last season.

Funny, on Sunday, Nick Cafardo noted that "the No. 2 jersey makes Jacoby Ellsbury look smaller."

Meanwhile, Terry Francona tried to approach Ellsbury the way that Lou Brown handled things when Willie Mays Hays started swinging for the fences in Major League:

"We don't have any intentions of telling Jake to be anything different than what he is," Francona said. "Over the course of him getting bigger, getting stronger, getting more mature, knowing the league, he probably will hit some more home runs. But I think when you tell guys what they have to do, it doesn't work very often." ...

And Maddon didn't just face his division rivals this week. He had a rematch of the 2008 World Series, and he suddenly became a Charlie Manuel interpreter (although Christine thinks he was making this stuff up). Here is his version of why the Rays were allowed to use a DH when playing the Phillies:

"So Charlie conceded, or acquiesced, to doing it and I appreciate that very much. We requested it and Charlie said cool. I don't know if Charlie actually said 'cool,' but Charlie said 'yes.' Actually, I think 'righteous' is what he said."

Righteous, dude.

Sick SoxandPhils

Although the SoxandPhils have been having quiet spring training camps, they haven't been without issues. Our guys have been getting sick. A lot.

This week, the Phillies infirmary has been visited by Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino and Sam Perlozzo, who were bitten by flu bugs. Earlier, Chase Utley had an upper respiratory problem.

Curiously, Christine has not questioned the integrity of Chooch, Shane-O or Utley like she did when we found out Josh Beckett was ill.

Jacoby Ellsbury has also been ill and, of course, Jed Lowrie has mono.

We're going to start a brand of SoxandPhils hand sanitizer and send a complimentary case to the Red Sox and Phillies so they can keep the players healthy because this is getting ridiculous.

More cheese and questions answered

Yesterday, I busted on Clay Buchholz and his Crocs. Today, it's the Phillies' turn.

Phans have Phun with the Ph stuff, but it seems really cheesy for a coach to use it:

Impressed by the boldness and skill of his infielders, Sam Perlozzo is experimenting with a nickname for the group.

"I have a whole thing where I call them the Phearless Phour, with a ph," said Perlozzo, the Phillies' third-base coach who also oversees infield defense. "They don't back down off of any play, so I call them the Phearless Phour."

When I read that Jimmy Rollins wasn't aware of the name, I thought he would agree that it's stupid and put the kibosh on it. Nope:

"Phearless Phour?" the shortstop said. "Oh, no. That's good. I hadn't heard that."

So now, we can look forward to a bunch of capes and boundless marketing opportunities for the crusaders against all things hit on the ground.

Meanwhile, a story today finally explained why Jacoboy Ellsbury changed his uniform number from 46 to 2. Dan Shaughnessy provides the answer in an unusually good effort by him about the uniform changes for young 'uns Ellsbury, Buchholz and Daniel Bard.

"I'd always wanted No. 2," said Ellsbury: "I'd asked for it when I got called up, but I didn't realize it was Millsie's [bench coach Brad Mills's] number."
[...]
Ellsbury wore No. 2 in high school and again when he played for the Portland Sea Dogs. He wore 23 in college because a fifth-year senior had No. 2 at Oregon State.

The Sox issued Ellsbury No. 46 (made famous by Bob Stanley) when he came to the bigs late in the 2007 season. It looked a little goofy for a center fielder, but Ellsbury figured 46 was OK because it was double 23.

Buchholz - going from 61 to 11 - was actually more interesting in that he still feels that No. 21 would put additional pressure on him:

There was another option for Buchholz this year. His dad wore 21 when he pitched. Clay is a Texan. And No. 21 has not been issued by the Red Sox since Roger Clemens rode out of town."That would have caused me to answer a lot of questions," Buchholz said. "I didn't want a lot of the added stress that came with that number."

Man, I was thisclose to being able to unretire my Clemens jersey.

Phinally: We can all rest easy. Pat Burrell isn't blaming Elvis for last year's struggles:

When Pat Burrell finally had an opportunity to sit down and reflect on one the least productive years of his career, the Tampa Bay Rays slugger concluded he had no one to blame but himself.

Sure, a "slight herniation" of two discs in his neck contributed to a slow start in 2009, but the 33-year-old designated hitter also said he let the problem linger too long before getting the injury checked out.

A new antiquated Red Sox shirt

When the season ended, I owned garb of three current Red Sox: Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz and Jason Varitek.

Even though he's been discussed in trade rumors before, I thought Ellsbury was the safest bet to remain off my list of antiquated Red Sox garb.

I was wrong. And I can't believe I'm just learning about this now.

Apparently, when Brad Mills left to manage the Astros, Jacoby quietly pilfered his No. 2:

Michael from Avondale, Ari. asks: I've noticed that Jacoby Ellsbury is listed as No. 2 and not No. 46 i have not seen anything explaining this change. Was wondering what Jerry Remy thinks about this?

Answer: Not sure what Jerry Remy thinks of the change, but Jacoby Ellsbury did change his number this offseason. So all those with No. 46 Ellsbury jerseys might
need to trade in for a more updated model this season. No. 2 was held by bench
coach Brad Mills previously -- until Mills departed this offseason for the Astros managerial job.

Great, I guess I'll have to buy a new T-shirt this weekend. I probably won't come across any Ellsbury No. 2s, but maybe I'll find something in a nice red, white and black.

D-Fence and the new-look Red Sox

It's quite clear by now that Theo Epstein thought the best way to improve the Red Sox was via leather and pitching. Run prevention is the new catch phrase in Boston.

So Jason Bay was banished to New York, and Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek were sent to the bench, and Jacoby Ellsbury was sent to left field.

What?

Interestingly, I was looking at defensive stats this morning in The Bill James Handbook and was surprised to see that, defying conventional wisdom, both Ellsbury and Shane Victorino rank among the worst center fielders in the game. So although I was surprised when news broke this afternoon that the Red Sox will play Mike Cameron in center, I wasn't completely shocked.

I'm really psyched for the new-look defensive Red Sox, even though I'm sure some, like this moron particpating in a Rob Neyer chat, will question Theo's logic:

Steve (NYC)
Rob, do you think the Sox are putting too many eggs in the UZR basket? They've improved their defense, but from a distance it also looks like they've added mediocre bats to 1/3 of their lineup. Are we really so confident in the relative value of defense to offense that these "WAR" numbers are gospel? I guess we'll find out, but I personally find the Sox a lot less scary than in previous seasons.

Rob Neyer (12:10 PM)
Cameron has been an above-average hitter in each of the last 11 seasons; Beltre has been above average in four of the last six seasons. So, no.

Thanks, Rob.

A little longer defense of the Red Sox D-Fence comes from Dave Cameron:

Beltre isn't just a good defender. He is in the conversation of the best defensive third baseman of all time.
[...]
It isn't just the numbers, either. When you watch Beltre play third base, you are amazed at the things he can do. He has perfected the charge on a bunt – no one in baseball comes in on the ball as well as he does. His lateral range is hilarious at times, as he regularly fields balls that are hit directly at the shortstop, just because he can. He has a great arm, often throwing lasers across the field without transferring his weight, showing pure arm strength.

Nuggets gleaned today from Bill James: Chase Utley was the best base-running second baseman in 2009 and was second only to Michael Bourn among all players. Mike Lowell was the worst base runner at third base - another reason the Adrian Beltre signing makes sense. Although he's not an excellent base runner, at least Beltre is on the positive side of the ledger, unlike the guy he is replacing.

Brad Lidge had the worst OPS (.912) among relievers with at least 50 games. He was also tied with the second worst save percentage (74 percent).

Ryan Madson tied for second with 29 appearances in which he pitched on the previous day. But with all the talk about not using the injured Lidge on consecutive days, the closer did have 21 such appearances.

[Photo credit: HuggingHaroldReynolds.com]

Ruben beats Theo; Ellsbury bests J-Roll

MLB.com announced today the fan-selected winners of a bunch of cheesy awards.

The Phillies won four categories; the Red Sox won one.

Two of the categories won by a Sox or Phil featured a head-to-head matchup between our teams. Jacoby Ellsbury beat Jimmy Rollins for defensive player of the year, while Ruben Amaro Jr. beat Theo Epstein for executive of the year. And this was before this week's big-time pitching acquisition. Clearly, John Lackey would have pushed Theo over the top.

The other This Year in Baseball Award winners were Jayson Werth for unsung hero (Christine says they're a year late on this one), J.A. Happ for rookie of the year, and the little girl who threw the foul ball her father caught back on the field won for oddity of the year.

Christine was surprised that Eric Bruntlett didn't win anything for his unassisted triple play, but the former Phillie was beat out by potential Phil DeWayne Wise for his great catch that preserved Mark Buehrle's perfect game.

Oh, there's one more meaningless award, this one from the masters of the obvious at the Boston Chapter of the Baseball Writers of America. Jon Lester was the best pitcher on the Red Sox last year.

Cliff Lee speaks: He's not happy:

"Disbelief. Shock. Initially I was disappointed," Lee said when asked to expound on his emotions. "Obviously, it was great being part of a team that went to the World Series for the second year in a row and I was looking forward to trying for a third. That's a great group of guys. I enjoyed every second I was there. Now I'm in Seattle and I have to make the best of it."

Good luck, but just please don't make the best of it during the one or two starts you face the Red Sox.

Exciting endings

After a complicated night in our real lives and a general blah-ish feeling about our teams, I'm keeping it short tonight.

We woke up and learned that no matter how awful our teams play this week, there will be at least one extra SoxandPhils game this year because the Angels beat the Rangers last night, guaranteeing the Red Sox at least a tie for the Wild Card - and what would be a one-game sudden-death play-in game on Monday, if necessary.

If the Phillies survive this week, we won't be seeing them in the playoffs. We got our notification that we didn't win the lottery for the opportunity to purchase playoff tickets for the NLDS. After years of getting suckered into buying tickets during the near-misses of the early 2000s, we finally got to see playoff baseball in 2007. We saw three games last year - thankfully, Christine didn't listen to me when I said not to buy tickets because the Phillies were four games out in September and looked like they weren't going to make it. We'll be watching from home this year.

Tonight's games: The Phillies woke up and Ryan Madson looked like Brad Lidge ... Brad Lidge circa 2008 but with the ability to go two innings. The Phillies beat the Astros 7-4 and are also assured of at least a tie for a playoff slot because the Marlins just beat the Braves. Magic number, 1. Christine should be less cranky tomorrow.

The Red Sox came close with their own exciting ending, but couldn't close the deal. Clay Buchholz didn't have it tonight, but the Red Sox scored five in the 8th to pull within a run. They had the potential tying run on second base (speedster Jacoby Ellsbury), but Kevin Youkilis struck out looking to end it. Blue Jays 8, Red Sox 7. Maybe the Angels will finish what they started last night and eliminate the Rangers for us (Halos up 1-0 in the 2nd).

Lord knows our teams can't take care of their own business right now.

Heralding the unheralded SoxandPhils

Some SoxandPhils who don't quite get the attention they deserve got some pub today - some even nationally.

The leader of the ink popularity contest is Jayson Werth, who, according to a FanGraphs blogger, is not just underrated but has been the second most valuable outfielder in all of baseball for the past two seasons.

(Christine, still bitter about the 2007 playoffs, doesn't like that No. 1 has been Matt Holliday.)

Werth is not only productive, but a goodwill ambassador for a city and fan base that has taken more than their fair share of knocks over the years. Consider this ESPN feature in which he turns the tables and says the Philly fans are an asset, not a detriment. He recalled an encounter with a Ray during the World Series that convinced him that the fans helped the Phillies win last year:

One of their infielders came up to me and said, "'Do you like it here?" He was so distraught in the middle of the game about the people in this town, and I knew then that we had them.

They were so rattled, because they didn't feel like they could even walk down the street. They were uncomfortable just being in Philadelphia. Look at Evan Longoria -- he didn't get a hit the whole World Series. [Longoria actually went 1-for-20.] I'm not saying it's because of what the fans did. But I'm not saying it wasn't, either.

So remember that the next time you hear about Santa Claus, batteries or dog fighting. Actually, that last part is fair game.

Another Phil touted today is sturdy Joe Blanton by Paul Hagen, who argues he's been the Phillies most valuable pitcher this year.

For the Red Sox, because they're in Kansas City, it is time to look back at the Ramon Ramirez trade and how the Red Sox got the better of that one. Yeah, the Royals are bettering the Red Sox this week, but Ramon doesn't want to go back. He's excited about the chance of pitching in the postseason:

I've never been, but I want to be there. I want to pitch, and I want to do the best I can. I know a lot of people say there's more pressure. It's good, because I want to do the best I can for my team. I don't feel nervous or nothing like that.

I hope I didn't just jinx a playoff implosion on him.

Tonight's games: The other beneficiary of the Ramirez-Coco Crisp trade, Jacoby Ellsbury, just doubled in two runs to tie the game in the 5th inning. Dustin Pedroia followed that with an RBI single to give the Red Sox the lead. They now lead the Royals 6-2 in the 6th. Josh Beckett isn't in playoff form tonight: two runs on 10 hits and a walk in four innings.

The Phillies playoff MVP pitcher, Cole Hamels, also wasn't in postseason form - four runs in seven innings. That should be good enough to win behind homers by Raul Ibanez and Ryan Howard, but we won't know for awhile because they're in a rain delay with the Phillies leading the Marlins 6-4 in the 8th inning. Christine is upset because they waited until Ryan Madson took his warmups before they stopped action. Hopefully, they just send everyone home and give the Phillies an abbreviated win.

Concerning pitching

Entering the year, the SoxandPhils had two of the most certain closers in baseball. Brad Lidge's struggles have since been well-documented here, and now Jonathan Papelbon is joining him.

The Sox won this afternoon, 6-5 over the Twins, but it should not have been so close. Up 6-3 in the 9th, Papelbon gave up a two-run home run to pinch-hitter Joe Mauer, which raised Papelbon's ERA to 2.57. (But it's still minuscule compared with Lidge's 9.15.)

Papelbon has been so automatic for the first few years of his career that any blip is a concern. One mitigating factor is that he needed only 14 pitches to give up a hit and a home run while still managing a strikeout. Without seeing the game, those facts make it seem that today was just a case of a great hitting beating a great pitcher, who managed to preserve his team's lead.

Other notables: The Red Sox didn't drop David Ortiz in the lineup; he was benched against lefty Francisco Liriano. Jacoby Ellsbury went 2-5, extending his hitting streak to 20 games, but he still has an OBP of .333. Mike Lowell led the way with four hits, and Dustin Pedroia had three and four others had two. Decent game for Brad Penny (5-1) who won his third in a row, giving up three runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Phillies: I have a feeling the 4th inning will sum up the night for Jamie Moyer. After pitching three scoreless innings, he walked Hanley Ramirez and Jorge Cantu. He ran the count to 2-2 to Wes Helms before throwing a fastball right over the heart of the plate. The former Phillie was frozen, but the umpire called ball. Next pitch? Home run. J-Moy then set down the next three, but now, thanks to a bum call, he's down 3-2 in the 5th inning in another pursuit of his 250th career win.

Incidentally, no Phillies starter issued a walk against the Yankees this weekend.

Sox seem to like their new digs

Ever since that strange sight of Red Sox mimicking snow angels on the grass at Yankee Stadium after completing their historic comeback in 2004, I've always considered New York a second home for Boston baseball.

I know it's an extremely small sample size (less than two games), but the Sox are settling in nicely to their new second home.

I didn't know last night's game was on ESPN until I went to bed around 11 p.m. The rain pushed it too late for me to watch anyway, but it looked like I missed a good one. The Red Sox scored a run in each of the first four and withstood one shaky inning by Jon Lester (three runs in the 5th) and the first run given up by Ramon Ramirez this year to win 6-4. Lester finished with 10 strikeouts in seven innings. Jason Bay and Mike Lowell homered, and David Ortiz had two doubles. I have a feeling that tonight is the tonight he is going to finally put one over a fence.

Christine put the over/under for last night's game to end by 1 a.m. I said 1 a.m. give or take 10 minutes, meaning from 12:50 to 1:10. It ended at 1:13.

Things got off to a good start tonight. They scored four runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Papi and a three-run homer by Jason Bay. It's now 4-3 in the 7th. Joba Chamberlain, who might have other things on his mind, couldn't make it out of the 6th.

Phillies: They beat the Cardinals 6-1 last night and are leading 7-3 in the 5th tonight.

Injuries: Reports on Rick Ankiel are good the day after he bent his neck while crashing into the wall. Cole Hamels is still on target to start Friday, but suddenly Chase Utley's status is questionable because his foot is still injured after being nailed by Mike Pelfrey last week. Like the Phillies, the Red Sox' leading MVP candidate was scratched today with injuries sustained by beanballs. Even in a AAA rehab start, Daisuke Matsuzaka labored, and then Jacoby Ellsbury left the game early tonight because of a tight hamstring.

Cowboy Summer

Shouldn't balmy April weather be called Cowboy Summer if unusually hot autumn weather is Indian Summer?

Anyhoo ... a combination of this gorgeous summery day (hittin' weather, eh Cholly?), a planned day off from work and the fact we had no obligations tonight placed Christine and I in front of the TV for the Phillies game to just watch and vege. Christine noted that it felt like the first normal game of the season.

Joe Blanton seemed to oblige in the first inning, looking dominant against the Nationals. But he quickly imploded. Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez (Elvis who?) saved the day with grand slams in the 5th and 8th innings, covering up for what's turning out to be a glaring hole in this team: pitching.

Funny, Todd Zolecki in this morning's blog suggested that the Phillies pitching could be righted against the Nationals. Oops.

Red Sox: They can't stop winning. It's now 11 straight with a 3-1 win over the Indians. I'm starting to get nervous that they're peaking too soon. Tim Wakefield's complete game streak ended at two. He's got to do better: seven innings, no runs with four walks and a hit.

Stolen series: I got to watch the Red Sox-Yankees game Sunday, and I'm still amazed at what I saw. After watching the Yankees intentionally walk the bases loaded for J.D. Drew, he swung through the first pitch. I stared at the ESPN ticker trying to figure out why their scoreboard had the count at 1-0. I kept staring at it as Andy Pettitte began to pitch. Then, I couldn't figure out why the crowd was getting louder as he completed his motion, which seemed to be in slow motion. Then, Jacoby Ellsbury streaked home as the pitch arrived.

Unbelievable.

Christine was grumbling because she had stepped out of the room for a second and missed it. Pettitte, perhaps in a bit of roid rage, was grumbling even more. He was rattled and gave up a double to Drew to put the Sox up 4-1, which is how the game and three-game sweep ended.

Apple Pie, Mom and a Patriots' Day blowout

I like Patriots' Day. It's not like I get to see the game or anything, but there's just something appealing about checking the score on my lunch break and seeing the Red Sox are halfway to a win.

Today must have been cathartic for the Sox, who have now won five straight after stumbling a bit out of the gate. Justin Masterson, making his first start of the season, pitched into the 6th inning on 84 pitches - one earned, four hits, two walks and three strikeouts.

And the bats gave him plenty of support in the 12-1 win over the Orioles. Half the lineup had a multi-hit game, and every starter except Rocco Baldelli (who left with an injury) and Nick Green had a hit. Several Sox had big games: slumping David Ortiz (2-4 with a stand-up triple!), Jason Varitek (2-5 with a home run), and Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia set the table, going 7-13 with six runs. And there was even a little cherry on top: Hunter Jones, who took Daisuke Matsuzaka's spot on the roster, made his major league debut with an efficient 9th inning, allowing only one man to reach base via error.

Injuries: It wasn't all good news today. As I mentioned, Baldelli left the game with a mild hamstring sprain. Doesn't sound bad, but they're talking about the DL. And I've neglected to mention that we've been without our shortstop for more than a week, and now it's looking like Jed Lowrie is heading for surgery, but may be back midseason. I'm doubtful on that one.

The Phillies and Padres were rained out, and now it's really coming down here. Our movie was also postponed, but because of a scheduling mistake; we'll be attending tomorrow instead.

Change the channel

Recently, Ed Wade told reporters he didn't watch the 2008 World Series won by a Phillies team that he largely assembled:

I was actually sleeping when they clinched, and when Pat [Gillick] said the nice things about me I was sound asleep and my phone started beeping text messages and I found out the next day what he said about me, which was extremely gratifying.

Interestingly, he also said the team could have won in 2005 if Cole Hamels - who entered the year as a 21-year-old with a grand total of 117 innings in A ball - were available to replace an injured Randy Wolf at the end of the year.

I tell people if Cole hadn't broken his hand at the pool room he probably would have been up at some point during the season when [Randy] Wolf got hurt and things might have been different. I'm happy we did things the right way and sorry that it took so long to get there.

Thanks, Ed. I needed a reminder of why the Phillies never won with you around.

Changing the game: Although Hamels wasn't a game-changer in 2005, he most certainly was in 2008. Just don't those involved in the major leagues who apparently changed the channel in October, or like Ed Wade, were asleep on their couches.

In today's column, Nick Cafardo asked baseball people to list the sport's biggest game changer. After last year's dominant playoffs, I wondered how high young Cole would rank. I kept reading ... and reading ... and reading ... finally ...

Those who received honorable mention: Florida's Hanley Ramirez; Boston's Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz (who would have been high on this list two years ago), and Jonathan Papelbon; Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki; Philadelphia's Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Cole Hamels [...]

What? Baseball is a team sport, but the guy carried his team to World Series glory last year. If Johan Santana, David Wright and Jose Reyes, who rank three, five and eight, are so great, how come they couldn't have changed the Mets from chokers to the playoffs? Perhaps because of this:

Conspicuous by their absences: Yankees Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter, and Mets five-tool star Carlos Beltran, who in the words of one scout "doesn't want to be great." Also unmentioned were Sox pitcher Josh Beckett and Washington's Adam Dunn.

Change the channel - I've seen this before: I'm getting tired of talking about Manny Ramirez, but it seems we finally found his replacement in David Ortiz, if we're talking about whom is the Red Sox star most likely to fight with Kevin Youkilis. Also from today's column:

As for the Sox lineup, all winter David Ortiz has talked about adding another power hitter, making references to the fact that he's not as protected in the lineup. It has almost come off as a slap against Youkilis, the guy who hit behind Ortiz in the lineup most often after Manny Ramírez was traded to the Dodgers.

Asked whether he was worried about the offense, Youkilis said, "No. There's only one guy on the team who feels we need more. I don't know why he thinks that or whether he's brought that up again.

"I guess he feels that way and he's entitled to that. I like our team. I like every hitter in our lineup.

"Three through seven - and even Pedey [Dustin Pedroia] at two - can hit 20 [home runs]. To have 20 or more from 2-7? It's amazing that someone is going to hit seventh.

"You've got J.D. [Drew] and Jason Bay and me. Somebody is going to hit seventh. Tito [Terry Francona] might as well put the names in a bag every day and pick out 4-7.

"We all can hit fourth, we all can hit seventh, and we can all drive in runs. I hit seventh last year. Jason Bay hits 30 and drives in 100. I don't know what the complaint is there, but I love our team. I love our lineup."

Must-see TV: Recently during the World Baseball Classic, I heard Rick Sutcliffe proclaim Jimmy Rollins baseball's best dancer. Today Cafardo drops: "I think Jacoby Ellsbury would win Dancing With The Stars."

Three words: SoxandPhils dance off.

Poor showing

Jacoby Ellsbury finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting announced today. You could argue that his showing mirrored where the Red Sox ultimately ended up. I'm not certain, however, that Ellsbury deserved to finish that high. His showing might have more to do with his play in last year's World Series than this season. Although this year was disappointing for him, I still have high hopes.

The Phillies had no viable Rookie of the Year candidates, although Christine's preseason pick, Geovany Soto, won it in the NL. This year's winners, Soto and Evan Longoria, were about as clear-cut as you can get, but the NL voting was a travesty that won't get any attention because it didn't cost a deserving winner.

Under the vote totals is an asterisk: *(Edinson) Volquez received votes despite being ineligible as a rookie. What the (insert your favorite Chase Utley word here)? About halfway through the season, I wondered why Volquez wasn't getting any ROY buzz. So I looked it up and saw he shed his rookie status last year. Three writers, whose jobs it is to know stuff like this, couldn't be bothered to do the same.

I bet they'll overlook Cole Hamels in the Cy Young vote that is announced tomorrow. OK, postseason doesn't count, so he doesn't deserve it. He'll have to be content with his NLCS and World Series MVPs.

One Phillie who does deserve an award is Charlie Manuel, but he's getting no hype. Sports Weekly (it finally arrived Saturday) had its writers pick the awards. Where did Cholly rank? I can't tell you; they list only the top three. Yeah, Lou Piniella and Joe Torre had much better seasons.

Other news: Brad Mills is interviewing for the Mariners job. So is DeMarle Hale and Alex Cora's brother Joey. John Farrell isn't. Scott Eyre is coming back to Philly. Jimy Williams isn't. And it looks like Matt Holliday won't be coming to town.

{My theory on Williams: Maybe he thought he would be next in line for the manager's job if Manuel were ever fired. Well, it's clear that Cholly won't be fired and won't be going anywhere, so maybe Williams decided it was time to cut his losses.}

Ready to go again

I haven't been ignoring the Red Sox first loss of the postseason; six hours of sleep and work took priority.

Last night was disappointing. I feel like I wasted five hours and 19 minutes of my life waiting for a payoff that never came. Maybe it will tonight. I wanted to turn the game off, but I kept thinking, "No, you've put this much time into it, keep going." I should have turned it off.

It was an ugly game early. Josh Beckett didn't have it, and the Angels gift-wrapped three runs when a Jacoby Ellsbury pop-up landed untouched in the middle of three fielders.

And then there was the warrior Mike Lowell. Last year, I didn't understand the clamor to bring him back. Yes, he's a great fielder and clubhouse guy, but his bat is replaceable and he didn't look like he'd last much longer. But watching Lowell grit out the pain last night made me understand why the fans love him. The Globe's Tony Massarotti has a good but sad portrait of what was probably Lowell's last game of the season. He was out of the lineup and replaced on the roster before tonight's Game 4, which is about to start.

So the Sox will forge on trying again to end the Angels' season and move on to the much-anticipated ALCS showdown against the Eastern Division champion Rays. I have faith Jon Lester will get it done tonight - if only because the prospect of Daisuke Matsuzaka in Game 5 scares the bejesus out of me.

[Photo credit: Boston Globe]