Sox suffer Royal disappointment; Phils prep for coronation

Last night, when the Red Sox were up 6-0 and showing no signs of mercy to Kansas City, I said out loud that they should save some runs for tonight and take it easy against the Royals. But I had a nagging feeling that the Royals were going to come back. But I didn't think they would come all the way back and win 12-9.

The Yankees also lost again last night, so if the Sox had held on, they'd be four games out. Despite my recent bombast, I never expected the Red Sox to oust the Empire, but I thought they'd get close enough to put a scare into them this weekend. Oh well, everybody is 0-0 after Oct. 4.

Tonight, the ruffian Royals are pounding the underdog Red Sox. Stupid Paul Byrd gave up five runs in the first inning, and Zack Greinke is pitching like a guy who deserves to win the Cy Young, not the guy who was yanked from his last start because of injury. In the 6th, the Royals lead 5-0.

The Phillies, meanwhile, woke up to headlines such as Phillies making their pitch for the postseason and For Phillies this season, it's clinch not catch. Amazing. It seems like yesterday that I was telling Christine to relax and that her team was going to make the playoffs as we headed to the park for the last regular season game in 2007. In fairness, I had to give her that same talk tonight. (The standings were a little tighter in 2007.)

The Phillies moved closer to their clincher with a 9-3 win over the Marlins in the day game before a sparse crowd. They'll probably have it corrected, but when I checked this box score, it said "Attendance - 0."

Joe Blanton dominated - just two hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in seven shutout innings.

The nightcap isn't going as well. Through seven innings, Anibal Sanchez is winning the battle of former Red Sox starters against Jamie Moyer. In the 8th, the Marlins lead 3-0. Christine is panicking. {Greg is exaggerating. A bit.}

Just chillin'

With the Red Sox battling the Angels on ESPN (in a matchup that will likely be repeated in the playoffs for the fourth time since 2004) and the Phillies trying to beat the Nationals and gain ground on the Dodgers in the chase for home-field advantage, Christine and I took advantage of our home's split levels and multiple TVs.

There hasn't been much news today: Greg Dobbs is back, J.A. Happ probably will be and Tim Wakefield may soon follow. And unlike Joba Chamberlain, no more training wheels for Clay Buchholz.

Downstairs: Paul Byrd pitched decently for a guy who should be retired - three runs in 5 1/3. The game had a playoff feel when the Red Sox rallied and took the lead with five runs in the 6th. But Takashi Saito and Ramon Ramirez coughed it up, giving up four runs in the 7th. The Angels, up 7-5, are rallying again in the 8th.

Upstairs: Rebounding from his worst start of the season, Joe Blanton tossed six scoreless innings, giving up five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts in the 6-1 win over the Nationals.

The Phillies took the lead in the 1st when Ryan Howard stole second base, allowing Chase Utley to steal home. The dynamic duo extended their career-high stolen base totals: seven for the big guy, 20 for Utley. The double steal also gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead over the Red Sox in steals of home this year.

Jayson Werth iced the game with a grand slam in the 7th, right after they showed he has hit .231 in his career with the bases loaded. "Wow, Jayson Werth is the one guy on the team who stinks with the bases loaded," I said before the blast.

Late in the game, Christine asked me to look up the last time the Phillies had three straight shutouts. I'm glad I didn't try when her guy, Tyler Walker, gave up a run in the 9th, ending a scoreless streak that began in the first game on Sunday. Chris Wheeler said the last time the Phillies had three shutouts in a row was 1969.

Catching up with SoxandPhils keystone combos

I've read a few interesting tidbits about our teams' midfielders in the past couple days.

Everyone knows Chase Utley is real good and has been the best second baseman in baseball the past few years. This FanGraphs blogger, however, suggests he has been nearly Albert Pujols good, but has largely been ignored by MVP voters. Ironically, this Chase Utley admirer, Erik Manning, covers not the Phillies, but the Cardinals. He notes that Chase hasn't yet cinched a spot in the Hall of Fame, but he's got a good shot at being an all-time upper pantheon type of player.

While checking Utley's Baseball-Reference page to see how close he is to being a Hall of Famer, I noticed some interesting friends and foes in his player comps: David Wright, Victor Martinez, Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Marcus Giles and Carlton Fisk.

It's hard to believe Utley hasn't finished higher than seventh in MVP voting. Maybe he should try to raise his profile by garnering attention by doing something - say, cursing on a national broadcast.

Or, he could ask the SoxandPhils middle infield MVPs - Jimmy Rollins and Dustin Pedroia - for advice.

Speaking of J-Roll, everyone knows he's having a down year at the plate, but he may be having a historically good season in the field. Jayson Stark reports he could become the first NL shortstop to handle more than 600 chances with three errors or fewer:

When a player is in the midst of a historic offensive season, the world catches on to it by now. But how come, when a guy is chasing a historic defensive season, it's a bigger secret than Dick Cheney's cholesterol count?

The Red Sox MVP second baseman is starting to power up for the stretch run. He weathered a 183 at-bat homerless stretch in the middle of the season and had his first multi-homer game last night:

And as far as the numbers taking care of themselves, he's three homers shy of the 15 he hit a year ago.

"You get more at-bats throughout the year, and it all evens out," Pedroia said. "It's not like I'm going to hit 30 home runs in a year or anything like that. But I'm definitely going to hit some."

And his new double-play mate has a strange season going. I swear I noticed this days ago, but Alex Gonzalez is hitting .289 - that's good. But he's only getting on-base at a .289 clip - that's not good. How does someone go 84 at bats without a walk?

Today's games: Both of our teams are in tight ones against less than top-notch competition. The Red Sox have blown a lead in a game started by Paul Byrd (Manny Delcarman's the culprit of the blown lead) and trail the Orioles 4-3 in the 6th.

When I started updating the scores, the Phillies were starting the 8th tied at four after Cliff Lee gave up a run in the 7th, but the red-hot (Christine swears he's not juiced) Jayson Werth hit another home run, followed by Pedro Feliz. In the 8th, Phillies 6, Nationals 4.

I wonder who gets the ball if it stays close in the 9th.

Stupid former Indians pitchers

The recent good performances by Cliff Lee and Paul Bryd, both former Indians, have been wiped away tonight.

After starting 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA for the Phillies, Cliff Lee has been shelled in his last two starts. His ERA rose to 1.80 after giving up six earned runs in five innings on Saturday, and it's now 2.81 after yielding six earned runs in three innings tonight. Jamie Moyer is now in, making his first relief appearance for a starter other than Pedro Martinez. In the 5th, it's Astros 6, Phillies 0.

If he keeps pitching like this, come playoff time, Lee might be keeping J-Moy company in the bullpen.

I still can't get over Pedro Martinez's performance yesterday. Christine joked the other night that he's going to wear a Phillies hat on his Hall of Fame plaque.

He's not, according to a Q&A with Yahoo!'s Answer Man:

DB: Assuming you get there, would you wear a Red Sox cap on your Hall of Fame plaque?
PM: I have no idea, but I would love to. Either that one or a Montreal hat. It's not up to me, it's up to the league, but I think Boston without a doubt. I'll take it.

Then, Pedro talks flowers. It's weird.

DB: Which kinds of flowers are your favorite?
PM: Orchids. All of them.
They're so delicate and tender. So beautiful.
DB: Do you talk to them?
PM: Yes!
DB: What do you say?
PM: I pray for them and tell them they have to get better and that I'm sorry about not taking care of them on time.
DB: Do you feel guilty?
PM: I just ... sometimes, I just don't have the time.
DB: What got you into gardening in the first place?
PM: My mom. She would spend a lot of time in the garden and I used to spend a lot of time with my mom.

In the American League, meanwhile, Byrd no longer has an unblemished ERA. He gave up seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, inflating his ERA from 0.00 to 7.56. The Red Sox scored one in the 4th, so the comeback is under way. In the 4th, White Sox 8, Red Sox 1.

Washed out. Again.

Despite improving weather forecasts, we headed to Saturday's game fully expecting to get soaked. Whenever there's the slightest chance of rain when we go to a Phillies game - it pours.

We were actually relieved that there was some heavy rain on the way over. The drive wasn't fun, but we arrived in plenty of time and listened to the pregame while looking at rainbows. (There were actually two right next to each, but one was too faint for the camera to pick up.)

First pitch was delayed a few minutes, but we didn't mind. We were dry and set to see Cliff Lee for the first time. His perfect start to his Phillies career was washed away, however, as he got torched for six runs on 10 hits in five innings against the Braves. His microscopic ERA tripled to 1.80. I had a feeling before we went to the game this would be the night the legend of Cliff Lee would come to an end.

Lee pitched well early on. In the second he didn't allow a run even though the Braves had two men in scoring position with one out. But in the fourth he gave up two homers (he had given up none in five starts as a Phillie), and the Braves were en route to an abbreviated 9-1 win.

On-field observations: Ryan Howard's single in the 4th was excellent, just a slow dribbler to second, but because the infield was back for the shift, the Braves had no play. It would have been a routine out if the infield were positioned normally. ... Lee's ERA rose from 0.63 to 1.47 after the first home run; 1.24 to 1.65 after the second; and 1.61 to 1.89 after the final bomb.

Unobservation: In the 2nd, I saw Jayson Werth swing and miss. I thought he struck out and noted it in my scorecard, but it was just the second strike. Brian McCann must have agreed with me because he threw the ball to third instead of back to the pitcher.

Observations from the stands: The QVC Singers did the anthem. Very weird. I kept expecting to see a 1-800 number with a timer posted on the scoreboard. ... Good fan question: "Who is your favorite former Phillies/Braves player?" With 42 percent, people selected BravesandPhil Dale Murphy over Kevin Millwood, Ron Gant and Johnny Estrada. ... The woman who received a marriage proposal wore a shirt "Happ and Lee Ever After." Wonder if she knew she was getting a ring?

Antiquated shirts: Not many, but a couple oddball Yankees - Moose Skowron and Don Mattingly - in addition to the usual Jim Thome, Pat Burrell and Chris Coste. Interesting about Mattingly: Earlier I told Christine that I was surprised Paul Bako wore No. 23 because it seems like one of the most popular uniform numbers, partly because of Mattingly. Maybe it's just a New York/North Jersey thing.

The skies opened: Our pregame confidence was shattered when we heard an usher say a storm was about five minutes away. When it arrived, we immediately hustled up some rows in the 400 level, under cover, to debate whether we should go with our windbreakers, ponchos, umbrellas or some combination. Before we could decide, another usher forced us to the concourse because of the lightning.

We found a good dry spot next to a snack stand that was closed. Until we saw water flowing out of a turned-on light fixture - probably not the safest place to stand.

We hung around until they ended the game in the mid-8th. Although it was pouring, Dan Baker told us to "exercise caution" when leaving. In other words, "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here."

We're going to one more game this year. I predict monsoon.

Today's games: The Phillies are on ESPN tonight.

Paul Byrd got a surprise start for the Red Sox today because Tim Wakefield's back is acting up. Great. The roider actually came through: three hits, three walks and no runs in six innings. Billy Wagner made his debut, striking out three and giving up a hit in the 8th inning. The Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 7-0.

It's still August, right?

Should the Phillies falter and join the 2007 Mets and 2004 Yankees among the greatest collapses of all time, one of the first to blame will be Paul Hagen, who has penned the column that puts Philly on the edge of hubris and could give bulletin board material to the other teams chasing the Phillies:

Phillies' October rotation a tough decision for Manuel

Yes, the Phillies have it pretty much wrapped up, and a collapse is hard to fathom even though they've dropped five of six against the Diamondbacks, Giants and Rockies. But they were the class of the division before acquiring Cliff Lee and are probably once again the class of all of baseball (we'll know for sure if there's an October showdown with the Red Sox). {What do the Red Sox have to do with anything? They'll be sitting at home after Oct. 4.}

But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Hagen did pose an interesting question: Who among Pedro Martinez, J.A. Happ or Jamie Moyer gets booted from the playoff rotation? I'd discuss, but it's still August, and there's no guarantee - especially with the luck the Phillies have had keeping pitchers healthy this year - that all three will be healthy come October. Or that aces Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee will be healthy. Stranger things have happened.

At least Jim Salisbury brought us back to earth today with a look at some SoxandPhils examples of teams that thought they had too much pitching:

The 2006 Red Sox had six starters, so they traded away Bronson Arroyo. But then injuries struck, and Kyle Snyder, Lenny DiNardo, Kason Gabbard, Kevin Jarvis, David Pauley and Devern Hansack combined for 34 starts that year.

The 1997 Phillies were so depleted by injuries that ace Curt Schilling was followed in the rotation by No. 2 Calvin Maduro, who went an impressive 3-7 with a 7.23 ERA in 71 innings that year.

The 2007 Phillies were so stocked coming out of spring training that Jon Lieber, who won 39 games the previous three years, was bumped to the bullpen. He was back in the rotation by April 20, and several pitchers, most of whom weren't on the team when it broke camp, made starts, including Kyle Lohse, Kyle Kendrick, J.D. Durbin, Fabio Castro, John Ennis, Zack Segovia and ... J.A. Happ.

Heck, nine pitchers have already started for the Phillies this year, and we're at least a week away from Pedro's debut.

As Salisbury quoted Terry Francona from 2007: "When you think you have enough pitching, go get more."

Current affairs: After dropping an epic 13-inning game to the Rays last night, the Red Sox trail the Rays 4-1 in the 5h tonight. It doesn't look like Brad Penny will have the lengthy outing the depleted bullpen needs. Remember, this team was seen as having a glut of pitching just weeks ago.

The Phillies are playing their best game since Cliff Lee's gem, leading the Rockies 7-0 in the 6th. With Pedro pitching in the minors today, Happ is having a strong outing in an attempt to keep his spot in the rotation over the future Hall of Famer.

***9:45 UPDATE*** What a game by Happ - a four-hit, 10-strikeout complete-game shutout. It was electric. I think he's kept his spot in the rotation safe even though Pedro pitched well in his minor league start. Cliff Lee better pitch well tomorrow afternoon or he might be headed to the pen.

And, remember what I said about pitching depth? MLB Network reports the Sox just signed former SoxandPhil roider Paul Byrd. At least he can't be worse than John Smoltz.

'Tis the season (again)

For those who need a little holiday cheer tonight, the official Phillies DVD on the 2008 season is coming out soon.

Paul Byrd and Jason Varitek were offered jobs for next season (if they accept arbitration); we're still waiting for word on Pat Burrell and Jaimie Moyer.

And will this be the year Jim Rice no longer gets coal in his Hall of Fame stocking? The ballot is out, and SoxandPhils newcomers include Rickey Henderson, Mo Vaughn, David Cone, Ron Gant and Dan Plesac.

The highs and lows of September

Tomorrow, we expect our playoff tickets to arrive. A week ago, I was debating whether to tell Christine to save the $20 processing fee and not order them. I didn't think then that the Phillies were about to sweep the Brewers and Braves.

Tonight, they got embarrassed 14-8 by the Marlins, and Christine sounds like someone kicked her puppy (no, we don't have a puppy). The Mets bullpen survived another one, beating the Braves, to take back first place - a half game up on the Phils.

I'll take that spot, given where they were a week ago. The Mets will lose again, and the Phillies weren't going to go undefeated over the last two weeks. I expect they'll win the division, and if not, I'm even more confident that the NL East's second place team will be the Wild Card. And despite Christine's worry about the Marlins - now 4.5 games out - they won't be that team.

Tonight's game: Listening in the car to the Phillies score two in the 1st, I thought tonight would be the night young Brett Myers gets shelled. Yup. He was tagged for 10 earned in four-plus innings. Forget what I said yesterday about wanting him ahead of Cole Hamels in a big spot. The offense came through, but the pitching has to limit the Marlins to one, not two, touchdowns.

Red Sox: Paul Byrd put up an acceptable start - three earned in six innings - as the Sox narrowly beat the Blue Jays 4-3 to keep pace (1.5 behind) with the Rays who blew out the Twins tonight.

Treading water

The Red Sox and Rays each split their double headers against the Blue Jays and Yankees, so we remain two games out - not impossible to make up, but it's looking like a sweep in Tampa this week may be necessary.

The Phillies won handily, but only picked up a half game on the Mets, who split their double header against the Braves. OK, that's improvement (2.5 games out) - plus, they picked up a whole game on the Wild Card-leading Brewers, whose lead is now two games heading into tomorrow's double header. The Astros, in limbo because of Hurricane Ike, are a half game behind the Phillies.

Young Cole Hamels may have been paying attention to Jamie Moyer's outing the other night. It wasn't his best start, but he gutted it out for 6.1 innings to get the win as the Phillies beat the Brewers 7-3.

Most of the offense (except Pat Burrell and Carlos Ruiz) pitched in, led by three hits, three runs and two RBI by Jimmy Rollins.

They have to at least split tomorrow's double header, but if they sweep, I'm believing again. {I'm already there; I hope tomorrow's not a letdown.}

Red Sox: In the first game, Paul Byrd pitched like the crappy Paul Byrd I've been expecting, and the Sox lost a gutless performance 8-1 with only five friggin' hits. The box score looks like a spring training game. David Aardsma got beat around, too - when did he come back? Kevin Cash pinch hit for Dustin Pedroia and stayed in the game at third base; that's his first major league appearance at any position besides catcher.

The Sox finally woke up late in the second game. After trailing 5-2, they scored a run in the 6th and 7th and three in the 8th to win 7-5. Bartolo Colon returned, and it looks like Fat Bart didn't do too bad; he gave up five runs, but only two were earned, over six innings. Three-hit nights for Jason Bay and Dustin MVPedroia.

Old guys come through

With time running out on the season, two old starting pitchers - neither of whom have been to a World Series - came up big for the SoxandPhils. Younger Cole Hamels could learn something about playoff intensity from Paul Byrd and Jamie Moyer.

Red Sox: I guess I owe Theo Epstein an apology for picking up another druggie. The Red Sox beat the Rangers 7-2, and Paul Byrd is now 4-1 since coming to Boston. Byrd pitched well - no runs with just three hits and three walks in 6 2/3 innings. He was backed up with a rare homer by David Ortiz and one by Jason Bay. MVP-to-be Dustin Pedroia went a ho-hum (for him) 1-4 with a walk and an RBI.

The Rays lost, so the Red Sox's footsteps must be getting louder - they're 1.5 games out of first, which is the closest they've been since July 28. Oh yeah, if you can strain your eyes that far down the standings, the Yankees are in fourth. The Orioles are 12 games behind them, so the Empire doesn't have to worry about coming in last.

Phillies game 1: Jamie Moyer pitched even better than the Sox cagey veteran, dominating the Mets to a tune of no runs on two hits and three walks. Phillies 6, Mets 2. He was backed by Greg Dobbs who went 2-4 with a double, home run, two runs and three RBI. Pedro who? (That can be for either Feliz or Martinez, who ate the loss today.)

Phillies game 2: J-Moy's win meant the big Cole Hamels-Johan Santana match-up would determine whether the Phils would leave New York trailing by two games or tied for first.

The latter scenario doesn't look likely after young Cole was shelled for five runs in five innings. Christine predicts he will blame his adjusted schedule, even though he pitched on his normal rest. The Phils trail just 5-2 in the 8th, but you have the feeling they were never in it since the first inning, when they had Johan on the ropes but scored only once.

And guess who did most of the damage for the Mets? Another old guy lacking World Series experience. Carlos Delgado had playoff fever tonight, going 3-4 with two runs, four RBI and two homers through seven innings. The ESPN announcers blatantly rooting for him were very pleased.

Playoff tix

Our playoff ticket order form arrived today. The Phillies beat the Dodgers 8-1. Coincidence? Probably, but here's my crazy conspiracy theory: The Phillies brass knew season ticket holders would be getting their orders today, so they threatened to withhold the team's paychecks unless they started hitting, raising the fans' playoff hopes again. Voila. Ten hits in an easy win.

Kyle Kendrick pitched decently - one earned on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts - to beat Greg Maddux, who was making his first start as a Dodger since 2006.

Ryan Howard, Chris Coste and Chase Utley homered.

Competitors: The Mets won (again), the Marlins are losing, and the Phils are still stuck 2.5 games out.

Red Sox: They beat the Blue Jays 8-4. Druggie Paul Byrd got his first Red Sox win. Christine's not happy that Shaun Marcum got beat badly because he's on our SoxandPhils fantasy team. Five RBIs came from the top spots in the lineup - Jacoby (slump's over) Ellsbury and Dustin (what's a slump?) Pedroia. Jason Varitek, who may also be rebounding a bit, was 2-3 with a homer.

Unfortunately, we may be a man down in the outfield for the rest of the season. All-Star Game MVP J.D. Drew has a herniated disc. He hopes to avoid the DL. I haven't seen a team so ravaged by injuries since the great 2008 Yankees.

Competitors: The Rays are winning (again) against the White Sox, the Twins are scoreless in the early innings, and the Yankees won.

Druggie debuts ...

... and loses.

Roy Halladay once again demonstrated his mastery of major league hitters, tossing a 4-1 complete game win over the Red Sox.

Paul Byrd, pitched decently in his Sox debut against the Blue Jays but not good enough against Halladay. He went 7 1/3 innings, giving up four earned on 10 hits. No walks, nor strikeouts. This was the first of three consecutive starts Bryd is slated to make against the Blue Jays. The Globe reported that would be the first time since 1958 a pitcher has made three starts in a row against the same team.

Competitors: The Twins and White Sox won; the Rays are losing.

Phillies: They're playing late again. I feel asleep before the conclusion of last night's game (Christine was dozing but woke up for the bottom of the 9th). The Phillies actually won a game, 1-0 over the Padres. I'm glad the game lived up to the stature of the two starters, Jamie Moyer and Greg Maddux.

Tonight, they're leading 2-0 in the 2nd.

Mets won again.

Fool me once ...

I don't think Theo Epstein read the Mitchell Report, which included this e-mail to Theo from one of his own scouts.

Some digging on Gagne and steroids IS the issue. Has had a checkered medical past throughout career including minor leagues. Lacks the poise and commitment to stay healthy, maintain body and re invent self. What made him a tenacious closer was the max effort plus stuff ... Mentality without the plus weapons and without steroid help probably creates a large risk in bounce back durability and ability to throw average while allowing the change-up to play as it once did ... Personally, durability (or lack of) will follow Gagne

After that e-mail, Theo still gave up three good prospects for a washed-up roider whose appearances down the stretch were downright frightening last year. Today, Epstein traded for another druggie, Paul Byrd. Usually this blog is happy when there's a new induction to the SoxandPhils fraternity, but I remember Paul Byrd standing in Fenway right before Game 7 of the 2007 ALCS answering to a report that he took HGH.

This deal won't blow up like Gagne did, but you'd think Theo would want to avoid players in the Mitchell Report. It sort of took some of the juice (bad pun, I know) from the excitement of 28-year-old knuckleballer Charlie Zink's major league debut.

Tonight's game: I'm sure that Zink won't forget his debut against the Rangers, although he will want to. There have been some who attribute his success this year to the fact that minor leaguers aren't exposed to knuckle balls; they say his stuff won't cut it in the majors. He started off with a perfect 1st, then watched his mates score 10 runs in the bottom of the inning, including two homers by David Ortiz.

The fun stopped there. This in-game musing on the Boston Globe's blog sums it up: "Has a team ever scored 10 runs in the first inning and lost?"

Answer: I don't know, but the Red Sox came too close for my comfort. They actually had to come back to win, 19-17.

Competitors: White Sox won, Rays losing and the Yankees are beating the Twins.

NL: The Phillies lead the Dodgers 3-1 in the 5th. Mets won; Marlins winning.