You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out

Last night, hours after reports that the Red Sox might have been close to a deal with Mark Teixeira, owner John Henry said the Sox were outbid:

"We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him," Henry said in an e-mail time-stamped 10:45 p.m. "After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems clear that we are not going to be a factor."

But all that did was start the speculation whether Scott Boras was lying about other offers and whether the Sox were bluffing. Didn't we go through this with Daisuke Matsuzaka two years ago?

And, like Dice-K, the Sox have to sign Teixeira because I worked hard this week to learn how to spell his name.

While the professionals were trying to figure out what all this posturing means, we got our six pack of Phillies (and a Red Sox) tickets. We're going to see the 2008 World Champions take on the 2007 World Champs, Mets, Cardinals, Braves and Marlins twice.

Best promotion of the year: Charlie Manuel bobble figurine: April 28.

Some quiet off day

[Correction added July 18]

With neither the Red Sox nor the Phillies among the eight teams playing as baseball kicks back into action after the All-Star break, we were expecting a slow news day. WRONG!

The big news is the Phillies landed their starter. After hinting that they would be willing to spend money on pitching, they landed Joe Blanton. Oh boy, I'm ecstatic. A guy with an ERA near 5 and a WHIP close to 1.5. I hope Cole Hamels doesn't mind moving down a slot for this guy. When I heard the news, I thought maybe they got a bargain because he's having an off-year. Nope. They gave up two of their top four prospects. There are reasons why they write books about Billy Beane.

On the bright side, Blanton is only 27 and has been able to put up league average numbers for 3.5 seasons during his formative years. The deal also means fewer innings for Adam Eaton. And going back to last year's mid-season acquisitions, I yawned when the Phillies got Kyle Lohse and wondered if the Red Sox would ever give up another run after the 6th inning with Eric Gagne joining Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon in the bullpen.

Serious note: They've finally concluded the grim report on John Marzano's demise. I'm no doctor, but it sounds like it was painful for Johnny Marz.

No way to transition: Manny thinks the Sox stabbed him in the back somehow. I'm tired of Manny's nonsense, so you can go elsewhere for interpretation, spin or psychoanalysis. I just wonder whether the fact that John Henry responded means the top brass is getting tired of it and is seriously considering not picking up his option for next season.

A SoxandPhils legend retires: Hideo Nomo - a Red Sox in 2001 and a Phillie from Oct. 28-29, 1999 - couldn't hack it with the Royals this year and apparently couldn't latch on with another team. He'll be missed. OK, he won't - just seems like the right thing to say.

Phillies share first: The Mets won tonight, meaning for the first time since June 1, the Phillies no longer have sole possession of first place. They're tied, and each team controls their destiny. When the Mets were rallying in the 9th, Christine said "No big deal, look who's got to close it." Interestingly, they didn't turn to the guy who blew the All-Star game on Tuesday. They went to Duaner Sanchez, who got the save. I can't wait to hear what Billy Wagner has to say about that.

{P.S., the Mets were in control of their own destiny last year. Look how that turned out. Their collapse is starting already, courtesy of Pedro Martinez's latest injury.}

***CORRECTION*** Christine won't like reading this, but I owe an apology to Mets token All-Star Billy Wagner. He did record the save last night. I guess the stat tracker I relied on froze with Duaner Sanchez on the mound.