Memorial Day weekend memory

Last year, our holiday weekend was highlighted by preparing a meal for the families staying at the Ronald McDonald House and listening to Roy Halladay's perfect game, old-school style, on a radio.

Little did we know that a week later Trent would be born and that this year we wouldn't be able to do the Ronald McDonald House meal again. But we are preparing a kiddie's meal - Trent's first birthday party next weekend.

Halladay is scheduled to pitch this afternoon. With the Nationals hitting .229 for the season, I think there's a chance he'll repeat last year's performance.

Sorry, Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump.

What the ...

I had a blog post in my mind and sat down to the computer at noon. It was going to be about how yesterday, when we were asked what team Trent will root for, Christine and I randomly said the Padres, even though we had no clue the Red Sox agreed to a trade with San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez.

Christine told me to hold off on writing until we knew for sure whether he was going to Boston, after the 2 p.m. deadline the teams had set to negotiate a contract extension with Gonzalez. We were all Trent for the rest of the day and after dinner turned on MLB Network in anticipation of seeing A-Gon with a Red Sox hat on.

Nope.

We saw what appeared to be a clean-shaven, short-haired Jayson Werth signing a huge contract with the Nationals. The Nationals? It elicited an out loud "Whaaaat?" from me. Trent was speechless.

I guess no one else was willing to go seven years on the former Phil. And I guess we might be back to Adrian Beltre and possibly Carl Crawford because the Sox didn't come to an agreement with Gonzalez.

But now, Christine has a real reason to root against the Nationals.

Game 1 decisions

The media are speculating that Roy Halladay will start Game 1 of the NLDS on Wednesday. They're really going out on a limb with that one - why don't they say that Jon Lester won't start Game 1 of the playoffs?

Anyway, we have more pressing considerations for Game 1. We bought tickets. We don't know what time the game will be played, and I'm not exactly in a position to ask for a day off on the first week back after spending six weeks on leave to run Daddy Daycare.

We'll figure something out ... even if it's how to sell tickets on StubHub.

Today's game: Our teams' regular-season fates are sealed, but Christine is still watching the Phillies spring training lineup take on the Nationals. SoxandPhils scores no longer matter until Wednesday. {Yes, they do matter. The Phillies won 7-1. The Red Sox are losing, again.}

50 years ago

Last week, there was a free HBO preview, and Christine DVR'd a documentary, Ted Williams: There Goes the Greatest Hitter that Ever Lived, for me. It was good. It made me think about how there will probably never be an iconic superstar again. In our generation, maybe Cal Ripken, but his back story is bland. I had also forgotten about the whole frozen head thing, so maybe it was not all good.

A few days later, I saw an MLB Network special on the home run Williams hit in his last at-bat, commemorating today's 50th anniversary of the event.

I then tried reading John Updike's classic Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu to Trent, but I gave up. It's harder to read aloud than I thought.

Tonight's games: Irrelevant. The best 2010 regular season National League team lost to the Nationals 2-1. The Red Sox lead the White Sox, but their season is officially done as both the Rays and the Yankees won tonight. Congrats to our AL East foes. Go Rays.

Last (home) dance a dud

The Phillies, who have the longest active playoff streak of any team in baseball, clinched their fourth straight division title tonight. But it should have happened yesterday.

For the first time in their four-year run, they were not able to wrap things up for the home crowd on Sunday. Christine and I were hoping to see our third-ever clincher (2007 division and 2008 World Series) as we attended the last regular season game of the year, but the Phillies could not survive poor performances by two pitchers who have been great all year - Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson - in the 7-3 loss to the Mets.

Here's a day-old recap of the highlights of our day at the park as the Phillies celebrate in the clubhouse.

Observations from the stands: Driving to the park, we heard Last Dance, the Phanatic's traditional song for the regular season finale, on the radio. ... The Phillies saluted both fans and staff, recognizing employees, from grounds crew to administrative personnel, and giving away prizes to fans completely randomly. (It's just a coincidence that the spring training trip always goes to someone in field level while someone in the upper deck wins two free passes to the Franklin Institute's Cleopatra exhibit.). ... All fans received a magnetic schedule, a pack of Phillies postcards of memorable events from the season and a rally towel. I think I dropped my terry cloth five minutes after we entered the park while peppering up my pulled pork sandwich.

Every year, a Phillie has to address the fans. Christine's favorite, Carlos Ruiz, gave a most stirring and eloquent speech: "We love our fans. Thank you." It still gives me chills. ... The anthem was sung by the Central Bucks West High School Choir, directed by Joseph Ohrt. Not bad, but we've heard it before. And before that. Now they have a website. ... My favorite sign of the day: "Miss you Jamie" with a crying sad emoticon in the zero of Jamie Moyer's No. 50. ... Miss America Caressa Cameron sang God Bless America. ... Fans were particularly annoying, from the parents behind us who wouldn't stop their daughter from kicking Christine's chair to the drunks in front of us who couldn't understand 1) Why the stadium staff wouldn't let him wear a profane anti-Mets shirt because "I bought it outside the stadium the last time they played the Mets" and 2) Why they were getting ragged on for cheering on Hamels minutes after he was removed from the game in the middle the 5th inning. Also, nearly all fans kept cheering the Nationals scoring updates against the Braves, forgetting that the Phillies actually had to win their game to wrap up the division.

We hit a few drops of rain driving and walking into the park, but the game was played without any delay, and the sun even made an appearance in the late innings. Jimmy Rollins also made an appearance, but he grounded out meekly while swinging at the first pitch. ... Combined line for the good Phillies pitchers (Hamels and Madson): four innings, seven runs on 11 hits and four walks with two strikeouts. Combined line for the scrubby Phillies pitchers (David Herndon, Vance Worley, Chad Durbin, Jose Contreras and Danys Baez): five innings, no runs, one hit, three walks and eight strikeouts. ... The postgame celebration was subdued. The Phanatic and staff shot T-shirts to the crowd, but players stayed off the field, probably respecting the fact they lost and the division title wasn't yet sealed.

So ends the 2010 regular season at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are guaranteed at least two more home playoff games; will we be at any?

Antiquated T-shirts: Pat Burrell, Jim Thome, Chris Coste, John Kruk, Jim Eisenreich and Cliff Lee. ... Walking out of the stadium, Christine noticed the back of a Roy Halladay jersey because although the numbers looked legit, the letters were off. Then, we noticed a 2009 World Series patch, and we all know Doc hasn't yet sniffed the Fall Classic. Finally, it hit us: Remember all those jokes about people ripping off Cliff Lee's name from their jersey and replacing it with Halladay's? This guy actually did it. Pretty tacky because Halladay wouldn't want to wear a World Series patch he didn't earn.

Today's games: Doc went the distance in an 8-0 shutout to ice the division. ... The Red Sox are winning; the Rays and Yankees lost, so the Sox may survive another day. I was starting to believe again until last night's extra inning debacle against the Yankees.

End of the road

I always wonder how far I can ride my bike. When I used to regularly train for my annual ride, I tried to go a little further than the previous time. Of course, I abandoned that routine once Trent came along, but yesterday I set out for a 70-mile ride in preparation for next week's 75-mile ride.

(I know I probably should have cut it back, but I want to send a message to the little guy about commitment, perseverance and health.)

Naturally, I wondered what I would see in those few miles I never rode before. But toward the end, I saw signs saying the road was closed and only open to local traffic. I kept going, figuring if it were safe for the locals, it would be safe for a guy on a bike.

I kept pedaling; the signs kept popping up. Finally, three miles before the point where I planned to turn around, I hit a concrete barrier and could go no further.

I think this must be what it's like for the Red Sox and the other 19 teams that are playing out the string. There's nothing ahead, but you just keep going until you hit the end of the road, or season.

Today's games: Jon Lester shut down the Blue Jays 6-0. The Phillies kept their hopes alive (of clinching at home this weekend) by scoring four runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Nationals 7-6.

Say it ain't so, Joe

It's no secret I never liked Joe Torre.

He had good people skills but was ultimately a middling manager who benefited from an obscene payroll.

Yes, his teams won four World Championships, and he only missed the playoffs once in 12 years as Yankees manager, but the combination of his $200 million teams and his managerial genius should have produced more. He was at the helm when the Yankees blew a 3-0 lead over the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS. He also helped the Phillies advance to the World Series in 2008 and 2009.

I hope his decision to step down as Dodgers manager is really a retirement, but I get the sense it's not.

It was funny watching Kevin Millar, whose analysis I don't like on MLB Network, interview Torre. "I hate you," Torre quipped in reference to Millar's 2004 walk that set up the great comeback.

I hope this is my last impression of Joe the foe, because it was a good-natured rib that I appreciated. But he's still a Yankee, and I still don't like him.

Personal: I did my longest bike ride ever - 70 miles. I think I'm ready for next week's 75 miler.

Today's games: The Phillies beat the Nationals 5-2, but the Mets once again could not beat the Braves. The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays while the Rays and Yankees both won.

Quick playoff picture

Trent and I finished the doors today and serviced the heater before the season changes. Tomorrow, I'm taking my last training ride in preparation for next week's big bike ride, and on Sunday, we'll paint the new doors.

Trent couldn't convince Christine to go SoxandPhils and paint them red and blue. She tried to reason with him that both teams have white in their uniforms.

The Phillies beat the Nationals 9-1, lowering their magic number to 12. (Despite Christine and Trent's rooting, the Mets couldn't beat the Braves.)

The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays, and the Yankees beat the Orioles, so the Red Sox magic number remains at 21.

Yes, the Red Sox are still alive. They just have to go 10-5 and hope the Yankees go 3-12. Stranger things have happened (see: ALCS, 2004).

Our first game back

Yesterday was our first game back to Citizens Bank Park since we became parents. Lots of things were different - bootleg vendors sold ponchos instead of pretzels, the sax guy wasn't playing, and they now have a trivia game outside of Bull's BBQ.

But one major thing didn't change - it rained. We sat through it. We got wet. I got grumpy but hung in there.

Despite the hour and 45 minute rain delay - including a scary moment when I dozed off and thought I was blind because I could see only the white of the tarp on the field - it was a pretty good game. Roy Oswalt shut down the Nationals, giving up five hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over seven innings in the 6-0 win. The lack of runs was impressive because he let the leadoff guy on in the first four innings. And in each of those innings, someone got in scoring position, including the first inning when Oswalt struck out Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman after letting the leadoff guy get to third with one out. Roy also went 2-3 with a run and came close to an extra-base hit in his final at-bat.

But he might not have been the player of the game. That award could be claimed by Christine's favorite, Carlos Ruiz, whose only hit was a meaningless single in the 4th and whose fielding was marred with a throwing error and three stolen bases.

Despite those feats, Chooch set up the big two-run 6th inning, which iced the game. With two outs and runners on second and third, the Nationals elected to walk the fearsome Chooch, who's actually been intentionally walked 33 times in his career (nearly all in front of the pitcher), to get to Wilson Valdez.

Valdez, filling in for a resting Chase Utley, was never so insulted in his life and stroked a two-run single to put the Phils up 4-0. Raul Ibanez hit a two-run home after the rain delay in the 7th.

Observations from the stands: It was a fairly uneventful game on and off the field. A funny moment came after the rain delay when the new Nationals second baseman, Alberto Gonzalez, complained that the field was too wet. He was booed when the grounds crew came out to sop up more water. After they left, a bunch of sea gulls (you can sort of see them on the right) swarmed the field, mocking the Nats.

We weren't sitting in our usual area of seats, and it seemed much more quiet than usual. We could hear the radio broadcast floating through the stands. In fact, the crowd never really seemed to wake up until the end of the rain delay when they played Chubby Checker's Let's Twist Again, followed by the original The Twist. The crowd was really going as the Nats took the field and an usher was shown on Phanavision while Twisting.

The team honored Philadelphia native Jerry Crawford, who was umpiring his last game in the city before retiring after a 33-year career. He also umped the last game at the Vet and the first at the Bank. You can read about him in the Inky and Daily News. Instead of giving him a gold watch, the Phillies gave him a plush Phanatic. More on that later this week, but I wonder if that's why the Phillies won so easily.

Debbi Kee's Keenote Chorale did the anthem. ... WPXN's Ben Arnold did God Bless America. No one told him it was raining. He could have trimmed a few minutes off it.

Antiquated T-shirts: We didn't see that many: Cliff Lee, Jim Thome and Jacoby Ellsbury's No. 46.

Babies on the brain: Of course, when we saw the Cole Hamels lunch bag, I was upset we didn't bring Trent. (OK, I was upset we didn't bring Trent as soon as we left the house.) The several young tots we saw in the stands didn't help. There was one nearby (kind of looked like Peyton Manning) who kept staring at Christine. Of course, being the proud, responsible parents that we are, we compared every youngin to Trent. There was no contest: The cutest baby wasn't at the park. ... There were some youngsters on the field with the Phanatic in the middle of the game doing some Latin dances. I dunno why we were amused by this; probably because it's the most people we've seen involved in a Phanatic skit.

Tonight's games: The Phillies faced former mate Brett Myers. On the radio broadcast, Scott Franzke said young Brett was starting for the Phillies. I think somebody is stuck in 2009. Myers pitched well in his return to Philadelphia, but was outpitched for seven innings by Blanton. Myers left trailing 2-1, but Ryan Madson blew it in the 8th. Astros 3, Phillies 2.

Unfortunately, the big story involving a former SoxandPhil is that the Red Sox put in a waiver claim on Johnny Damon, who's considering whether to waive his no-trade clause to Boston. I hope he stays in Detroit. John Lackey was also locked in a pitcher's duel but outpitched the Mariners Doug Fister and got a well-deserved 6-3 win.

Sitting in the rain

When we found out about Trent, we knew we had to give away the Phillies tickets we had for the first weekend he was home.

We planned on making our next game, however, and even toyed with the idea of taking him with us when we found out it was Cole Hamels' lunch bag giveaway day for all kids 14 and under.

Responsible heads prevailed, and we decided it would be our first extended time away from Trent. We spent weeks joking about how our luck of hitting rainy days at the park would probably continue.

Above is a picture of weather conditions when the game started; below is what it looked like during the 1 hour and 45 minute rain delay we sat through. I was even able to get in a nap.

Meanwhile, Roy Oswalt pitched a gem, and the Phillies beat the Nationals 6-0. We'll have our SoxandPhils recap of the rainy day at the park tomorrow - providing I get a chance to write, as Christine has to go back to work and Daddy Daycare opens for business.

The Red Sox also managed a shutout, 5-0 over the Blue Jays, despite rain in Boston. Clay Bucchholz lowered his league-leading ERA.

D-Brown kills the phenom

We were busy today visiting with grandparents and then trying to find the perfect Halloween costume for Trent.

(We know it's early, but Christine's Mom may handcraft it. We have an idea for something. Non-baseball.)

Anyway, we were still able to follow the first ever major league matchup of the phenoms Domonic Brown and Stephen Strasburg. D-Brown grounded out in the 2nd inning, but Jesus did not survive their faceoff in the 5th inning. He left the game, shaking his arm and grimacing in pain. Nationals Nation, including Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump, who was at the game, may be wondering whether all the hype was worth it.

The Nationals did win the game, 8-1, although I'm sure they would have preferred a loss if it meant their prized prospect's arm were still in tact.

The Red Sox and Blue Jays are tied at 4 in the 11th, but Jonathan Papelbon just came in, so this one should be over shortly. Yup, Paps held 'em, and Jed Lowrie homered in the bottom of the inning to win 5-4. Dustin who?

More drug news

Roy Oswalt could win every single start for the rest of the season, including Game 7 of the World Series, yet some Phillies fans would lament that the Phillies made a bad deal in dumping Cliff Lee.

This won't help.

Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies, one of the three players acquired in the Lee trade this past off-season, was arrested for cocaine possession in Clearwater, Fla., early Friday morning.

I guess I incorrectly predicted in February that Gillies would best be known for his shagging prowess.

Tonight's games: Jon Lester and the Red Sox played like they were on something, losing 16-2 to the Blue Jays. The clock's ticking, boys. ... Roy Halladay and the Phillies played a slightly different game, beating the Nationals 1-0.

Social day, surprise endings

We spent the day introducing Trent to some of our friends, including his first buddy, the other Gregory James in his life. It was a nice day sharing our little guy with some good friends, and we think he's becoming a people person, even though he just sleeps through his social visits.

There were some exciting SoxandPhils finishes today. After Jonathan Papelbon couldn't erase Clay Buchholz's two-on, no-out jam in the 9th, the Red Sox beat the Tigers in the bottom on the 9th on a Marco Scutaro bunt.

All our guests left before the Phillies and Nationals' 11-inning game ended. Christine tried to get a high-five from Trent when the Phillies took the lead in the 11th. He just shot her a look that said, "Yeah, they're just setting up another Brad Lidge special."

Lidge did pitch the 11th. He ended it, like our day, perfectly. So we took Trent to the park for the first time to celebrate. A little girl said he was cute and told her siblings to be quiet near the sleeping baby.

2004 - Trent hardly knew ye

I made a difficult decision today. My officially licensed 2004 World Championship T-shirt, like many others from my past, is too large to wear anymore.

I wore it today, but decided it should now go in the Goodwill donation pile.

I told Trent about my decision and used the opportunity to tell him the story of the 2004 Red Sox and how you can never give up hope.

Actually, he knows the story. Someone had given me a copy of Dan Shaughnessy's The Legend of the Curse of the Bambino years ago and it's a mainstay of Trent's library. I enjoy it too, even if I don't like the way Shaughnessy has marketed the curse.

Anyway, Trent will be well-versed in Red Sox history. Tomorrow, he'll meet the guy who kept my spirits up when the Yankees took a 3-0 lead in the 2004 ALCS, which is when I promised myself I would never give up hope.

You can never give up hope (1): After years of trying, the Red Sox finally acquired catcher Jarrod Saltamalacchia. He's had trouble throwing the ball back to the pitcher, but you can't give up on him fixing this problem.

You can never give up hope (2): The Red Sox trailed the Tigers 4-2 in the 9th, but after the Tigers intentionally walked Kevin Youkilis to load the bases, David Ortiz hit a double to win the game 5-4, as if it were 2004 all over again.

You can never give up hope (3): The Phillies kept chipping away and finally took the lead in the 9th against the Nationals. But then Brad Lidge came in. Nats 7, Phils 5.

There are some times, such as any time Lidge steps on the mound, when you should at least temper your hope.

Ed Wade fleeced the Phillies

The Roy Oswalt era didn't get off to a thrilling start - five runs (four earned) in six innings in an 8-1 loss to the Nationals.

By the way, how come I haven't seen this factoid hammered home a million times: Through age 31, the pitcher most similar to Oswalt is Roy Halladay. Too bad this Roy didn't pitch like the good Roy tonight.

J.A. Happ, meanwhile, pitched six shutout innings against the Brewers in his Astros debut.

What does all of this mean? The Phillies should have kept Cliff Lee.

{And J.A. Happ.}

The Red Sox trail the Tigers 6-1 in the 9th. Jon Lester pitched like Roy Oswalt.

Drafting a core

OK, I didn't want to get sucked into the hype, but man, Stephen Strasburg's pitches have some movement to them. I don't think Christine is going to like watching him square off against the Phillies for the next decade.

But it's nice to see the Nationals have some real hope for the first time in a long time. Because the Red Sox and Phillies continue to be successful, they won't have the chance for such a highly touted draft pick as Strasburg, but they each seemed to do well with their first pitching pick last night.

With the 27th pick, the Phillies took a local kid, Jesse Biddle, who is excited to be a Phillie and is being compared by scouting director Marti Wolever to the Dodgers Clayton Kershaw:

"They're about the same size. Jesse's arm might work a little easier, quite frankly, than Clayton's did. But I think ceiling-wise and stuff-wise they're very comparable. We think Jesse has a chance to be that guy in the big leagues."

With the 39th pick, their third of the draft, the Red Sox took a moose of a pitcher, a Jersey guy, Anthony Ranaudo. That was after they selected and have nearly signed two decent bats:

"That was as excited as we've been in the draft room since I got here," general manager Theo Epstein said. "We felt the draft broke our way. Hopefully in five years we can look back and still feel as good about this draft."

This is from a guy who in 2005 drafted Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury and Michael Bowden.

While we wait for this year's crop of draft picks to hit the bigs, here's how the current big leaguers are doing:

Red Sox: Behind a good Tim Wakefield (Pirates draft of '88), the Red Sox lead the Indians 3-2 in the 8th.

Phillies: Kyle Kendrick (Phillies draft of '03) struggled, but the bats are actually battling tonight and lead the Marlins 7-6 in the 7th. For the first time in weeks, the Phillies have multiple home runs - Shane Victorino (Dodgers draft of '99) and Ryan Howard (Phillies draft of '01).

Strasburg: Wow. The phenom (Nationals draft of '09) lived up to the hype tonight - seven innings, two runs, four hits, no walks and 14 strikeouts. Oh, and he needed just 94 pitches to accomplish that gaudy line. Thanks to homers by Ryan Zimmerman (Nationals draft of '05), Adam Dunn (Reds draft of '98) and Josh Willingham (Marlins draft of '00), he left with a 4-2 lead.

Not everyone gets dealt a winner

Crazier than a Red Sox fan who was raised a Yankees fan and is now married to a Phillies fan is the fact that we have a friend who is a Nationals fan despite no connections to Montreal or Washington.

This week, as he often claims, is the highlight of his time as a Nats/Expos fan. The Nats drafted Bryce Harper tonight, and tomorrow, their uber draft pick from last year, Stephen Strasburg, makes his much anticipated debut.

When your teams have been as good as the Red Sox and Phillies in recent years, sometimes you forget what it's like to scrap for any sort of moral victory, such as the hope of draft picks or a 4-3 11-inning win over a vaunted division foe. Nick Cafardo reminded us of that in writing about how Sunday's win was so important for the Orioles:

In the grand scheme of things, what did yesterday's 4-3 loss to the Orioles mean to the Red Sox? Nothing more than one loss to a bad team snapping a 10-game losing streak, giving their new manager his first win. It didn't mean a darn thing to the people who follow the Red Sox, except those who feel they should clobber the Orioles every time they play them.

To the Orioles, it was more than that. It was a day when self-respect came back. Maybe it's fleeting because after the Sox left town, the Yankees are paying a visit starting tomorrow.

This was a great snapshot of the psychology of sport. The Orioles are a downtrodden team that had been buried the last two weeks, and been clobbered, 19-2, in the first two games against the Red Sox. They have been made fun of, called horrible things, and ridiculed. But yesterday, under very tough conditions — rain, heat, humidity — Juan Samuel's troops hung in there enough and beat one of the best teams in baseball in 11 innings.

I love that dig at Red Sox fans who act like Yankees fans and expect to go 173-0 every year.

Sometimes, as John Lackey pointed out, the cliche is true: It doesn't matter whether you win or lose, it's more important how you play the game:

And yet the Sox couldn't pull it out, ending a seven-game road winning streak. Not that anyone in the visitors' clubhouse was concerned. It was one loss in a long season.

"I don't think it's a big deal," Lackey said. "It's always disappointing to lose a game, but we're playing good baseball and we played good baseball today. Just came up a little bit short."

That's right. Just make sure that one game doesn't become more tonight (joking).

Happy Birthday: Officially sponsored SoxandPhil Heathcliff Slocumb turned 44 today. In honor of the occasion, and because the Red Sox and Phillies square off this weekend, I thought I'd post his numbers as a Phillie against the Red Sox and vice versa, but his Phillies tenure ended two years before interleague play was created in 1997. He was still a Red Sox for half of that season, but did not appear in the inaugural SoxandPhils series.

Tonight's games: The Red Sox lead the Indians 4-1 in the 9th. Has Daisuke Matsuzaka (no runs, four hits, two walks and five strikeouts) turned a corner? ... Cole Hamels took a no-hitter into the 7th, but lost it on back-to-back homers. The Phillies bats wasted his eight-inning, two-run, three-hit, two-walk, six-strikeout performance in the 3-1 loss to the Padres.

Closing the federal deficit

In our state, the transportation commissioner made a little stir when he mentioned the possibility of selling naming rights for rest stops on the Turnpike to help with the state's budget gap.

It even got a satirical segment on the Rachel Maddow Show.

So we were quite surprised on Opening Day to see that Congress has sold naming rights to the Capitol building to close the federal deficit. Our federal reps even slapped the name of a Philadelphia bar on the white dome, yet no one seemed to complain or object.

If a rest stop's name could be worth $1 million per year, how much did Chickie's & Pete's pay for this ad? I hope they didn't pay in cash, because after the 5th inning, Congress apparently reneged on the deal and the name was removed.

Other SoxandPhilsandJersey naming issues: Rapper and part-owner of the New Jersey Nets, Jay-Z, is suing David Ortiz, claiming infringement because Papi named his Dominican Republican night club Forty-Forty, similar to Jay-Z's 40/40 club. Poor Papi, he just can't catch a break this year.

Afternoon games: The Phillies bullpen decided to honor Brad Lidge, who was in town because the 2009 NL Champs got their rings today, by blowing a lead to the Nationals.

Danys Baez lost it in the 8th, coughing up the lead on a two-run pinch-hit home run by Ryan Zimmerman, making his first appearance of the series. Ryan Madson didn't help things by allowing two more runs in the 9th in the 7-5 loss.

The Red Sox just got whupped 8-0 by the Twins. Tim Wakefield got shelled, and Dustin Pedroia had three of the team's six hits. But it's only April 15.

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.