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 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:

Lady Pha Pha turns on Pat Listach

When the Phanatic came out for his skit on Opening Day, Christine didn't immediately break out the camera because I haven't been using these photos in game day posts, and she assumed I wouldn't be interested in the big green guy dressing in drag to spoof on Lady Gaga as Lady Pha Pha.

Normally, she'd be right, but this was not a normal encounter between the Phanatic and an opponent. Pat Listach, the Washington Nationals third base coach, made a gesture. It appeared as if he were practicing his Shake Weight technique, or he just really likes Lady Gaga, or the Phanatic. I don't know which scenario is worse.

Christine had started taking pictures when she saw the Phanatic was goofing with an opponent, and I hectically told her to get an action shot, thinking it was gold for the blog. She got flustered and was in disbelief because she thought I was trying to say the Phanatic was making un-fan-friendly gestures. In the end, she did get a shot of Listach taking aim at Lady Pha Pha and proving that his career did not peak with the 1992 Rookie of the Year award for the Milwaukee Brewers.

I have no way to transition out of that topic: As expected, since he was unexpectedly yanked from Monday's starting lineup after slapping hands with the fans moments before the game, Jimmy Rollins was officially placed on the disabled list. He's gone for two to four weeks. So the starting shortstop of the reigning NL Champs is Juan Castro. (And Christine and I were worried that we would always forget that he was on the team.)

J-Roll's infield mates are compensating for his absence tonight: Through four innings, Chase Utley, Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard have a combined line of 5-8 with five runs, five RBI, and a double and a homer.

Unfortunately, the Phillies needed all of the offense and then some because Kyle Kendrick couldn't get out of the 2nd inning without giving up six runs. In a wild one, the Phillies and Nationals are tied at 7 in the 5th. It's going to be a long night.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, beat the Twins 6-3 in an afternoon game behind a solid outing by John Lackey.

Opening Day recap

The Phillies and Red Sox are off, so here's our day-old recap of Opening Day.

The festivities began with the 2009 National Champions parading into the stadium with the Cardinal O'Hara High School Marching Band, Budweiser Clydesdales, Phillie Phanatic and Roy Halladay leading the way. Charlie Manuel ran the pennant up the flagpole. ... The Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale sang Philadelphia and America the Beautiful with a giant flag (we'll have more on that another day) on the field. ... Six members of the Navy's Leap Frog unit parachuted onto the field. Earlier, their jet did a close flyby of the stadium, startling Christine and me. ... The cast of the Lion King sang the National Anthem. I didn't like it. ... Herb Magee, coach of Philadelphia University's basketball team, tossed the first pitch.

God Bless America was performed by 4TROOPS, a quartet of veterans who have a CD coming out this spring. Not bad. ... The Phanatic debuted Lady Pha Pha, but we'll talk more about that tomorrow.

Game notes: Cole Hamels, who is not getting any slack from some fans, struggled but hung on for a win. Many fans are ready to run him out of town; I wonder if they would give up their memories of 2008 in order to do so. ... We had no clue why Jimmy Rollins wasn't playing. He was announced, but then I saw Juan Castro's picture on the scoreboard during warm-ups. They incorrectly listed him at second base, adding to the confusion. The Phillies won't officially DL J-Roll until tomorrow. Castro had a big double, an RBI and a run in the Phillies' decisive five-run 5th inning.

Jason Marquis began by no-hitting the Phillies through 3 1/3 innings until Christine said, "How about we break up this no-hitter?" immediately before Placido Polanco singled. Later, she also correctly predicted a big base hit to left field for Ryan Howard. ... Good day for the bullpen - Chad Durbin, Jose Contreras, Danys Baez and Ryan Madson went 3 1/3 innings, giving up just a hit with three strikeouts.

Observations from the stands: We arrived before our parking lot opened, causing some traffic tie-ups as cars lined the street waiting for the gates to open. The parking attendant wouldn't let me back in. I was annoyed, but it wasn't a problem getting out after the game. ... I tried the Old Philly hot dog - not bad. The crusty roll was phenomenal. After I purchased it, somebody asked to see what it looked like and asked whether I had it before. Later, an usher asked me how the new dog tasted. ... Before the game, Phan-O-Vision froze for several minutes on a boy and man sitting right behind us. The cameraman ignored the guy's request to pan over to us.

A woman in front of us wore a goofy plastic Phillies tiara with baseball earrings. "I'm already getting so much attention in this hat," she told her friend. ... Centerfielder Nyjer Morgan played along when fans taunted "You suck Morgan." We wondered why they didn't stick to their custom of taunting the opposing left fielder. Christine guessed that Josh Willingham might be too hard to chant. ... There was lots of security called to our section. We didn't know why, but one time we saw a guy carrying a broom and sawdust, as if he were an elementary school janitor cleaning up some puke. ... We sat in "foul pole" seats. The view wasn't great, but the seats were strategically located so we were able to watch the last pitch and beat the majority of the crowd out of the park without delay. There was absolutely no traffic, and we were home eating dinner before 7 p.m., including the time we lost because Chick-Fil-A didn't have salads prepared.

Antiquated Phillies shirts: Cliff Lee, Larry Bowa, Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand, Brett Myers and Pedro Martinez, although that may not be antiquated for long if you believe everything you read.

In a nutshell: Just a really pleasant day at the ballpark.

News!

Last night, hours after I suggested that the Phillies beat writers have been neglecting their blogs, Todd Zolecki posted an update on Phillies prospects in fall and winter ball. He must read our blog.

The rest of the pack followed him today with news that Ryan Howard finished 3rd in MVP voting - Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino also got votes - and that the Phillies will sign Ramon Castro to replace Eric Bruntlett.

Why? He's 37, and he can't hit. Basically, he's Eric Bruntlett in six years. I have no problem jettisoning the guy who turned an unassisted triple play, but I don't understand doing so just to bring in an equally crappy player.

David Murphy tries to explain it:

For an idea of how slim the pickings are in that department, consider Omar Vizquel, another veteran short stop who was a free agent. Over his last two seasons, Vizquel's numbers aren't a whole lot different than Castro's. Castro hit .227 with a .569 OPS in 298 plate appearances for the Reds, Orioles and Dodgers. Vizquel hit .239 with a .594 OPS in 595 plate appearances for the Giants and Rangers. Vizquel recently signed a one year deal with the White Sox for a reported $1.375 million, which is nearly double the $700,000 that Castro earned with the Dodgers last season.

Last year, manager Charlie Manuel said he would love to have a bench player who might fill in for Chase Utley without presenting much of an offensive drop off. Castro would not seem to be that player, but I don't think the Phillies are looking at him as such.Keep in mind that two candidates to replace Pedro Feliz at third base are Placido Polanco and Mark DeRosa, both of whom have played extensively at second base. And while the Phillies do not view Greg Dobbs as an everyday third baseman, they do contend - at least publicly - that they are comfortable starting him there occasionally. Last year, Dobbs hit .309 with a .829 OPS in the 28 games in which he started.

OK, so maybe this makes sense if they sign a second baseman to play third. No, that really doesn't make much sense either.

At least Castro's agent, Oscar Suarez, is good at the spin:

"Who doesn't like the Phillies as an organization?" Suarez said. "You want to win. And who doesn't like Juan Castro? You want to have a superb utility man to back up the guys you have up the middle. We're trying to put this thing together. I think we're going to get it done."

He's even benching Jimmy Rollins:

"If you look at the Phillies, they have a hell of an organization," Suarez said. "And they probably need a guy who can play shortstop if Jimmy Rollins needs a day off or he gets thrown out of a game or he needs a break at the end of a game. It makes a lot of sense. When you're a veteran player you want to win. That's why he is enjoying the Dodgers. The last two years for the Phillies speak for itself."

I know, way too much thought for a backup infielder on a team that has won the last two NL pennants.