I forgive Manny

It takes a big man to admit his mistakes. And it takes an even bigger man to remind us that it takes a big man to admit his mistakes after admitting his obvious mistakes.

Manny Ramirez is a big man (no steroid pun intended):

Manny Ramirez was at Fenway before the game was called off and told a small group of reporters (and NESN) that he regretted how his tenure with the Red Sox ended in 2008.

"I think everything was my fault," he said. "You've got to be a real man to realize when you do wrong. Hey, it was my fault, right? I'm already past that stage. I'm happy. I'm in a new team."
[...]
Ramirez said he apologized to Youkilis in June when he played a series at Fenway with the Dodgers.

"I said, 'Hey, what happened between you and me, I'm sorry. It was my fault,'" Ramirez said. "It takes a real man to go and tell a person, 'Hey, it was my fault,' and that's what I did."

Good. Now that the deplorable ending of the Manny Ramirez era has closure, can we just play this weekend's games without documenting every time he scratches himself in this big series - the second time he has come to Fenway as a visitor since his Red Sox tenure ended.

Today's games: The White and Red Sox were hurricaned out. The Phillies scored just one run for Cole Hamels, but this time, it was enough for the 1-0 win over the Brewers. Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson finished the game to give Brad Lidge a day off. The Braves lost, so the Phils are just one game out and still lead the Wild Card by 2.5 games. The Red Sox just need to make up seven games in September, so a SoxandPhils World Series is still possible.

The Phillies need a better scheduler

An ad caught my eye in the Phillies program I bought last week. It was for a sports card and memorabilia show. It's odd because the featured athletes are Curt Schilling and Joe Blanton. (Another current Phillie, Ben Francisco, is also listed.) Fine, you can theme Schilling and Blanton as two rotund pitchers with Phillies connections, but the date is the odd part. The show runs Sept. 24 through Sept. 26.

That's the dates of the Phillies last home series of the year. It's against the Mets, who I'm sure would love to play spoiler against the team that has ruined their recent seasons.

I thought maybe someone made sure the show didn't conflict with games, but nope. Friday's show runs from 5 to 9 p.m. when there's a 7 p.m. game. While Saturday's game time hasn't been announced, it's hard to imagine one not conflicting with a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. show. And there's no way a player can participate in a 1:35 p.m. game Sunday and a show that runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

I think somebody screwed up. I went to the show's site to investigate further and found out that the appearance times for everyone, even former Phils like Curt, Darren Daulton and Geoff Jenkins, are listed as TBD. And there are additional current Phillies booked for the show: Placido Polanco and Ryan Madson.

Christine won't be happy if the Mets beat the Phillies that weekend with a quarter of the team signing cards with Curt Schilling.

Speaking of members of the 2004 Red Sox: Manny Ramirez is leaving the Dodgers, who start a series with the Phillies today, and joins the White Sox, who play the Red Sox on Friday and seven times until the end of the season. As if the end of this season won't be annoying enough.

Tonight's games: The Red Sox are off. The Phillies play late in Los Angeles. I had a nice day with Trent, but I'm pooped and won't attempt to get the beginning of the game into this post.

Unwelcome return

I logged on thinking that Davey Lopes' comments about Chase Utley and his knee, and the Phillies' offensive explosion, would give me an excuse to downplay the return of Manny Ramirez to Fenway.

Nope.

An even bigger former Red Sox/roider/horse's ass stole my attention. Roger Clemens decided tonight would be a good night to catch a game in the Monster seats. What an ass. Doesn't he have a lawsuit to worry about?

The Globe reports that Manny was largely booed, but that there were some cheers and a video tribute to the former Red Sox slugger. He rewarded the appreciation by showing no acknowledgment. I probably would have neither cheered nor booed.

Manny aside, Felix Doubront won his big league debut despite giving up five runs (three earned) in five innings. The Red Sox beat the Dodgers 10-6 behind home runs by Manny's bud David Ortiz and former Dodgers Adrian Beltre and J.D. Drew. Former Phillies prospect Carlos Monasterios got shelled.

If you care (I don't) Manny was 1-5 with a run. Daniel Bard struck him out looking to end the game. {Greg cared so little that he stood up and cheered when Manny struck out.}

Phillies: Davey Lopes told Baseball Prospectus that Chase Utley has a knee injury, confirming much speculation. Utley denied it, but said he wouldn't ever say if he's injured:

Chase Utley said today he is a private person, so he probably would not admit if an injury affected his play.

Utley then said he is fine.

The Phillies said he is fine, too.

He looks fine tonight. Utley, who dismissed before the game that he has an injured right knee, singled and scored from first on a triple in the first inning, hit a three-run home run to right field in the second inning and made a fantastic diving catch in the third inning.

He also specifically refuted Lopes' comments:

"I think there's a little confusion and maybe a little bit of a difference of opinion with what Davey said," Utley said before the game. "In my opinion, an injury is something that keeps you off the field. When you play 162-games-plus over the course of the year you're going to have aches and pains. That's part of this game. That's part of being a baseball player. In my opinion there's no injury whatsoever."

In case you don't believe him - because he said he wouldn't admit if an injury affected his play - Chase was 2-5 tonight with two runs, four RBI and a home run. He was a big cog in what we hope is the official start of hittin' season as the Phillies beat the Twins 9-5. Ryan Howard was a bigger cog, going 4-4 with three runs, three RBI and two home runs, a triple and a double.

Numerical musings

There is not one stat in this post.

When the Red Sox recently brought back Alan Embree for a looksie, they gave him No. 43 again. Since he left midway through 2005, Chad Harville, Mike Holtz and Devern Hansack have worn that number.

I guess despite tossing the last pitch in the great 2004 ALCS, the Red Sox clubhouse guy didn't feel a need to freeze that jersey number, as is the custom of the Phillies clubhouse guy Frank Coppenbarger.

Comcast SportsNet's Jim Salisbury had a fascinating piece the other day on how the Phillies dole out uniform numbers for newly acquired players and how Roy Halladay wound up with Cliff Lee's No. 34.

Basically: Hallady wore 32 in Toronto, but that is retired for Steve Carlton in Philly. Last summer, the team decided he would wear 34 but had to reverse plans when Lee became the midseason acquisition. This year, when Halladay-to-the-Phillies was imminent, the staff decided he would get back the 34 he never had and gave Cliff Lee the No. 31 he had worn previously. But that wasn't necessary once Lee was shipped to Seattle.

Interesting SoxandPhils number notes from the column: In 2008, when there was a Manny Ramirez for Pat Burrell trade rumor (which Christine has completely forgotten about), the Phillies special-ordered a pair of long pants for Manny.

After drafting J.D. Drew, the Phillies reserved No. 39 for him, which he wore in college.

Curt Schilling's No. 38 was frozen for a while after he left. Pat Burrell's No. 5 is currently frozen, and they didn't know what they were going to do if Nomar Garciaparra joined the Phillies last year.

Exit stage left

The news today pertains to the fates of two of the SoxandPhils' leading men who probably have played their last games for the good guys.

Contract negotiations between the Red Sox and All-Star Jason Bay have become strained. Meanwhile, the Phillies didn't offer a contract to Clay Condrey, star of The Pen, who was a valuable piece of the 2008 bullpen.

Obviously, Bay is the more important news. He did an admirable job replacing Manny Ramirez's steroid-boosted bat in left field and exhibited nothing but class during his year and a half with the Red Sox. I would love for his tenure to continue for a few more years, but he doesn't strike me as the uber-elite player we should overpay for.

Hopefully, he goes to the Mets and becomes another sunken cost for them. Christine is rooting for a completely random team, such as the Mariners, to sign him. My only hope is that the Yankees don't sign him. Ultimately, I don't think he'll make a major difference for them, but I just don't want to hear all the crap about yet another reason why the Empire is the class of baseball because they have money to burn.

Speaking of players who have switched teams, last night Christine and I saw what happens in real life when a player moves on. While knocking off some last-minute items for Christmas at a local wine store, I glanced over to the discount rack and saw a bottle with someone's face on it labeled Schneider.

"Who's Schneider?" I said loud enough that the clerk asked if we needed help.

Upon closer inspection, it was the Phillies new backup catcher, Brian Schneider, and his Schneider Schardonnay, which benefits kids' sports programs. But because the bottle was from his Mets days, it was reduced from $13.99 to $9.99. {Um, I think it's more likely that it was discounted because who wants to buy a bottle of Schneider Schardonnay, regardless of team?}

We should have bought it to see how it compares to Manny Being Merlot. {In retrospect, Manny Being Merlot tasted a little steroid-y.}

Game 1 on

***10:30 UPDATE: Apologies to Scott Lauber for stealing his phrasing about the Pedro-Padilla matchup. It wasn't intentional. Also, Phillies clinging to a 5-4 lead. Christine's not so calm anymore.***

As a fan, I can't complain about all these 8:07 p.m. starts for the NLCS games. Nor will I lodge a complaint as a blogger, but I won't attempt to get final scores in my nightly posts.

Here are the pregame doings:

--Pedro Martinez will start Game 2 vs. Vicente Padilla. Who'd have thunk that? I've been meaning to comment on how Big Joe Blanton has gotten the shaft this postseason. He was arguably the Phillies best starter and definitely the most consistent. So how come he gets bumped again for the 37-year-old who hasn't pitched since Sept. 30 and has a bum rib, neck or whatever body part he claims is hurting?

But if Charlie Manuel must pitch Pedro, this is the best possible plan. Pitch him in the warm weather with Blanton or J.A. Happ ready to come in at the slightest hint of trouble. If Pedro can't cut it, whichever starter relieves him should get the Game 6 start *if necessary.

--Brett Myers and Kyle Kendrick were booted from the roster for Eric Bruntlett and Chan Ho Park. Brett's response: "I'm (ticked)."

I'm not going to carry the flag for young Brett, but I don't understand how you can take a pitcher who hasn't pitched since Sept. 16. Forget Myers, how could they take Chan Ho over Kendrick and Tyler Walker - two of the Phillies most reliable relievers at the end of the season.

By the way, if you heard Howard Eskin say that the Phillies cannot change their roster if they make it to the World Series, ignore him. He's a dolt. Teams can change their roster before each round. The afternoon ass said they purposely made this move because LCS rosters are frozen for the rest of the playoffs. Dolt.

Red Sox (former ones anyway): One storyline I forgot was the matchup of Pedro and Manny Ramirez. Thankfully, Nick Cafardo is on the beat:

They are competing in the National League Championship Series, on opposite sides, Martinez with the Phillies and Ramirez with the Dodgers. They are a huge part of Red Sox lore, teammates in 2004 when they helped pull off the greatest comeback in baseball history against the Yankees and went on to win the World Series.

Who could forget it, especially with the fifth anniversary coming up?

Manny could.

"I don't remember anything, man," he said yesterday. "I don't remember too much about that or about last year or any of that. I just don't think about the past."

It was one of those Manny conversations. Pretty random. It had an impromptu start and an impromptu ending. It was all about what Manny wanted to talk about, after the media pummeled him with questions in Spanish and English as he sat near his locker. He smiled and laughed and didn't elaborate on a whole lot.

Tonight's game: In the top of the 5th, the Phillies trail 1-0 on a James Loney home run. With 67 pitches through four innings, this feels more like a 2009, than 2008, Cole Hamels start.

Christine is taking the score quite well. She's quietly kept the phaith so far.

Sometimes I forget that my first allegiance is no longer to the story. Christine hit me because I made a disappointed noise when it appeared Jayson Werth hit a home run that would have caused me to rewrite this post.

The ball didn't go out, and I would up having to write more anyway.

I miss being a reporter sometimes.

Chooch Chooch Chooch!!! Is what I just chanted when Carlos Ruiz hit his three-run home run. Mr. Clutch. Phillies 3, Dodgers 1. Chooch!!

Shattered

I got an e-mail today with the subject: "I knew the Red Sox were too good to be true."

Once I opened it, instantly the best baseball year of my life was ruined. What I long suspected, but hoped would not be true, was confirmed: The 2004 Boston Red Sox were tainted by drugs. David Ortiz, like his cohort Manny Ramirez, tested positive in 2003. I'm a hypocrite, and the Red Sox first championship in 86 years is no more pure than any that the Yankees have won.

Fun day.

I didn't even care when I heard Papi hit a big home run to win today's game, 8-5 over the A's. The myth of Big Papi has been shattered. Ortiz, who had previously advocated a full-year suspension for roiders, claimed ignorance until after the game:

He said he was "blindsided" when a Times reporter asked him about the allegation before the game, and said he responded at the time with a "no comment" because he "wanted to get to the bottom of this." He added:

Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive. ... I will find out what I tested positive for [and] based on whatever I learn, I will share this information with my club and the public. You know me -- I will not hide and I will not make excuses.

Speaking to reporters in the clubhouse after the game, Ortiz elaborated on his statement. "I found out like an hour before the game about the situation. You guys know I'm a guy that never turns my back on you guys, always been true with you guys. And, honestly, right now I don't have information about it. I'm going to get more input about the situation and I'm going to honestly tell you guys what's up. But right now, I don't have answers. I've got no information."

At least Curt Schilling, the real hero of 2004, remains taint-free. I know, I shouldn't make such statements about any player of the last quarter decade.

Before this stunner, I had prewritten the following post. It encapsulates what I felt about Papi before this afternoon. I will post it as a final reminder to myself of the hypocrisy. I apologize to Jimmy Rollins for the roider ruining it for him:

It was nice to see Jimmy Rollins listed as one of Bubba Burgers "Who's Hot?" players on Sunday.

It got me thinking of all the crap J-Roll and David Ortiz took at the beginning of the year. These are two clutch players who willed their teams to overcome desperate odds to win improbable championships - Phillies over the Mets in 2007 and Red Sox over the Yankees in 2004.

Yet when they scuffled a bit this year, the fans who benefited greatly from their past performances wanted to run them out of town.

I admit I got impatient and frustrated with both of them, but it was more a feeling of "I don't want to see such a proud and capable player who has meant so much to my team struggle."

It wasn't the usual sports-talk drivel of, "He's done. Ship his ass out of here."

Since J-Roll bottomed out on July 1, he has increased his line from .205/.250/.319 to .236/.288/.381. Papi has improved from .186/.282/.284 on June 2 to .224/.311/.409 today.

I'm sure neither player is happy with his line, but I'm just glad they're back to playing at superior levels - not for what it means to their teams, but for what it means to their pride.

Maybe they'll carry their hot streaks through the World Series and battle not only for the big trophy but for World Series MVP as well.

Phillies: They lost 4-0 to the Diamondbacks last night. Hmm, maybe they should have traded losing pitcher J.A. Happ for Roy Halladay. They play even later tonight, opening a series against the Giants.

I hope I don't need a restraining order

This morning I asked Christine to make sure she locked the door when she left for work.

Raul Ibanez is angry and coming after bloggers who suggest that his stellar performance this season is artificially enhanced:

"Unfortunately, I understand the environment we're in and the events that have led us to this era of speculation," he said. "At the same time, you can't just walk down the street and accuse somebody of being a thief because they didn't have a nice car yesterday and they do today. You can't say that guy is a thief."

Ibanez said he had never used performance-enhancing drugs.

"You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool - anything you can test," Ibanez said. "I'll give you back every dime I've ever made" if the test is positive.

You can hold on to your stool there, Raul. For the record, I have just advocated testing him. For his own protection. As he is even offering to do so. And I'm a 32-year-old blogging with my wife, not, as Raul describes, "a 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement." {And, we have no readership that would even find out if you did say such a terrible thing about Rauuuuuuul.}

I thought this was all in fun until I read the headline Phillies outfielder might consider taking legal action. I can't afford a lawyer, but I'd love to see him sue if only to see a judge officially rule that suggesting a baseball player is on steroids is not defamation.

Besides, even if Raul were doping, as Manny Ramirez said today, doing drugs isn't the worst thing in the world: "I didn't kill nobody, I didn't rape nobody, so that's it, I'm just going to come and play the game." {Just shut up, Ramirez.}

Tonight's games: The Red Sox are up 6-3 in the 6th. Chien-Ming Wang was knocked out in the 3rd. Tim Wakefield is battling. Every Red Sox has a hit except for David Ortiz, whose seven-game hitting streak is in jeopardy; he does have two walks. I'm still nervous about this one though. ... Cole Hamels didn't have it tonight, giving up four runs on 11 hits and two walks in five innings. Mike Pelfrey is pitching well as the Phillies trail the Mets 4-1 in the 7th.

I think either game may end up with different results.

Update: After I wrote that, the Phillies tied the game 4-4 in the 7th. One run came on a badly botched play by David Wright. Paul Bako made his first appearance as a Phillie - a strikeout with the bases loaded. It was the outcome I expected, but if he came through, I predicted that that would be the end of the Mets' hope for another year. I guess they're still alive.

And, the Yankees scored two more in the 7th - home runs by stupid Johnny Damon and Mark Teixeira. Red Sox are up 6-5.

The end?

Preface: I have a gut feeling, beyond just a fan's hope, that this post will soon be outdated.

I wrote that more than a year ago on a post about David Ortiz's early struggles in 2008. He looked pained after every at-bat, knowing he was hurting the team. I had faith he would snap out of it. He did for parts of last year, but now I don't have the same faith, as Chad Finn wrote this week:

More than any player in franchise history, David Ortiz taught even the most cynical Red Sox fans that refusing to give up sometimes results in the sweetest
rewards.

So the inclination is to resist giving up on him. The man deserves that much, at least under normal circumstances.

Of course, there's a particularly cruel catch here: The circumstances are no longer normal; they are dire.

Is Papi done? Is his body breaking down? Will we find out that the magical combination he formed with Manny Ramirez was propped up by drugs? I hate thinking that about a guy who seemed so pure in spirit as he led the Red Sox to two World Championships, but after Manny, who knows who's next?

On Thursday, the guy who used to be automatic in clutch spots went 0-7 and left 12 men on, most notably weakly grounding out to end the 12th inning with the bases loaded.

In the aftermath, a dejected Ortiz said the words that many of us feel guilty for thinking:

"I'm sorry, guys. I just don't feel like talking right now," he told the media. "Just put down,'Papi stinks.'"

You could hear the pain through the printed words and my stomach turned. I'm hoping with nothing but hope that this is just an particularly bad slump and by the All-Star break he'll have 20 home runs, the Red Sox will be in first place by five games and all of this will be forgotten.

But I have a feeling that the more likely scenario is that the Sox will spend July looking for a successor to Big Papi.

Last night: With Papi on the bench, the Red Sox blew a 4-0 lead, losing to the Mariners 5-4. Next Saturday, I might have to write about Jon Lester's 2009 woes.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Cleaning up yesterday's Tasch

In yesterday's post recapping our conversation about Jack Taschner's crappy performance and lack of a nickname, I forgot to say that it started with Christine lamenting, "Where's J.C. Romero?" when things started to turn bad.

"I dunno, off doing steroids," I snarkily replied.

Well, turns out Christine wasn't the only one missing J.C. for Sunday's game. While most reporters obsessed about moving Jimmy Rollins out of the leadoff spot, Scott Lauber focused on the Phillies playing a tight game without their best reliever of the past three seasons.

"That would have been J.C.'s role if he was here, definitely, without a doubt," Manuel said later, standing outside his office in Citizens Bank Park. "That's how we did it last year. That's what got us through to [closer Brad] Lidge."

[...]

"I gave up three base hits, and not one of them did I consider to be well struck," Taschner said. "It's just the way the game goes. I'm the one to blame for this one."

Somewhere, Romero must've felt responsible, too.

Red Sox: Dan Duquette defended his regime against the steroid accusations leveled by Lou Merloni. Their stories aren't entirely dissimilar; it's just a matter of interpreting whether the doctors were purely educating about the risks of steroids or how to do them safely. I don't want to be dismissive, but I'd be more concerned if it involved the current ownership.

I didn't like one answer because it's more implication of Manny Ramirez's Red Sox years:

On whether he was surprised by Manny Ramirez's suspension:

Duquette: "I was disappointed. I wasn't surprised."

Last night's game: I struggled to stay up as Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side to preserve the 4-3 win after starting the inning with a walk and a hit. Other than the time (and an injury to Dustin Pedroia, who wasn't playing shortstop, as first reported by the Globe), it was a pretty good game - solid start by Josh Beckett and another late clutch hit for Jason Bay.

Pat Burrell jumped out of the box when the crowd erupted in reaction to the Celtics playoff win.

With Hideki Okajima on the mound, much of the crowd started applauding for no reason that was evident on the field. Burrell, in fact, was confused enough that he stepped out of the batter's box and looked around.

Glen Davis's jumper at the buzzer had just gone in, and the Celtics had evened their series with Orlando.

"I didn't know if there was a big fight going on or did somebody run on the field," Burrell said. "Definitely, it was time to get out of the box. No idea.

"And then as soon as I thought about it, I said, 'Oh, it's probably hockey.' The home plate umpire said, 'I think it's basketball.'"

Disappointing

If we ranked the roiders, the fourth biggest name on the list would be the newest addition: Manny Ramirez.

Unreal.

I first heard it from a Yankees fan. He was laughing and surprised that I wasn't. Then I heard about it from a Red Sox fan who was ecstatic and couldn't understand why I wasn't sharing in his joy.

The reason is simple. Bob Ryan nailed it:

If Manny is lying, and we discover that he's been juiced for a long time, the ramifications for Boston and the Red Sox are enormous. He was a major part of what went on in 2004 and 2007. He was, after all, the MVP of the 2004 World Series. Any implication that a juiced Manny helped end the 86 years of misery and trauma would not be good.

For some time, Christine has been convinced that one or more significant contributors of the 2004 World Champion Red Sox would turn out to be roider. Rationally, I've known it's possible, if not probable, that our championships are tainted. Emotionally, I still hope it's not true.

When it comes to roiders, the truth has been elusive. Especially with Manny's idiosyncrasies, I expect the same twists we've seen with Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. We may have seen one already in this Deadspin story that tracked drugs shipped to a Manny Ramirez in Massachusetts, but maybe not the Manny Ramirez.

If it were anybody else, I'd call it coincidence because in this climate who would be stupid enough to have drugs shipped using his real name? Perhaps Manny.

Today's games: The hopefully clean Red Sox beat the Indians 13-3 behind a good start by Tim Wakefield and a 12-run 6th inning. The hopefully clean Phillies lost their second straight game to the Mets, 7-5. J.A. Happ pitched well in relief after an early departure from Jamie Moyer. Christine got mad when I suggested he replace the old guy in his next start.

Ah, the reassuring sounds of spring agita

It has been almost too serene at SoxandPhils camps this spring. But today, news broke that Jonathan Papelbon piped up about Manny Ramirez in Esquire, calling him a clubhouse cancer that had to be removed last year:

"It takes 25 guys on a team to win, not 24, and that was blatantly obvious," Papelbon said today after the club's workout. "It doesn't matter who you are -- you could be Babe Ruth -- if you're not in that same cubbyhole with the rest of the guys going to war with you, you're all going to die. That almost happened."

I like the rhetoric, but why now? I would have loved it if Papelbon had said this last summer, but now it's just odd and creating an unnecessary diversion.

I, unfortunately, have to agree with Manny: "I've already moved on with my life. Like I said, I wish everybody the best. I'm in LA now."

And one other thing. I'm usually not overly PC, but I would hope Papelbon would reconsider using his use of the word cancer. Jon Lester had cancer. The team had a petulant prima donna who brought down morale.

Please, no more about Manny unless we have a rematch of last year's NLCS.

Wall of Fame: The Phillies announced their Wall of Fame nominees. There are several candidates more qualified than Juan Samuel, who was last year's inductee:

Pitchers Jack Baldschun, Ricky Bottalico, Larry Christenson, Gene Garber, Jim Konstanty and Rick Wise; catcher Darren Daulton; infielders John Kruk and Fred Luderus; outfielders Lenny Dykstra, Doug Glanville, Greg Gross, Von Hayes and Roy Thomas; manager Jim Fregosi.

Scott Lauber is not endorsing a candidate, but I will. My write-in endorsement goes to Ken Ryan. My other two votes will go to John Kruk and Doug Glanville.

{Ricky Bo? The only award he gets is the "What the hell is he doing on this list?" award. I want to vote for Dykstra; I know he's tainted, but he embodied the '93 team. Same for Daulton; not all there now, but he was the leader. I would also accept Kruk and be happy with Glanville, just because he seems like a genuinely good guy. But I will go with Dykstra and Daulton, but my dark horse will win it - Von Hayes. The fans are in a good mood and have seemed willing to forgive for the past, so it's his year.}

Sweet sights of spring

Finally, the 2008 World Champion Phillies and the 2007 World Champion Red Sox have begun to take the field.

In a surprise, one of the first Phillies working out was Chase Utley - hopefully that means Marcus Giles won't set foot in Philadelphia.

The Inquirer has a nice photo gallery of the Phillies first unofficial day of spring training. And as usual, Utley wouldn't quit gabbing, this time about how his first fielding session went. He answered two questions from David Murphy with two words and five letters: No. Yes.

Ah, baseball is back.

{P.S. The Zo Zone is back, too.}

In Red Sox camp: The day was topped by news that Josh Beckett didn't show up fat and bloated like he did last year. There were also optimistic reports on Brad Penny and Mike Lowell and David Ortiz, but I just consider that spring optimism. I'm not ready to count on those three having healthy seasons yet.

But it was a day so positive that news of a Manny Ramirez book barely made a blip. After Alex Rodriguez's steroids, the AIDS lawsuit against Roberto Alomar and Joe Torre's book, who cares that Manny thinks the Red Sox elderly traveling secretary is rude? Or that Manny is liked by his friends?

[Photo credits: Philadelphia Inquirer (Utley), Boston Globe (Beckett)]

Here comes Teixeira

I never bought into the rumors that the Red Sox would get Mark Teixeira. It just didn't add up, but now it appears that the Red Sox are the likely destination for the most coveted free agent of 2008 who isn't a pitcher with conditioning questions.

I'm also warming to the idea of bringing Teixeira aboard. Yeah, he's going to be expensive, but I'd rather have him and Kevin Youkilis at the corners than Youk and Mike Lowell. Even if you could guarantee that Lowell's injury woes are over, Teixeira is by far more productive.

So I think I've gone from not really wanting him to a fear that someone else will snatch him up at the last minute.

If that happens, there's always Manny Ramirez. Oops, too late. The Yankees are "going hard" for him. I'd love to see them get him, except for the 18 games against the Red Sox when he'll surely wreck us.

Blowhard, fall hard

As Yankees owner Hank Steinbrenner continues to tell the world he's going to buy CC Sabathia and any other pitcher with a pulse, and invest in research aimed at bringing Babe Ruth back from the dead for the stretch run, the Phillies, Red Sox and pretty much every other team that's been more successful than the fallen empire quietly goes about their business.

The Inquirer has a story and column package today reminding us that mega-deals like the one CC will get rarely guarantee parades. To quote Bob Ford:

In the end, Eric Bruntlett and Joe Blanton can trump CC Sabathia sometimes, and Matt Stairs and Scott Eyre can mean more than Manny Ramirez. Not always, but occasionally. If you are lucky enough, and patient enough.

In past years, a headline like "Phillies' Amaro in no hurry to spend money" would be the kiss of death for a rookie general manager in Philadelphia. But it's the same approach, which had been questioned if not criticized until last month, of Pat Gillick.

Hank's winter bluster has been greeted by ... by ... by... crickets? Theo Epstein and the crew do their best to keep things quiet when retooling the roster. They have a track record, so let Hank crow, knowing he'll have to eat it again next September.

All right, things aren't so quiet out of Boston this morning. I assume management is responsible for this Manny Ramirez leak during the first weekend of unfettered free agency. Cue damage control from Scott Boras:

The bottom line is he was never suspended and there was never cause for suspension. The fact is the intent to suspend is not a suspension.

That settles that. Lavish money on him and don't worry about his antics. Manny, meet Hank; Hank, meet Manny.

Salty wants to be a lieutenant

The slow offseason sputters on. The only thing of note today is Nick Cafardo's column in which Jarrod Saltalamacchia says he'd love to come to Boston to learn how to be a major league catcher under Jason Varitek.

This is welcome news because he has long been on the team's radar and one of the priority's this offseason is finding a replacement or supplement (depending on how serious Scott Boras is about that four-year, $52 million contract for the 36-year-old who can't hit) for the Captain.

Also of note in the column is that Charlie Manuel is campaigning to bring Manny Ramirez to Philadelphia. God no. I'd sign Shea Hillenbrand and his zoo (read the column) before letting Manny ruin the World Champions' mojo.

Little appetizer and other morsels

Yesterday it was Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. Today Dustin Pedroia won a Gold Glove, his first. Actually, he knew yesterday and didn't keep it a secret. I never knew award winners were told a day ahead, and I don't know if he'll get in trouble for spilling the beans.

Thankfully, I think they still wait until hours before the official announcement to tell a player that he won the MVP. That's the main course for Pedroia this year (and the Red Sox, as Christine reminded me that they didn't get the job done this season). Today's fielding award is just a little shrimp cocktail for the littlest big hitter in baseball.

Things don't look so good for Pedroia and the Sox next year. Manny Ramirez won't consider coming back. Did I miss something? Was this even a possibility? Didn't we bend over backward last summer shipping him out of town so he could get the Dodgers' hopes up for the Phillies to knock them down? Whatever. The season ended just over a week ago, and I'm already sick of hearing from Scott Boras.

There's some talk that Manny could replace Pat Burrell in Philadelphia. I don't buy it. To quote Tony Massarotti: "One glitch: Pat Gillick, who just stepped down as Philly's GM but is staying on in an advisory role, is too smart to advocate signing a guy like Manny. (We think.)"

One glitch with that glitch theory: Gillick might be interested in winning a Stanley Cup instead.

I thought this was a slow day when I sat down to write tonight, but things are certainly getting crazy. Next thing you know, we'll be reading that the World Champs are again considering trading the farm, and Shane Victorino, for Matt Holliday. Oops.

{No way, I'm not buying that. This city loves Shane-O, and I think he loves it back. I hope management isn't dumb enough to trade him.}

It's a series now

The Dodgers woke up tonight to try to avert the sweep and keep alive the odds that we will be attending a Game 7 on Saturday. If it comes to that, Jamie Moyer has to snap out of this playoff slump he's been in.

J-Moy was in the showers by the 2nd inning after giving up six runs in one and a third innings. He's now the only Phillies pitcher with a loss in these playoffs. Coming into postseason, I had more confidence in him than any other Phillies pitcher, including ace Cole Hamels. Now it's a toss-up between him and Josh Beckett who I'm most concerned with for the next six to 16 games.

Moyer was outpitched tonight by Hiroki Kuroda, who made the Phillies bats look like they did before Friday's little explosion. He gave up two runs in seven-plus, and the Phillies managed only one hit before the 7th.

There was also some extracurricular activity tonight. Russell Martin was hit in the knee in the 1st inning and then objected to being thrown inside in a subsequent at-bat. When Shane Victorino saw a pitch over his head, he jawed back at Kuroda and told him to throw at his midsection, not his head. After Victorino grounded out in the 3rd, the benches emptied and a Manny Ramirez-led skirmish ensued. In the 7th, Russell Martin was hit again, this time by Chad Durbin. But the umpires evidently didn't think it was intentional, and Durbs was allowed to stay in the game.

Dodgers lead 7-2 in the 8th. I'm not giving up, but the Phillies don't look like they have it tonight. Tomorrow's going to be another early morning for the drive back to Jersey so we can get home in time for the doubleheader - Red Sox in the afternoon, Phils at night.

Slugger

With a palpable sense of Philadelphia's hunger for a championship, Brett Myers pitched like Adam Eaton tonight but hit like Chase Utley.

He gave up five runs in five innings, but he had three singles in as many at bats with two runs and three RBI. He paced an offense that finally stirred with eight runs, 11 hits and seven walks. His second hit knocked out Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley. Myers even seemed to shake his head in disbelief after his third hit.

The Phillies scored four runs each in the 2nd and 3rd innings, when they sent nine and 10 batters to the plate, respectively.

Although Myers didn't pitch well, the game wasn't as close as the 8-5 final would indicate. In the 4th, Myers struck out Rafael Furcal with two outs, but he reached base when the ball scooted by Carlos Ruiz. Russell Martin followed with a single, then Manny Ramirez hit a meaningless home run. He pointed at the fans like a jackass while he rounded the bases. Yes, I tolerated this when he was on the Red Sox, but I never liked it.

The only other real drama came in the 7th. Ryan Madson relieved J.C. Romero with a man on first. Madson gave up a single, and then Casey Blake hit a rocket to center field, scaring the crowd, but Shane Victorino made a nice grab at the wall to end the threat.

We haven't heard anything about how the sun might have affected play, but it was brutal in our eyes for the early part of the game and cast some long shadows.

We sat in the 300 level between 1st base and right field, and we were blinded and baking until the sun dipped down past the walls of the stadium. I noted that it was, in the middle of October, probably the nicest weather we've had all year.

Observations from the stands: This was our first NLCS game, and it seemed that MLB, not the Phillies, ran the show. Our usual entrance was gated off, the $10 programs were not really Phils-centric, and the scorecards sucked with really tiny boxes. I have to figure something else out if {when} we go to another game this year.

Before the game, Brad Lidge got his Comeback Player of the Year Award and Ryan Howard got his September Clutch Player of the Month award. ... A Navy Color Guard from the Willow Grove Air Station presented the colors, and Chris Sapienza sang the anthem, complete with fireworks. ... Jim Eisenreich tossed the first pitch. Announcer Dan Baker noted he had a .324 batting average as a Phillie and drove in six RBI in the 1993 World Series. Actually, it was seven. ... Lots of fans had signs for birthday boy Pat Burrell, who was also honored as a star of the game on the scoreboard. ... Phan-o-vision was in our section. The guy next to me got on the big screen. We had no interest. Kudos to that guy for buying a souvenir bat for a little kid on whom he spilled a little beer. It wasn't the guy's fault; a lady walking past him in the aisle knocked into it. ... The Phanatic overshot the crowd with the hot dog launcher, and a hot dog landed on the park's roof. Hopefully one of the fireworks guys found it. ... Petty Officer 1st Class Dorcus Whigham sang God Bless America. ... Random jerseys spotted in the crowd: Russell Martin and Sandy Koufax, Kevin Millwood, Kevin Jordan and a couple of Adam Eatons. The Eatons were two guys sitting next to each other; one wore No. 23, the other No. 00. Bizarre.

Phillies Phever rising: At times the atmosphere was disappointing, but toward the end of the game, there was no doubt this town is ready for its first winner since 1980.

Towels twirled all night, making it snow lint. Chants alternated between "Beat L.A." and "Let's Go Phillies."

It roared at the end as Lidge struggled a bit, but he never really put fear into the crowd.

I can only imagine what this place will be like if this series, or the next one, were to be clinched on home soil.

With the win, the Phillies head to California up 2-0. The series isn't over, but it couldn't have started any better for them.

It's odd, but they got two games in the books before the Red Sox and Rays played an inning.

Game 1 started tonight and, as expected, it was a tight pitcher's duel between Daisuke Matsuzaka and James Shields.

Dice-K took a no-hitter into the 7th, and the Sox lead 2-0 in the 8th. But I'm not happy they let Dice start the 8th inning. I'm going to watch the rest of the game, but I have to shut things down here because we're waking up at 5 a.m. for our trip tomorrow.

Manny held homerless in Game 1

Memo to Fox: There are other players in this series besides Manny Ramirez, and the ones wearing the red pinstripes - none of whom quit on their team - won Game 1 tonight 3-2.

The Phillies came out flat against the Dodgers, causing Christine to groan a lot as she watched her squad's first National League Championship Series game since she was in high school.

But ace Cole Hamels hung in there after giving up two runs - one on a mammoth double by Manny in the first, the other on a sac fly in the 4th - and lasted seven innings tonight.

The Phillies offense still isn't clicking, managing just seven hits and a walk, but they pushed across the three runs they needed off Derek Lowe. For a guy who used to be clutch in the playoffs - including pitching a clincher at Yankee Stadium in 2004 - he looked really rattled by the fans in the 5th inning. He fell apart in the 6th after Shane Victorino reached on an error. Chase Utley, who may be snapping out of a playoff funk with two hits tonight, hit a game-tying home run. Pat Burrell quickly broke the tie with a solo home run two batters later. He looked very determined rounding the bases.

McCarverisms: "For those of you just joining us, Jason Bay was aquired by the Red Sox to replace Manny Ramirez."

Administrative notes: Tomorrow is a hectic day for those of us at SoxandPhils. We'll be at Citizens Bank Park for Game 2. We'll try to recap as quickly as possible to watch the Red Sox and Rays do battle in Game 1 and then get a few hours sleep before an early-morning drive to North Carolina to visit family. I don't know if we'll recap the AL game Saturday afternoon, but we'll definitely check in sometime Saturday night. Let's hope at that point we'll be four wins away from the SoxandPhils World Series.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]