Wacky Wednesday

One of Trent's Dr. Seuss stories is Wacky Wednesday, which is about a boy who finds lots of things askew, such as a shoe on the wall, a car with no wheels and two knobs on the door to the hall.

Today felt like Wacky Wednesday looking at the SoxandPhils clips, most notably this Phil Sheridan column that calls the Cliff Lee trade logical.

Gee, all it took was Roy Halladay winning 20 games, Cole Hamels pitching like everyone expected after 2008 and Roy Oswalt pitching like an ace sniffing the playoffs after he was rescued from a morbid team.

And, it also helps that the Phillies have been the best team in baseball since July 21 and that the Eagles traded one of their stars and now have a dog killer quarterbacking.

Less wacky: There has been a lot of speculation about the Red Sox targeting Jayson Werth, so it's not that far-fetched to see a story about it. But it's a little wacky to read a Phillies-turned-Red Sox beat writer speculating about the current Phillies right fielder coming to the Fens.

I don't see it happening, but it did catch my eye this morning.

Today's games: The Braves and Phillies had a good duel. It was scoreless until the 8th when Raul Ibanez doubled in wacky Werth, who also caught the final out in the 9th. Magic number is now four; we hope it's down to one before Sunday's game. ... The Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-1. Wacky.

Free fall

Sometimes the dropoffs are quick in sports.

Look at Jacoby Ellsbury: He has already gone from being a rock star like Nomar Garciappara was early in his career to the whipping boy Nomar Garciappara became at the end. Now, he could be headed for a fall from 2007 World Series hero to the ultimate doghouse ... a New York Met.

Nick Cafardo had two tidbits this week that are a little too close for comfort:

3. David Wright would fit nicely in the Red Sox lineup; 4. A couple of Mets officials have told me they may make a run at Jacoby Ellsbury this winter.

I'd hate to see Ellsbury dumped because of public opinion, and I'd hate to see him become an enemy of the Phillies. But I wouldn't mind David Wright; I think his production can return in the right environment.

Tonight's games: The Phillies won their ninth straight (yawn), lowering their magic number to six to clinch their fourth straight division title (yawn) as Roy Halladay won 20 games for the third time in his career (yawn) in the 5-3 win over the Braves. The Red Sox trail the Orioles 8-1 in the 9th (mega yawn).

Buzzkill

When the Phillies trailed the Nationals 6-3 in the bottom on the 9th yesterday, they had a 9 percent chance of winning. But three straight hits quadrupled their odds before Jayson Werth came up with a man on base.

He hit the dramatic home run, sparking euphoria (never mind that it was against the poor Nationals). But the era of good feelings didn't last long as it was soon reported that Werth had signed with Scott Boras.

As Todd Zolecki notes, this probably doesn't affect the Phillies, because everyone assumed Werth was gone anyway. But it's just another thing to make his impending free agency nauseating.

And, of course, it came on the eve of the Phillies' first of two remaining series against the Braves, which could officially end the division race.

Tonight there was no lingering buzzkill as the Phillies dispatched the Braves 3-1 behind the vaunted pitching that won the World Series in 2008: eight innings from Cole Hamels and a perfect 9th from Brad Lidge. The Phillies lead is now four games with a magic number of eight.

The Red Sox will keep pedaling until the end of the road, but the Orioles are pedaling harder and won 4-2.

Silver lining

Despite the storyline of how the Red Sox patched things together to keep battling through crippling injury after crippling injury, the best story of the 2010 Red Sox is the development of Clay Buchholz, who has emerged as a Cy Young candidate after being named pitcher of the month for August.

Interestingly, this analysis shows that Buccholz's career, despite some fits and starts, has actually been slightly better than Jon Lester's when he signed a five-year $30 million extension in 2009.

The report suggests that's about what Buchholz would get if he were to sign an extension. I've got three words to say to that: "Book 'em Danno."

Tonight's games: Trent and I took a road trip to visit Christine at work for lunch today, and the Phillies took a road trip to play one game in Colorado. Unfortunately, they had to take Joe Blanton with them. He gave up six runs (four earned) in 4.1 innings. The Phillies battled back, so maybe they'll let him travel with the team when they return to Philly tonight. They scored nine runs in the 7th inning and held on for the 12-11 pitchers' duel. Former Sox Manny Delcarmen took the loss.

The Red Sox beat the Orioles 6-4.

This is just piling on

Trent and I still aren't conceding, but it's hard to say there's much reason to believe the Red Sox are going to pull this off.

With that said, do the baseball gods have to keep picking off the bones of the Red Sox carcass? Can we at least end the season quietly without any more injuries?

Apparently not: Felix Doubront (I forgot he was even still on the big-league roster) strained his pec.

He's not headed to the DL and obviously wasn't going to fuel the great comeback of 2010, but it's still deflating.

Today's games: In a game we managed to stay awake for the ending (because it was an afternoon tilt), the Phillies beat the Dodgers 5-1 to stay three games behind the Braves. ... Jon Lester, who will be needed for an amazing comeback, survived a rocky start (five runs in the first two innings) to put himself in line for a win after his mates scored six runs in the 7th inning. The Red Sox beat the Orioles 9-6 to stay eight and seven games behind the Yankees and Rays, respectively.

Manny traded

I was sad and surprised to read that Manny Delcarmen was traded to the Rockies. I always rooted for the guy, a Boston boy who demonstrated tantalizing ability at times but never seemed to truly fulfill his potential despite stellar seasons in 2007 and 2008.

I also wondered why and how the Red Sox became sellers. Yes, they're about done, but they're still alive. Theo Epstein still says no surrender:

Asked if there's an appropriate time to waive the white flag, Epstein said, "That's a tough question. It's kind of like the Supreme Court said about pornography: 'You'll know it when you see it.' Right now, we're not eliminated. We're trying to get really hot."

"It'll be difficult, but not impossible," said Epstein. "I'm not going to sit here and assess how difficult it will be. I'll leave that up to you guys. I think, that, as I just said, we need to play better and get hotter than we've been at any point this season. This is not the position we want to be ion. I'm not going to sit here and blow smoke and say where we want to be. We're not."

I'm going to miss Manny (Trent was crying hysterically over the news, or maybe he was just having a bad day), but we felt better after reading this headline on FanGraphs: Rockies Overpay at Second Deadline.

I think Theo made a good deal. From FanGraphs:

The real story here, however, is the guy coming back to Boston. (Chris) Balcom-Miller has had a fantastic season with Asheville in the Sally League, posting a 3.31 ERA in 108 innings backed up by a fantastic 117:19 K:BB ratio. That's a 6.2 K/BB for a 21 year old in his second professional season. Baseball America said prior to the season that Balcom-Miller's ceiling was as a "solid middle-of-the-rotation starter," and one has to think that this season would only improve his stock.

The Rockies might need warm bodies, but that's about all they will get out of Delcarmen. He no longer projects as a productive reliever. Meanwhile, the Rockies will send a very promising starting pitching prospect out of the system for what might be at best a minuscule increase in their playoff odds. It's hard for me to classify this deal as anything less than an overreaction to the Rafael Betancourt injury by Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd, and the end result will be a similarly talented (if not worse) team in Colorado and a weakened farm system.

Tonight's games: The Red Sox aren't getting hotter than they have at any point this season, losing to the Orioles 5-2. ... The Phillies play late again in Los Angeles. I stayed up for a good chunk of the game last night. Christine stayed up until Shane Victorino got the Phillies first hit in the 8th. Then, for some reason in the middle of the night, she turned on the TV. A replay of the game was on. We were confused beyond our normal sleep-deprived state.

Fun-filled 4th

Here are the happenings, in brief.

The AL All-Star team will have six Red Sox, including Clay Buchholz, who is heading to the DL. He'll be joined by injured Victor Martinez and Dustin Pedroia and healthy David Ortiz, Adrian Beltre and Jon Lester. Kevin Youkilis was snubbed, but he's headed to the ballot for the final roster spot.

Charlie Manuel selected only one Phillie for the NL team: Ryan Howard. He'll be joined by fan-selected but injured Chase Utley and player-selected Roy Halladay.

The Sox and Phils each lost today to crappy teams, the Orioles and Pirates.

Joey Chestnut won another hot dog eating competition, but they had to arrest Takeru Kobayashi to keep him from reclaiming his spot as the world's top eater.

Christine and I had a nice dinner.

I get a holiday

I had to work today, and after I got home, we had to run to the store as the Phillies game was starting. The store didn't have what we wanted, and we couldn't decide whether to try another or go home because Christine has had Phillies withdrawal. She decided to stay out because the Phillies were winning 2-1. "It's working," she said.

Good call. The Phillies finally beat the Pirates 12-4, thanks to Kyle Kendrick's first major league complete game. I wonder if our shopping karma helped the Red Sox, as Jon Lester shut down the Orioles 9-3. I saw a stat this morning that the Orioles are 9-35 in their last 44 games in Fenway. Make that 9-36 ... poor Orioles.

I've been so busy at work lately that I'm not really that excited about tomorrow's Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot-Dog-Eating Contest. It's going to be hard to watch without Takeru Kobayashi, who can't participate because of a contractual issue. I guess Joey Chestnut will have a cakewalk again.

But, at least I get a day off tomorrow. It was looking like I'd have to work July 4th for the first time since 2006. Because the day off was last-minute, Christine and I are breaking from our tradition of staying at home for a barbecue and going out to eat to celebrate having the day off.

Even more hurtin' SoxandPhils

Last night, I didn't think to mention that the Red Sox acquired Kevin Cash. Wasn't I surprised to learn that they got him because Jason Varitek joined the casualty list and is out six weeks with a broken foot. And from the radio description tonight, it sounded like Jimmy Rollins was ready for another tour of duty when he was beaned and his helmet was knocked off of his head, but he stayed in the game.

The Phillies lost to the Pirates 2-0. That's two consecutive games in which the Phillies lost to a Pirates starter who hadn't yet won in 2010. They're halfway to the sweep Christine was worried about.

The Red Sox beat the Orioles 3-2.

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.

Clear sailing?

I went to sleep last night resigned that the morning would bring thunderstorms that would keep me inside. But when I woke, the skies were clear and I pedaled through the pines. I saw some alpacas.

I also thought the skies had cleared for our hopes of a SoxandPhils World Series.

The Red Sox are back, notes Nick Cafardo:

After last night's 8-2 win over the Orioles, just think about where this team has come from to pull within 3 1/2 games of the Rays, tied with the Blue Jays for third place with a 33-24 record. Now, the Rays aren't world-beaters; in fact, they have lost two straight to Texas. The Yankees were on a roll, but Toronto has silenced them. The Sox, meanwhile, have taken advantage of playing the worst team in baseball and won the first two games here.

The Sox were 8 1/2 out on May 23, when they actually had begun to pick up their game to go three games over .500. At that time, the Rays were playing lights out at 30-11. But the Sox kept steadily rising, while the Rays kept steadily declining. The Sox went through a key stretch in which they played Detroit, New York, Minnesota, Philadelphia, and Tampa Bay, and came out of it 9-4. That proved to the Sox that they belonged in the conversation as a wild-card team, and maybe more.

And while the Phillies are still shaking off the cobwebs from their offensive dead period, they showed signs of life in Saturday's win.

But then something happened. Each team had a game to play on Sunday. Each lost in extra innings.

The goat for the Phillies was Placido Polanco, who made a stupid decision trying to go to third on a one-out hit in the 10th. If he held at second, there's a good chance he would have scored because Ryan Howard followed with a hit. But there was no more scoring as the Padres beat the Phillies 6-5 in 10.

Still, the Phightins scored at least five runs for the second consecutive game. That hasn't happened since May 20-21. The Phillies took a moral victory:

"Baby steps," first baseman Ryan Howard said.
[...]
"Better than nothing," Polanco said.

But no one will say the Phillies have snapped out of this funk - especially when the middle of the order continues to struggle. Utley was 1 for 5, dropping his batting average to .265. Howard was 2 for 6 with three RBIs but struck out three times. Werth was 0 for 5. Raul Ibanez, now hitting .229, was 0 for 4.

"But we're still getting some good hits," Schneider said. "We worked the counts real well. We got Correia out of there early. We're not just swinging early and giving up.

"Hopefully it's the start of something good again."

I thought the Red Sox were coasting to a sweep when they scored two in the 2nd today, but John Lackey gave them right back and the game stayed tied until Manny Delcarmen had his second poor outing in a row, giving up a run in the 8th. The Red Sox tied it in the 9th, before Hideki Okajima lost in the 11th.

At least they're fighting.

I still believe both teams are past their worst stretches.

The Flyers, on the other hand: Chicago 4, Philadelphia 2 in the 2nd period of Game 5 of the finals.

Perfect prediction

As I predicted earlier this week, the Phillies won a close game behind Roy Halladay on Friday and then their offense exploded tonight.

OK, I envisioned a little more than six runs, but they did have 10 hits and were starting to take some Phillies-esque swings. As starting pitcher Jamie Moyer said, they're starting to look comfortable. I sense hittin' season is coming real soon.

Speaking of the ancient (former) Mariner, I just noticed that my prediction about him pitching his second complete game of the season was missing from Thursday's post. I bet Christine accidentally deleted it. I called tonight's masterpiece. Really, I did.

Question: Before the season, would Vegas put better odds on Halladay pitching a perfect game or Moyer having two complete games?

The veteran needed just 98 pitches in the 6-2 victory over the Padres. He didn't have a three-ball count until a 9th inning walk. He also scattered seven hits. It was his 100th win as a 40-something and the 264th of his career.

Red Sox: Jon Lester pitched well - no runs in 6.1 innings - but the Red Sox bats didn't give him much breathing room. But now, in the 9th, the Red Sox are scoring again and lead the Orioles 6-0.

Managing futility

As expected, the Orioles fired manager Dave Trembly and replaced him with Phillies Wall of Famer Juan Samuel. I didn't know that another option for interim Orioles manager was former Red Sox catcher Gary Allenson, but he was promoted to replace Samuel as third base coach. There's a further SoxandPhil connection in that Samuel made his managerial debut tonight against the Red Sox.

The occasion gave Terry Francona a chance to repeat his line about being fired by the Phillies:

"I felt it coming. I knew it was coming," Francona said. "I've always been pretty honest about it. If I was a general manager, I would've fired me also. I think they didn't really have a choice. Saying that, the last however many days that there's speculation, that's the hardest. That's really hard. Now, saying that, I remember thinking, 'OK, when I get fired, it's going to be this huge weight off my shoulders.' And it wasn't. You can't live with people almost 24 hours a day and it just goes away. I thought it would, and it doesn't."

That said, we wish Juan Samuel luck - once the Red Sox leave town, but especially against the Rays and Yankees.

So far, so good. Actually, I wish the Sox would have eased up a little bit as they gave Samuel a 11-0 loss in his debut. Clay Buchholz was dominant, pitching a five-hit, one-walk shutout. On MLB Network, Harold Reynolds felt the need to point out how he now has a shutout and a no-hitter against the Orioles. More notable is that the other MLB Network announcer proclaimed him the ace of the Sox, ahead of even Jon Lester. I'm pleased with his progress, but I don't think Buchholz has supplanted Lester.

The Phillies, meanwhile, as I predicted, did not break out of their hitting slump. But they did manage three runs, which was enough for the 3-2 win over the Padres. Roy Halladay pitched a good game for a mortal pitcher, which means he had a so-so start for the Doc. In seven innings, he gave up two runs on 10 hits and a walk with seven strikeouts. Brad Lidge pitched like Brad Lidge circa 2008, picking up his first save since coming back from his second DL stint with two strikeouts in a clean inning.

The Flyers, trying to even up the series, lead the Blackhawks 3-1 in the 3rd period.

O nO

The Red Sox were swept away by the Orioles this weekend, and I'm all O'd out because Christine and I spent the weekend in Baltimore to witness Saturday's debacle for ourselves.

Beside the Red Sox - our reason for the trip - it was a nice little getaway.

It was weird seeing so many Red Sox shirts throughout the city. Christine, wearing her Phillies shirt, got to experience what it's like to wear an unrelated team's garb to a ball game.

Besides the game, we walked around the Inner Harbor and took a water taxi over to tour Fort McHenry, and I ate a crab cake sandwich.

During one of our travels, a Red Sox fan (wearing a Cubs shirt?) excitedly stopped us to tell us the Red Sox were staying at his hotel, the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. The team did a number on the breakfast buffet - especially Hideki Okajima with the fruit - and Daisuke Matsuzaka was a bit surly, the fan reported. We doubt that the team would eat at the same buffet as the rest of the guests, but we wanted to pass along the man's story anyway.

Walking to the game, a church had a sign out front that said something along the lines of, "Lord bless the O's, maybe the Sox, but the Yankees? Forgive our thoughts." Amen.

At the park: When we went to Camden Yards in 2007, we couldn't believe how poorly it has aged compared with Citizens Bank. It didn't seem as bad this time, probably because we entered with lower expectations, but it was still bush league.

Prime example: CoverGirl was giving makeovers inside the park. "Philly chicks come for the game," I said to Christine, who pointed out that the booth was full of Red Sox fans.

The makeup company also sponsored Kiss Cam. It found a Red Sox fan whose mate was conked out. She seemed angry and embarrassed by the sleeping and started deeply kissing another nearby fan.

Christine and I recently discussed whether a poor year by the Red Sox would "thin out the herd" of some of the bandwagon jumpers. I was starting to warm to this idea until we saw a group of drunken girls merrily singing Sweet Caroline on the way out of the park. If fans are so oblivious to the games, I don't think they'll give up their Neil Diamond fixes because of some losing seasons.

Other culture shocks: Culture Club was playing before the game, the Orioles sold Red Sox memorabilia throughout the park, vendors were so bored they invited you to buy from their food stands, still no cup holders in the seats!, a random fan threw out the first pitch, and fans (mostly Red Sox) started a wave. And they did it backward - counterclockwise.

Other annoyances: Fans were obnoxious, and ushers did not enforce the rule that says you don't move to or from your seat during a pitch. ... A family near us asked an Orioles fan to take a picture of her "large family from out-of-state." The Orioles fan wasn't happy but obliged even as she was introduced to every one of the 20 members of the Red Sox woman's family. ... A guy had the gall to wear a Yankees hat with a Dustin Pedroia jersey - unforgivable. ... The fans. ... The game.

Game notes: The highlight was watching Super Saver win the Kentucky Derby on the scoreboard. This was the second time Christine and I watched a Triple Crown race at a ballpark (first time was 2007). ... Maxx Factor sang the anthem; it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. ... Dice-K, making his 2010 debut, was actually efficient and effective until giving up six runs in the 5th. ... It was sad watching Tim Wakefield take a beating in his first relief appearance. ... David Ortiz hit two home runs. The game was played in beautiful 84 degree weather and moved at a great clip considering it was a 12-9 game - two hours 48 minutes.

Antiquated SoxandO's jerseys: Jeff Conine, Rick Dempsey, Rafael Palmeiro, Nomar Garciaparra, Gregg Zaun, Manny Ramirez, Jason Bay, Curt Schilling, Melvin Mora, Trot Nixon and Brady Anderson.

Huh? We spotted a Schilling Red Sox shirt with white writing, a Chase Utley UCLA-themed shirt and a couple of Babe Ruth Red Sox shirts. Phillies fans were also representing throughout the city - we saw shirts for Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Utley, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Citizens Bank Park.

I rocked a new Red Sox T-shirt Christine got me for my birthday.

Oh yeah: The Orioles new scoreboard is an improvement, but it still seems dated. One improvement is the out-of-town scoreboard that is much more detailed than the ones at Citizens Bank. A random example is pictured above: You can see that the Phillies beat the Mets 10-0. Roy Halladay beat Mike Pelfrey. Utley went 3-5 with a double and three runs. Shane Victorino hit a home run.

Curiously, the picture we took of the final score between the Red Sox and Orioles didn't turn out too well.

Oh well, time to finish unpacking so we can watch the rubber game between the Mets and Phillies on ESPN. Mets are leading 3-2 early in the game.

Jaw dropping

Today Christine and I took a day off. We thought it might be a relaxing day, but it turned into one of our trademark busy home improvement days.

We had a repairman out to tell us that a rubber gasket that came out of the dryer was not, in fact, part of the dryer. We have no idea what it's from.

We had a home inspector out to reassure us that our basement isn't leaking - it's just that the windows and chimney need to be re-caulked. And we have to remove a concrete patio. Christine almost agreed to let me play with a jackhammer until my Dad convinced her it was a bad idea.

In between, we decided to mow the lawn, weed the gardens and put down a yard of mulch.

We handled all of this, but driving back from the grocery store, we were listening to Charlie Manuel on the radio tell us matter-of-factly that Ryan Madson was put on the DL after he kicked a chair and broke a toe after his latest blown save.

Christine and I looked at each other in total shock, jaws dropped.

I once broke a finger out of anger so I can relate, but I can't believe a professional athlete would be that stupid. Unless maybe he truly feels bad about how awfully he has pitched this year and wants to ensure that he doesn't blow another game anytime soon.

Tonight's games: Red Sox and Orioles are tied 4-4 in the 10th; the first-place Mets beat the {stinky} Phillies 9-1.

At least one Red Sox team did well today

Team Red Sox had a much better day than the real Red Sox, despite our rainiest day since we've been participating in the local MS Walk.

We were a little nervous all week with the doom and gloom forecast. We did get wet, but we slogged through our eight-mile walk, doing our part to raise money and awareness of multiple sclerosis.

(The pictures are our team's first-ever customized shirts worn by fans of the Yankees, Phillies and Nationals - we're a multi-partisan team.)

Despite the cold and wet, Christine and I really enjoyed our day with our largest team ever. We're looking forward to next year when we hope we get back to the traditionally beautiful weather we get on walk day.

Thanks to all whom who walked, cheered, supported, journeyed long distances or otherwise participated in our efforts.

Red Sox: On walk day, they did not do their part, losing 7-6 to the Orioles in 10 innings. Tim Wakefield pitched well, Scott Atchison did not. Keep those names in mind, because when Daisuke Matsuzaka comes back, there's a good chance that Wake gets bumped to the bullpen and Atchison gets bumped off the roster. Sad on both ends.

Phillies: Christine was very happy to see Carlos Ruiz drive in two runs to give the Phillies a 6-5 lead over the Diamondbacks in the 6th inning. "Choooch!" she said. That erases the hole Kyle Kendrick dug. We'll see what happens next.

[Photo credits: Kim on the design; Rishi and Wyndham on the financing]

Please repeat today's weather

Today was a beautiful day for a walk or a ballgame. Please, please, please repeat today's sunshine for our charity walk tomorrow and for our ballgame next week.

Non-SoxandPhils note: Andruw Jones last night became the third player in history to hit two home runs, including a walk-off, on his birthday. I've said this several times, but I can't believe he's only 33 - six days older than me. He has seemed so old and worn down in recent years - unlike me.

Red Sox: They trail the Orioles 3-1 in the 7th. Why did we sign John Lackey?

Phillies: They lead the Diamondbacks 1-0 in the 4th. What inning will Nelson Figueroa collapse?

Oh well, wishing good things to the Red Sox walk team and the SoxandPhils baseball teams.

Friday night link dump

The Phillies are playing late tonight, so I have time to catch up on some of the news of the week.

But first, kudos to former Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy who was among eight men who subdued a nut who was threatening to blow up an airplane.

Here's the stuff I have missed.

***Jacoby Ellsbury decided he needed more tests after he was having trouble breathing - turns out he has four fractured ribs. Great.

***A day after everyone reported that Tim Wakefield was going to the bullpen because Daisuke Matsuzaka was coming back, the Red Sox announced Dice-K will throw a simulated game. We're still waiting to hear from Wakefield:

Tim Wakefield came into the clubhouse 45 seconds before the media had to leave. I asked him if he would answer a few questions. "Nope," he said.

I hope we're not seeing a repeat of Jaime Moyer from last year.

***To cure the inability to stop anyone from stealing bases - even Vladimir Guerrero had a couple swipes the other night - the Red Sox are shopping for a catcher, which probably would mean the end of the line for David Ortiz, who accepted blame for his failures.

Red Sox: Papi homered for the first time this season. Jon Lester wasn't dominant, but he didn't give up a run in 5 2/3 innings against the Orioles. But the bullpen is blowing it - three runs in the 7th and 8th innings after going 21 straight scoreless. It's 3-3 in the 8th.

Phillies: When the game started, I was downstairs and Christine was upstairs. I heard the annoying Chris Wheeler babbling on. "Wheels is on," I angrily yelled upstairs. Christine didn't hear me and came down to tell me that Wheels was back.

We thought he was going to be on the radio again because Scott Franzke is home with his wife and their newborn son August - congrats to the them. By the way, Jim Jackson is doing radio tonight, now that the Flyers have a few nights off before the second round of the playoffs.

The Phillies lead the Diamondbacks 1-0 in the 4th. Cole Hamels continues his Roy Halladay impersonation, even hitting a double and scoring the lone run so far.

Race to the finish

With each team having just 14 games left in the regular season, the SoxandPhils are in a tight race ... with each other to see who clinches first. The Phillies lowered their magic number to six today - almost small enough for Christine to breathe - while the Red Sox took theirs down to seven.

By the way, don't look now, but the Red Sox have trimmed the Yankees lead to five games one week before their showdown in the Bronx. The Empire had a nine-game lead little more than a week ago.

The Red Sox continued their dominance of the poor Orioles behind a decent start by Daisuke Matsuzaka: three runs on eight hits and a walk with five strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings. In the 9-3 win, birthday boy Jason Bay homered. So did Jacoby Ellsbury.

In a game delayed by rain, which probably cost Cliff Lee a win, the Phillies beat the Braves 4-2. Lee gave up a run in four innings and looked good before rain ended his day early. Brad Lidge recorded his 31st save, but of course, he gave up a run while doing so.

Memo to Cholly: Lidge ain't getting it done this year. {Memo to Greg: Cholly knows that, but he can't say it. He has no other choice but to keep putting Lidge out there because ...}

More bad news: While the last three starters have had abbreviated starts (Lee by rain and J.A. Happ and Pedro Martinez by injury), you'd think Brett Myers would get some work. Nope, he's injured too. Is Jamie Moyer the only pitcher left without injury concern?

Pain in the neck

I felt this one coming. As we watched Pedro Martinez take his warm-ups, I asked Christine if she thought tonight would be a clunker from Pedro. In other words, Pedro's good stretch was due to end.

Sure enough, it did. He lasted three innings, giving up three earned on seven hits and three walks. Even worse, he left the game with a stiff neck. Maybe I was a little too premature in believing Pedro found the fountain of youth when he tossed 130 pitches in his virtuoso performance on Sunday.

The Phillies trailed the Braves 6-0 in the 9th before making it interesting. Ryan Howard crushed a two-run home run, and they kept chipping away at Rafael Soriano to the point that Jimmy Rollins came up with two outs, two on and the Phils down by three.

"You feeling J-Roll?" I asked.

"No, you?"

"I don't think he ends the game, but he won't tie it."

J-Roll singled in a run, but the game ended in the next at-bat when Ben Francisco popped out.

Christine wasn't happy that I was getting some psychic vibes and that the Phillies couldn't lower their magic number from eight.

Red Sox: The Orioles bullpen blew up a pitching duel between Jon Lester and David Hernandez. Both starters left after six innings with the score tied at 3. But the Red Sox - highlighted by J.D. Drew's three-run homer - exploded for eight runs in the 7th and 8th innings. In the 9th, the Red Sox lead 11-3.