Little rain, sloppy game

Driving to the park yesterday, Christine and I listened to sports talk in hopes of hearing something that would tell us how wet we were going to get and how long the game would be delayed.

Instead, we got another reason Christine can't stand talk radio. There was a guy insisting that the Phillies should platoon Ryan Howard because he can't hit lefties. He didn't go so far as to suggest trading David Herndon for Albert Pujols so the Phils would have a first baseman against lefties, but he was very annoying.

So, with minimal delay or rain, Christine and I found our way to our seats (after we stopped to say hi to Nats fan Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump, who was somewhere in this picture) to see Howard battle a tough Nationals lefty, John Lannan. He homered in the first inning and had an RBI single in the 3rd. Against the Nationals righty relievers, Howard went 0-2 with an intentional walk.

I know none of that proves anything, except it reminds me of that saying about opinions and an anatomical part. Yeah, everyone has one, and some are more inclined to share them without any hint of self-concept.

Back to the game. Well, the rains held off for the Phils to win 11-3 against the Nats. It was a very sloppy game, of which the less said the better. Besides, there was plenty of stuff going on in the stands to distract us from the game that featured three errors (all Nationals) and nine walks (mostly Nationals).

It wasn't a banner day for antiquated jerseys - just Aaron Rowand, Jamie Moyer, Ruben Amaro Sr. and a few Jim Thomes, including a pair of couples in which both women had a No. 25. ... The most interesting shirt we saw was a David Herndon jersey. Joe Wolf took this pic and said this guy's a regular in his section. There's no doubting his Phanhood. ... One lady in our section had a bedazzled Phillies hat to complement her "Designated Kisser" shirt. ... The Amaro shirt was an odd spot. I had to check that it was correct because it's odd to see anything other than Schmidt with a No. 20.

Amaro and his son were among a bunch of former Phillies who were brought back for alumni weekend. Christine and I didn't know quite a few of them but noticed most of them lived locally, as if the alums could only come if they paid for their own transportation to the game. ... It was funny seeing Scott Eyre among the old-timers. Christine was interested to see Charlie Hayes after he was announced, but he never came out. We wondered whether he decided to skip the ceremony to keep sampling the fare at Garry Maddox's barbecue cook-off going on outside.

Walking into the park (we were ducking a few drops at the time), a guy rushed passed us and caught my attention. I realized he was carrying a yellow T-shirt and figured the vendor was probably late for work. ... Inside, we were behind two jerseys, "Brittany" and "Sammy." Christine was going to comment, but she realized that those were regulation uniforms for the Phillies ball girls. ... The QVC singers did the anthem. Funny, upon arriving at the park we sat in the car for a while to try to wait out the rain. We did that before a game two years ago in which TV's singing salesmen also did the anthem. They sang well.

Michael Stutes has a new bag to bring goodies to the bullpen. He had been using a nondescript bag, but I guess his mates must have read his Twitter comment a few weeks ago that he would carry an embarrassing pink bag if they asked him to. Stutes pitched two innings in relief of Roy Oswalt. The Phillies 8th inning ended with him on deck. Christine was hoping to see his first major league plate appearance, but Wilson Valdez grounded out.

The Phanatic reprised his Lady Pha Pha bit. That's always a crowd pleaser. ... By the way, one more note on Ryan Howard: In the six games we've gone to since Trent, he has gone 7-22 with three walks, two homers and eight RBIS. Platoon his butt!

We're staying home today, keeping dry and waiting for Trent to come home from his sleepover at Grandmom's. He has a little surprise waiting for him. Two words: Wiffle Ball.

Extracurricular multi-sport potpourri

I was a bit worried that we may have jinxed the Flyers last night, but they held on and will play for the Stanley Cup. I guess there are a lot of people in the Eagles front office rooting hard for the Blackhawks right now. Can you imagine if the Flyers join the Phillies as Philadelphia champions before the Iggles get over the hump?

When we were watching some of the post-game analysis, we missed this gem. Classic stuff - it's almost as if Michael Barkann planted this girl to drop the F-bomb on live TV:



Poor Steve Coates. I never heard of him before last week, but now I'm quite fond of Coatesy, primarily because of this Joe Conklin Flyers parody of Lada Gaga's Bad Romance. Lady Pha Pha would approve.

From ice hockey to ice football: Super Bowl XLVIII is coming to New Jersey. I still can't believe it.

Back to baseball extracurricular stuff: People, including Christine and me, have stuffed the All-Star ballots for the Phillies. Jimmy Rollins, who has played in slightly more games than me, is the leading shortstop, but Carlos Ruiz trails Yadier Molina. Early AL results were released yesterday; fans in New York and Texas are stuffing the ballot.

Today's games: The surging Sox lead the Rays 2-0 in the 9th; the phlopping Phillies trail the Mets 7-0 in the 8th.

Windburned

SoxandPhils was at the park today for a game that was truly one in which you had to hold on to your hat - not because the Phillies 4-1 loss to the Braves was particularly compelling, but because if you didn't hold on to your hat, you'd loss it in the killer wind.

We cannot describe how windy it was: The flagpoles shook, trees appeared to bend backward, peanut shells flurried around the park like snow, and garbage constantly blew from the upper rows. At times when walking to our seats, we could not move because the wind was so strong in our face.

Watching this game was a matter of survival, which probably explains why I have so few games notes and why I wasn't particularly riveted by a game that was a pitcher's duel, albeit an ugly one, that was 1-0 through five innings and one in which Joe Blanton took a no-hitter into the 5th.

Today wasn't the most fun we've ever had at the park, but it was definitely interesting. Here's our recap:

Observations from the stands: Today was youth baseball day at the park. There were a lot of youngsters in the park. Led by Hershey's Chocolate characters, they paraded around the park. Did I mention there was a lot of them? The parade took nearly a half hour. They just kept coming in and circling and circling. One of the kiddies had a homemade replica of the 2008 World Series trophy. I saw it on the scoreboard and then he wound up sitting in our section. ... The Meadowbrook School Singers under the direction of Phyllis Ward did the anthem. I didn't note whether I liked it or not, which means it was probably acceptable. ... A couple of young baseball players and a youth league coach threw out the first pitch(es). ... After deviating a bit earlier this season, Jayson Werth is back to using Sammy Hagar's Heavy Metal for his intro music. ... Christine and I debated today's fan question: Who is your favorite BraveandPhil - Johnny Estrada, Kevin Millwood, Ron Gant or Dale Murphy? I figured Murphy's tenure in Philadelphia was forgettable and a long time ago. Christine thought he was just the most inoffensive. She was right, and he won 40% of the vote. I had picked Estrada. ... Chase Utley, Charlie Manuel and Carlos Ruiz had days off. Utley pinch hit in the 9th, Ruiz entered the game in the 3rd after Brian Schneider was injured, but Cholly got to attend his daughter's wedding, presumably without interruption. ... New Brave Jayson Heyward pinch hit in the 9th. He looked huge even from the upper deck.

Antiquated shirts: Aaron Rowand, Pat Burrell, Mike Lieberthal, Matt Stairs, Jon Lieber, Cliff Lee, Pete Rose and Jim Thome. I almost included Jimmy Rollins because it seems like forever since he's played. ... I can't believe they're selling shirts about the taser incident outside the park - I bet the dolts who proudly wear those are the same ones who complain about how the national media portrays Philadelphia poorly.

Lady Pha Pha returns: The sensation of Lady Pha Pha is growing so big that the Phanatic may never be green again. Today, he, err, she came out and did her dance (without any inappropriate behavior from a coach). She then went to the first base side and did a special little dance for umpire Wally Bell. He didn't make any obscene gestures but didn't like it when Lady Pha Pha grinded on him.

He reacted with a playful motion that sent Lady Pha Pha to the ground and her hat and wig off her head. We're not sure how much of that was supposed to happen and how much was like today's games: uncontrollable train wrecks in which the less said, the better.

Speaking of which: Yankees 14, Red Sox 3.

It sucks. I make no excuses nor concede anything, but I'm more fascinated with the image I just saw on MLB Network in which it appeared that a low-flying Marine helicopter appeared to go right throw Fenway Park in the middle of the game. I can't believe there is no outrage over this yet.

Oh well, better days start tomorrow.

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.