Season goes on

With yesterday's shaming of David Ortiz, I had forgotten that today was the trade deadline until I heard Mike & Mike talking about it.

I started wondering what former roider, like Eric Gagne, Theo Epstein might pick up this year.

OK, that's not fair to last year's acquisition of Jason Bay, but I was still bummed about Papi. I still am. By the afternoon I was starting to get over it, especially because, as Christine predicted when Lou Marson went to the Tribe, the Red Sox got Victor Martinez. They did so without losing Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard or Michael Bowden, but they did give up Justin Masterson, Bryan Price and Nick Hagadone. They also flipped the recently acquired and suddenly extraneous Adam LaRoce to the Braves for Casey Kotchman.

Despite having Jason Varitek, I've long coveted V-Mart because of his hitting. Reading the first reports of his arrival, I think I'm going to like his attitude - sentimental yet focused on winning. I just hope he does it cleanly:

Upon learning of the deal, Martinez admitted it was difficult to leave the only organization he had played for since entering professional baseball in 1996.

"It's tough," Martinez told The Associated Press. "This is my house. This is my home."

According to the report, Martinez fought back tears as he sat in front of his locker, hugging son Victor Jr. Earlier in the day, the young boy asked his dad, "Are we still an Indian?"

But he later added that Red Sox fans unfamiliar with him will soon find out what he's all about.

"Everybody knows I play to win," said Martinez. I love this game and I'll go there and do the same thing. As soon as I cross the line, I'm all about winning."

Masterson also sounded the right tone - I'm going to miss him, and I think he's going to be a real good pitcher. Hopefully he needs some days off whenever we play Cleveland:

"It will be nice when we get to Cleveland, but it's unfortunate to have to leave a great organization like the Red Sox, but I've heard nothing but good things about Cleveland, so I'll be excited to get up there."

So the 2009 trading deadline has passed. The top names moved came from Cleveland and landed with the SoxandPhils. The Red Sox have struggled, but I think the Papi revelation will be cathartic and Martinez will spark them past this slump and back to the top of the American League. The Phillies look to be a slam dunk to repeat at least as division champions and are probably favorites to repeat as World Champions.

Tonight, their new acquisition, Cliff Lee, debuts in San Francisco. Hopefully, I'll be able to stay up past his first inning - probably not.

John Smoltz gave up five runs in six innings, but the Red Sox won a back-and-forth affair in Baltimore 6-5.

Sanchez, Smoltz and Hamels

Last night, MLB Network cut to the 5th inning of the Giants-Padres game because Jonathan Sanchez had a perfect game going.

I wanted to stay up to see how far he'd take it, but it was getting late and I was planning to take a long, early-morning bike ride before mowing the lawn. And I'm old. So I went to sleep.

I forgot all about Sanchez until the middle of the afternoon when I heard a radio report that he did it.

Christine and I both forgot to mention it to each other until later in the evening. She stayed up and watched the whole thing. She felt bad for Sanchez when he gave up his only baserunner. It was an error by the third baseman, Juan Uribe, after her Rookie of the Year pick Pablo Sandoval had been removed - probably for defensive reasons to help Sanchez. Christine said she felt bad, but the error maybe saved a possible hit, so it wasn't that bad for Sanchez.

Funny - Sanchez, whose career thus far has been most similar to failed Mets prospect Bull Pulsipher, pitched a no-hitter in his 52nd career start. That's something neither Cole Hamels nor John Smoltz, a pair of more decorated and accomplished pitchers, has done in their 571 combined starts.

I picked those two because that's who took the mound for the SoxandPhils tonight. Which one do you have more confidence in right now? Correct answer is Hamels, but he gave up five runs in six innings against the lowly Pirates. That's five times this year he has given up at least five runs. The Pirates lead in the 8th, 7-3.

Smoltz, however, pitched decently, giving up just one run. Unfortunately, he needed 97 pitches to get through five innings, so he yielded early to a bullpen that has been gone from shutdown to floodgate in recent weeks. In the 6th, Justin Masterson was charged with five earned in one-third of an inning. Manny Delcarmen couldn't end the inning, but Hideki Okajima did. Red Sox 9, Royals 6 in the 7th.

Losing to the rivals

Both our teams lost to their rivals tonight.

Chan Ho Park was the big goat for the Phillies in their 7-4 loss against the Mets.

Christine: How long are we going to be stuck with Chan Ho Park in the rotation?

Me: Judging by Adam Eaton, a year and a half.

He was pretty darn bad tonight: seven runs on six walks and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. I've said since spring training he shouldn't be a starter - now I no longer have faith that he would be serviceable in the bullpen. Christine thinks he'd be fine switching spots with J.A. Happ.

In the 6th I was starting to believe in mystique and aura when the Mets over threw third base. I believed for all of two seconds until Greg Dobbs ran past second on his way to third, forcing Chris Coste to try to score when he had no chance.

Ryan Howard struck out to end the game with a poor swing at a bad pitch. "What the (insert Chase Utley's favorite word here) was that?" Christine said.

Red Sox: All I know about this 6-2 loss to the Rays is this: When flipping to MLB Network to try to find a mid-game update, they were talking about where Evan Longoria ranks among third basemen. They mentioned he hit a grand slam tonight. Ugh.

Justin Masterson pitched almost as poorly as Chan Ho Park, but Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez each pitched a scoreless inning, preserving their 0.00 ERAs.

Tomorrow: We're going to our first game. A colleague mentioned the rainy forecast. "No biggie," I said. "It won't be any worse than the last game we went to."

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.

Sox don't ruin Nick Adenhart memorial

Even though the Red Sox fell to 1-3 and now have sole possession of last place, last night's 6-3 loss wasn't one I mind terribly because it was the first game for the Angels since Nick Adenhart was killed.

Jered Weaver, who probably figured on pitching alongside Adenhart for the next several years, paid tribute to his fallen comrade with a brilliant 6 2/3 innings, giving up an unearned run and striking out eight.

The new Red Sox battery of Tim Wakefield and George Kottaras struggled for a bit before settling down to keep it a 3-1 game until I turned in. I expected a comeback, but I gather the bats stayed dormant and Justin Masterson got shelled.

Today: The Sox are on Fox. Brad Penny makes his debut with hopes of turning around what has been a poor first week for the SoxandPhils. The Phillies play tonight in Colorado. They still haven't officially DL'd Carlos Ruiz, and it looks like we'll be wondering for awhile whether Cole Hamels arm is right. I have a feeling that unfortunately this could be a season-long debate.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Random thoughts

I woke up this morning to screaming headlines about Brad Penny's bum shoulder. I was terrified. But then I remembered: This isn't 2003. The Red Sox don't always choke in October, and the Phillies no longer end their seasons in September.

Plus, we have ample depth at starting pitcher: John Smoltz, Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden or even Justin Masterson could be the team's fifth starter if needed.

Now, if J.D. Drew's back doesn't respond to these injections, then you can write off the season. I'm just kidding. It's just nice that these tidbits would have seemed disastrous five years ago, but after championships there's a calming sense that the front office has it all under control. Ditto for the Phillies.

He's fallen that far: Scott Lauber notes that Matt Stairs and Geoff Jenkins have become redundant and that one of them won't be in Philadelphia this year. I wonder whether Jenkins would have been considered one of the Phillies' worst free agent signings ever if Jayson Werth hadn't picked up his slack.

Showdown: We have some disagreement between current and former Philly.com writers. This afternoon, the Inquirer's new guy, Andy Martino, reported that the Phillies made an offer to free agent reliever Will Ohman. He cited the lefty's agent as the source.

Two hours later, Martino's predecessor, Todd Zolecki, reporting for MLB.com, shot him down: "A Phillies source told MLB.com today that they 'are not on Ohman.' The source indicated that Ohman's agent might be trying to generate interest in his client."

An hour after that, the Daily News' David Murphy reported that the Phillies have kicked the tires on Ohman all offseason but that a deal is unlikely.

I can't wait to see whether Zolecki or his replacement is correct.

Two coin flips away

Last night's Angels-Red Sox match-up is a prime example why I still follow this game.

After Jon Lester shut down the Angels for seven innings - 14 goose eggs for the ace in the series - Justin Masterson allowed the Angels to tie it up with two runs in the 8th.

Before 2004, I might have turned off the TV if that happened. Now, it's just a matter of how they're going to pull it out.

They survived a scare in the top of the 9th, when the Angels had a man on third with one out. Erick Ayber missed a bunt, and Jason Varitek chased Reggie Willits back to third, narrowly tagging him before he reached the base. Of course, controversy followed because after the lunging tag, the ball fell out of the captain's glove. No matter, the out stood.

In the bottom of the 9th, with one out Jason (Manny who?) Bay blooped one to right that Willits couldn't get; it bounced in the stands for a ground-rule double. With two outs, Jed Lowrie roped a hit to win the game 3-2, end the series and etch his name in Red Sox playoff lore. It was nice symmetry that Lester and Lowrie did their post-game news conference together.

With the win, the showdown for the American League championship is set between the Eastern Division champion Tampa Rays and the Wild Card challenger Red Sox. Given the competitiveness of each team and their history of bad blood, I expect a long, hard-fought series. It's pretty much a coin flip between the Rays and Red Sox, and the Phillies and Dodgers.

Each team left standing has a 50 percent chance of going to the World Series. We're two coin flips away - a one in four shot - from a SoxandPhils World Series.

No more getting ahead of ourselves. We have to first concentrate on beating the Rays, who I never dismissed, and the Dodgers.

To end on a serious note. Our country is in rough economic times. A new report shows that 25 of the wealthiest men in America are now out of work ... but enough about the New York Yankees!

I heard that this weekend from Big Joe Henry and just kept forgetting to post it.

{I'm sure you're all as amused as I was. Sad to say, Greg actually laughed out loud. Sigh.}

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Now it's a competition

Last night's great win was wiped out today by losing to the Mets, 6-3. Last year, the Phillies wouldn't let the Mets rebound like this, so does tonight say that the Mets have better character than last year or that Brett Myers is officially done? He lasted five innings, giving up three runs on five walks and three hits with only two strikeouts in a no-decision. In the 1st, he gave up two runs on four walks and no runs. Not exactly the message-sending performance needed from young Brett. The Phillies are again tied with the Mets for first.

Red Sox: They certainly didn't play as if it were an afternoon getaway day in Seattle, needing 12 innings to complete the sweep of the Mariners, 6-3. Clay Buchholz pitched all right, but we're still awaiting better things from him. Justin Masterson made his relief debut with 2.2 perfect innings.

The Sox, trailing the Rays by a half game and three in front of the Yankees, get an off day tomorrow before heading home, where they'll hopefully end this little resurgence by the Empire. Good and bad news on the injury front: David Ortiz is due back Friday, but Manny Ramirez is day-to-day with a bum knee.

Until we meet again

It wasn't the prettiest game, but the Red Sox beat the Phillies 7-4, to win the 2008 Sox-Phils regular season series 2-1. But come October, each team starts 0-0.

Today the bats, led by Philly favorite J.D. Drew's three-run home run, stoked young Justin Masterson to a 4-0 lead in the 1st. Mike Lowell then hit a solo shot. Boston added two more in the 3rd when Brandon Moss, pinch-hitting for Coco Crisp (we learned after the game he somehow hurt his hand grounding out in the 1st), hit a two-run single. Drew had another RBI in the 4th and finished a triple shy of the cycle.

Masterson was better and worse than his line (five innings, two runs, four hits, two walks and a strikeout). The side-arm slinger was a bit wild and gave up runs in the 1st and 5th; he had a couple 1-2-3's in between. His counterpart, Kyle Kendrick, was yanked after three.

The Phillies, meanwhile, never really seemed into it except for a two-run 7th inning rally that created a save situation for Jonathan Papelbon. Craig Hansen didn't retire any of the three batters he faced before yielding to Manny Delcarmen, who put out the threat.

Observations from the stands: Our seats were much lower and closer to the action, but we were a bit off center and had trouble judging fair-foul balls down the left field line. ... I saw an old-school Twins T-shirt with the "Win Twins" logo. ... An older couple in front of us wore complementary home and away Mike Timlin jerseys. The woman's was autographed, as was her visor. We couldn't read the names, though. ... Jeanette Bayardelle, from The Color Purple, sang the National Anthem. She was good, but I want the song done quickly. ... I didn't bring a pencil - it doesn't run like ink if it gets wet - and of course there were a few raindrops as the game started. But it wasn't much, and the weather turned out to be one of the nicest of the season for us. ... In the 2nd, the Phillies had runners on first and second, and Kyle Kendrick's bunt was snagged on a fly by Sean Casey. I pointed to second, where Greg Dobbs was way off base. Casey threw him out - score that 3-Greg-6. ... In the 4th, Geoff Jenkins couldn't hold onto his bat after a strikeout - it flew down the line.

Elbows: I got an elbow from Christine in the 5th when Masterson got Chase Utley (hitless in his last 20 ABs) to ground out, ending a threat. I got another elbow the next inning when I said, "I just said they would get to the World Series, not that they'd win it" when Christine lamented that her team stinks. I got a third for slapping my scorecard when Ryan Howard struck out, ending the Phillies best rally in the 7th.

More observations: The Citizens Bank Seven prize packs were won in our section, two rows down. Christine, who is on a quest to win some sort of prize from her team, was very disappointed. ... Howard made a couple of nice plays; Christine noted how we go crazy when he makes a routine play. "He's set the bar low," I said. ... We loved our beer guy. He had some sort of custom-made gadget to automatically unscrew the caps. It was attached to his hand by a glove and appeared to be a drill with a fitting to grab the cap. Christine kept hoping people would order more beer so we could see it in use. ... In honor of the 60th anniversary of his debut, Robin Roberts threw out the first pitch to Cole Hamels. ... I'm sure Christine is glad to see the Red Sox leave town, but we both concede that each fan base didn't embarrass themselves with any real craziness. I got only one "Red Sox sucks" the entire series. Hopefully, each side can remain civil when they battle again in October.

High-scoring down memory lane

With Kyle Kendrick and the Phillies leading the Cardinals by nearly two touchdowns tonight, I couldn't help but think of Sept. 17, 2007. That night, the Phils staked young Kyle to an 11-0 lead. He was pulled from the game after he gave up three runs in the 6th. The Cardinals outscored the Phils 8-1 in the next two innings, and the Phils' 12-11 lead seemed awfully dicey.

With a bullpen that was awful and depleted, the Phillies thankfully scored one more in the 9th. Things were so bad for Charlie Manuel that Francisco Rosario had to get the last two outs for the save. Other notable relievers in the box score that night included Jose Mesa, Antonio Alfonseca and Kane Davis.

Tonight went a lot smoother in the Phillies 20-2 rout over the Cardinals, started by Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell hitting back-to-back-to-back homers in the 1st. They had 21 hits total, paced by four from Carlos Ruiz - the first time he's done that. Cardinals IF Aaron Miles pitched a 1-2-3 9th. The teams started throwing at each other, and I think we may see benches clear before the Phillies leave St. Louis.

Kendrick went seven innings for the win on the anniversary of his big-league debut. He's now 16-6 in his career.

Too bad the Phillies couldn't ship some of those runs to Cincinnati, where the Red Sox lost on the road again, 3-1 to the Reds. They were shut down by Aaron Harang. Justin Masterson nearly matched him (6.2 IP, three runs, three walks, four hits, nine strikeouts) but was a tough-luck loser. His first career loss.

More troubling, three days before the Sox-Phils series, Manny Ramirez's hamstring is acting up again. He left in the 7th.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 2005: The Sox swept three in Philly. I remember the series vividly. The defending champs were in midst of winning 12 of 13 to take a 3.5 game division lead. They seemed primed to roll through the league and repeat as World Champions. But they squandered a five-game lead in August and wound up tied with the Empire - again relegated to the Wild Card based on head-to-head record.

The Phillies put up little fight in the series, losing 8-0, 7-1 and 12-8. In the finale, after young Brett Myers was shelled for seven runs in four innings, the Phils made a game of it, tying the game at eight in the 7th, before the champs put them away with four in the 8th. Winners: Tim Wakefield, Matt Clement and Mike Timlin (then a Sox). Losers: Jon Lieber, Vicente Padilla and Rheal Cormier (then a Phillie).

While I remember the high I was on after the sweep, I can't remember the individual games. We're pretty sure we went to two of them, but we can't find the ticket stubs.

Triple header

Christine and I, and her Mom, spent a brutally hot day at the ballpark watching the local nine. The Phillies were in Atlanta, so we went real local: the York Revolution and the Camden Riversharks squaring off in unaffiliated baseball at Campbell's Field.

Instead of Cole, Chase and J-Roll, we had Jason Phillips, Aaron Myette and Josh Rabe. Instead of the Phanatic, we had Finley - the friendliest shark we know. Instead of statues of Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn and Steve Carlton, there were tributes to the legendary Campbell's kids. And every time a ball was fouled off, a cow mooed. (Foul - or is it fowl? - balls are sponsored by Chik-fil-A.)

We should probably go see the local team more often, but going to a game in the beginning of June is becoming an annual thing for us and the Riversharks. Through work, Christine's Mom gets tickets for the picnic area. Minor league baseball can be entertaining if there's a highly touted prospect or an amusing has-been in the game. This one had neither.

We split in the 7th because of the heat. We had to wait until Myette gave up a hit, which he did in the 5th with one out. Phillips, the be-goggled former Met, Dodger and Blue Jay, followed that hit with an RBI double. It was 5-1 when we left, and when it ended, "the hometown Riversharks were outplayed Sunday to the tune of 9-4," according to the team's press release.

Still undetermined is whether we get free pizza out of the game. They have a promotion where if a pre-selected visiting player strikes out, you get a free slice. If it happens, twice you get two slices. Three times gets a whole pie. Last year, our guy struck out twice, but when we tried to cash in, the pizza place wouldn't honor the tickets because it was eight days after the game. That caveat, that the tickets had to be redeemed with a week of the strikeouts, wasn't mentioned or printed anywhere. I complained to the Riversharks GM, who apologized and offered a free meal at the park. I didn't collect but appreciated the gesture. Today's strikeout player, C Luis Taveras, the older brother of Rockies CF Willy Taveras, was 1-3 with a groundout and flyout by the time we left. He would have gotten another at-bat, but I can't find a box score anywhere.


Phillies: We got home in time to watch the Phillies win (yawn) another close game late against the Braves. Adam Eaton, who leads the Phillies in quality starts, got another one today, but he didn't get his third straight win because the game stayed tied at three until the Phillies scored three times in the 9th. That's now four straight for the Phillies, who distanced themselves from Atlanta with the sweep and could put some more space between them and the Marlins in Florida over the next three games. If so, it'll be at the point where we wonder if the Phillies will just cruise. Christine hopes they learned a lesson from the Mets last year and don't think the division is won until it's clinched.

Red Sox: The Red Sox won again (yawn, again) at home. This time, it was a crisp 2-1 game over the Mariners. J.D. Drew, who's quietly redeeming himself after last year, hit the go-ahead homer in the 6th. Justin Masterson won again (three in four starts). He's now 3-0 with a 2.59 ERA. You have to love young, homegrown pitchers. Not every team can be like the Phillies and get into June using only five starters.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 2000: Phillies swept a home series; two games went more than 11 innings. We didn't go to any games. The opener ended in the 11th when Alex Arias doubled off of John Wadsin, scoring Brian Hunter. The middle game was a 9-3 blowout behind another strong Randy Wolf start. And the finale went 12 innings before Rheal Cormier (then a Sox) gave up a double to Kevin Jordon, scoring Brian Hunter again. Other winners: Jeff Brantley and Steve Schrenk. Other loser: Tim Wakefield.

On second thought, while we searched for ticket stubs to the 2005 Sox-Phils series, we found one from 2000. It was the finale. Curt Schilling gave up five runs in 7.1 innings against Jeff Fassero. Derek Lowe, then a reliever, blew it, causing the extra innings. Pat Burrell played 1B. We don't remember a lick.

The kicker: We can't find any memorabilia from 2005 and can't remember which games we went to. Yeah, we're getting old.

Brett buries the Marlins

Things weren't looking so hot in the 1st inning tonight. Brett Myers was pitching poorly, a fly ball was misplayed by Pat Burrell, all balls in the air were carrying strangely because of the wind.

So what did the Phillies do? Have a seven-run 2nd inning en route to a 12-3 win over the Marlins. Chris Coste, Chase Utely and Ryan Howard all had home runs. Myers settled down nicely after a sloppy start to the game and ended up pitching eight innings with 11 strikeouts.

I know everyone is saying it and writing about it, but this team is just on right now. It's not often that good pitching and good hitting align for the Phils. This week has been fun baseball, and now the team stands in first place, with the opportunity to do some real damage in the division this weekend.

Manny Ramirez doesn't care about sending me to bed on time; Red Sox and Orioles tied at two in the 13th. Daisuke Matsuzaka was DL'd today; sucks losing an 8-0 pitcher, but we've got Justin Masterson (1-0, 1.46 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP) ready to fill in.

As soon as I finished that graf, the Red Sox scored after a certain player with 499 career homers started a rally with a double. They're now up 5-2. Here's hoping they can hold the lead.

Lester's contagious

Young Cole Hamels and Justin Masterson weren't quite unhittable, but each tried to match Jon Lester tonight. Hamels threw 7 shutout innings with 4 hits, 2 walks and 11 K's, getting a no decision in the 1-0 win because his teammates couldn't remember how to score until the 9th inning against the Nationals. (They were shut out last night.)

Masterson's line wasn't as pretty, but he got his first major league win against the Kansas City Royals, with 6 1/3 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 3 walks and 5 K's. Jonathan Papelbon pitched out of Hideki Okajima's based-loaded jam in the 8th to save the 2-1 game.

Disturbing Lester nugget: There have been lots of stories, stats and trivia since last night's no-no. One, taken from baseball-reference's dugout central, scares me:

At 24 years and 133 days, Lester is the youngest lefty to throw a no-hitter since the Cardinals’ Bud Smith no-hit the Padres on Sept. 3, 2001. Smith was 21 years and 315 days.

Disturbing Chris Wheeler comment: At the beginning of the broadcast: "Is Cole Hamels the slumpbuster for the Phillies tonight?" At least there were no thong references.

All-star catcher and movie star from Philly retires: A few days ago, Christine and I wondered if the Phillies would have some kind of ceremony for Mike Lieberthal. We learned on Sunday that they are. He's "retiring" as a Phil and will throw out the first pitch on June 1. Oh yeah, Mike Piazza's retiring, too.

Pedro Martinez says he might retire after this year, but I'm not convinced. If he does, I bet Roger Clemens will love watching those two be inducted into the Hall of Fame in consecutive years while he's sitting alone with his Mindy McCready albums.

Too tired to care right now

Remember that shed we bought at the end of March? We came home from a funeral this afternoon and decided today was the day to tackle it. We figured it would take only a few hours. We were wrong, and we didn't hit a breaking point until 10:20 tonight.

We had the Phillies on the radio this afternoon as we worked, so we heard about another clutch hit from Pat Burrell and another dominating outing by the bullpen against the Brewers. The Red Sox used to have a dominating bullpen. I, along with the debuting Justin Masterson, wonder what happened to it.

OK, the Angels got some revenge for last year's ALDS, and I've been humbled. Now it's time to get back to dominating.

Snow day

Lovely weather for a penguin, eh?

Christine and I took a couple days off to celebrate her birthday yesterday. (Surely it's a coincidence that her birthday, the day I proposed and our anniversary all fall on a 21st.) We didn't have any big plans but were hoping to take the Citizens Bank tour today, but obviously weather didn't cooperate.

{We did take a ride to the ballpark yesterday so I could pick out a new hat. There were only four women's hats in stock - three with pink and one in peach. Blech. I opted for gender neutral - dark blue with red trim. Plus an extra 15% off everything in the store, I assume in honor of the first day of regular season ticket sales for the masses.}

It was a strange offseason. Everyone says it felt so long - obviously because the hot stove banter has mostly been about players' past misdeeds, not their prospective movement. It felt quick for me, but that's probably because of the Sox and Giants (oops, I almost wrote Patriots) winning championships.

Two of the next wave of Sox prospects, Justin Masterson and Jed Lowrie, are blogging about camp for the Globe. Pretty cut and dried, as you would expect from rookies trying to crack the big team at some point this year, but Masterson's rubbing our noses in it:

Warm weather! That's the very first thing that excited me about getting down to Fort Myers. I had spend most of my off season in the cold, snowy weather.