Opening Day

We didn't watch much baseball yesterday, but it's an Opening Day we'll never forget.

We had a very nice day in court wrapping up the procedural parts of Trent's adoption, and we had the Phillies on in the background as we celebrated with his grandparents. Everyone left before the 9th inning, and I had a feeling Trent had a rally in him on his special day. He did, helping the Phillies score three runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Astros 5-4.

I thought he was working his magic for the Red Sox when they tied the game in the 8th, but Daniel Bard imploded for four runs in the bottom of the inning, and Trent had nothing left to spur a SoxandPhils Opening Day sweep on his Adoption Day. Rangers 9, Red Sox 5.

Big day tomorrow

Opening Day is today, but the SoxandPhils are waiting until Friday to make their 2011 debuts. We didn't train as well during the spring as we usually do, but we're ready for the season to start. We capped the off-season last night by watching the last exhibition games that the Red Sox and Phillies played.

As usual, I entered the drawing for the chance to buy Opening Day tickets for the Phillies. I had a feeling that we were going to win that chance but that something more important may pop up on April 1. Well, we didn't win the drawing, but we do have important business to take care of tomorrow morning. It will be a happy day for this family as we finalize Trent's adoption and then watch the Phillies and Red Sox get their first wins of the season.

The 2011 season is going to have a great start.

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.

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.

Opening Day

The Phillies opened Citizens Bank Park today, and we were there to see the 7-4 win over the Washington Nationals.

We don't have time to give the day justice in tonight's post, but throughout the week, we'll recap our experience in true SoxandPhils style, including: getting to the parking lot before it opened, a new hot dog, all the patriotic pageantry, Jimmy Rollins' surprise injury, an old lady in a goofy hat and possibly an obscene gesture from a Nationals coach.

Red Sox: Jon Lester and the Red Sox were also in a festive mood, giving the Twins a 5-2 win so they could enjoy the opening of Target Field. But John Lackey won't be as nice in the next game on Wednesday.

State of our seasons

We've done away with predictions this year. Is it really a surprise that I like the Red Sox while Christine likes the Phillies? Or that I'm not perfect?

A constant theme to this blog has been how we are enjoying the best of times for our respective teams: the wondrous 2004, the surprising Phillies and dominant Red Sox in 2007, encored by the Phillies in 2008, which was almost repeated in 2009.

Yes, these are high times for the SoxandPhils. They were a few innings away from an epic showdown in 2008 (I still don't think it has sunk in how close we were to sleeping in separate rooms), and there is nothing to suggest it can't happen this year. The Inquirer has spent the last week examining how the Phillies have gone from the stinky Phillies to one of the game's premier franchises. And, notwithstanding Julio Lugo, John Smoltz and Matt Clement, the Red Sox have been run brilliantly since John Henry and Theo Epstein have been running the show.

So tonight begins another ride on the SoxandPhils express. Josh Beckett will begin dismantling CC Sabathia and the Empire. I'm excited to see whether this vaunted pitching staff, when aided by a world-class defense and an offense that isn't as weak as some claim, will take it all. I believe they will while reminding us more of 2007 - efficient champions - than the lovable cowboys of 2004.

And tomorrow, the Phillies begin their 2010 season. Where do I think it will end up? At the World Series, of course. It won't be easy, but is anything ever simple with this team? Never. But they have the talent and the heart to win it all again. And as much as I'll enjoy seeing them win this fall, I'm just thrilled that baseball is back and that I have 162 Phillies games to watch. Well, make that 161, since the stinkin' season opener is on at 1 p.m. on a weekday. What were the stupid Nationals thinking when they made that lousy decision about the game time??

We won!

... the right to pay $64 to sit in what will probably be unseasonably cold April weather as the Phillies play a team that lost 103 games last year and probably won't win too many more this year (sorry Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump).

Yup, Christine won the drawing for the opportunity to buy Opening Day tickets, so we'll be playing hooky from work next month to watch the Phillies open up their bid for a third straight National League pennant against their NL East rival Washington Nationals.

Maybe we'll get to see the phenom, Stephen Strasburg. I know, he's ticketed for the minors.

So, is Christine excited?

This morning she approached me as if she had been thinking long and hard about something important. "If the Phillies skip their fifth starter because of all the off days in the beginning of the season, I think we'll see Joe Blanton pitch on Opening Day."

Somberly: Ryan Westmoreland, who might be the top Red Sox prospect, is leaving camp to have brain surgery because of a cavernous malformation. We'll be pulling for him and hope everything turns out well.