Little rain, sloppy game

Driving to the park yesterday, Christine and I listened to sports talk in hopes of hearing something that would tell us how wet we were going to get and how long the game would be delayed.

Instead, we got another reason Christine can't stand talk radio. There was a guy insisting that the Phillies should platoon Ryan Howard because he can't hit lefties. He didn't go so far as to suggest trading David Herndon for Albert Pujols so the Phils would have a first baseman against lefties, but he was very annoying.

So, with minimal delay or rain, Christine and I found our way to our seats (after we stopped to say hi to Nats fan Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump, who was somewhere in this picture) to see Howard battle a tough Nationals lefty, John Lannan. He homered in the first inning and had an RBI single in the 3rd. Against the Nationals righty relievers, Howard went 0-2 with an intentional walk.

I know none of that proves anything, except it reminds me of that saying about opinions and an anatomical part. Yeah, everyone has one, and some are more inclined to share them without any hint of self-concept.

Back to the game. Well, the rains held off for the Phils to win 11-3 against the Nats. It was a very sloppy game, of which the less said the better. Besides, there was plenty of stuff going on in the stands to distract us from the game that featured three errors (all Nationals) and nine walks (mostly Nationals).

It wasn't a banner day for antiquated jerseys - just Aaron Rowand, Jamie Moyer, Ruben Amaro Sr. and a few Jim Thomes, including a pair of couples in which both women had a No. 25. ... The most interesting shirt we saw was a David Herndon jersey. Joe Wolf took this pic and said this guy's a regular in his section. There's no doubting his Phanhood. ... One lady in our section had a bedazzled Phillies hat to complement her "Designated Kisser" shirt. ... The Amaro shirt was an odd spot. I had to check that it was correct because it's odd to see anything other than Schmidt with a No. 20.

Amaro and his son were among a bunch of former Phillies who were brought back for alumni weekend. Christine and I didn't know quite a few of them but noticed most of them lived locally, as if the alums could only come if they paid for their own transportation to the game. ... It was funny seeing Scott Eyre among the old-timers. Christine was interested to see Charlie Hayes after he was announced, but he never came out. We wondered whether he decided to skip the ceremony to keep sampling the fare at Garry Maddox's barbecue cook-off going on outside.

Walking into the park (we were ducking a few drops at the time), a guy rushed passed us and caught my attention. I realized he was carrying a yellow T-shirt and figured the vendor was probably late for work. ... Inside, we were behind two jerseys, "Brittany" and "Sammy." Christine was going to comment, but she realized that those were regulation uniforms for the Phillies ball girls. ... The QVC singers did the anthem. Funny, upon arriving at the park we sat in the car for a while to try to wait out the rain. We did that before a game two years ago in which TV's singing salesmen also did the anthem. They sang well.

Michael Stutes has a new bag to bring goodies to the bullpen. He had been using a nondescript bag, but I guess his mates must have read his Twitter comment a few weeks ago that he would carry an embarrassing pink bag if they asked him to. Stutes pitched two innings in relief of Roy Oswalt. The Phillies 8th inning ended with him on deck. Christine was hoping to see his first major league plate appearance, but Wilson Valdez grounded out.

The Phanatic reprised his Lady Pha Pha bit. That's always a crowd pleaser. ... By the way, one more note on Ryan Howard: In the six games we've gone to since Trent, he has gone 7-22 with three walks, two homers and eight RBIS. Platoon his butt!

We're staying home today, keeping dry and waiting for Trent to come home from his sleepover at Grandmom's. He has a little surprise waiting for him. Two words: Wiffle Ball.

Incredible game

We've been back from the ballpark for more than four hours, and I still can't believe it.

Except for the 2008 World Series clincher and the 2007 division clincher, this might have been the most amazing game we've ever seen in person.

Despite incredible odds and a feeling of doom all day, the impossible happened - it was supposed to rain when we were at a game and it didn't!

Oh, and the Phillies came to life in the 7th inning to win a game in which they were held in check by the mediocre Doug Davis. Phillies 4, Cubs 3.

The first inning was tortuous, but Roy Oswalt shut down the Cubs for six more innings after giving up three in the first. The Phillies chipped away with a run in the 1st and 3rd, but left eight men on in the first six innings. They finally broke through with two runs in the 7th on a base hit by Ryan Howard. He had a deep double in the 1st that almost went out. (He has a tendency to come through for Trent when his parents have tickets.)

Observations from the stands: The little guy stayed home today even though it was early Father's Day at the park. Pete Schneider got to hang with his son before the game. ... They handed out a white-on-white Phillies hat, better than the hat-on-a-hat they gave away a few years ago. ... The sax player outside the ballpark has gone Hollywood. He had a stool and an amplifier. I liked acoustic stand-up guy better.

The Overbrook High School Overtones sang the National Anthem. I don't remember it. Marc Antonelli sang God Bless America. At first I thought it was long, but then I decided it was good. Everyone loved it.

There was a very special birthday on the screen today. Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz. He's 60. ... This guy in front of us is a huge Nationals fan. He had the shirt, lanyard, cap and even a backpack. ... There was a baby in front of us. Not as a cute as Trent, but made me miss him.

Ryan Madson needs better closing music. Don't Stop Believin' kind of puts the place to sleep. Besides, don't you want the other team to stop believing once you bring in your closer?

Antiquated shirts: Not very many. Most were spotted on the way out of the ballpark when I wasn't taking notes. Pat Burrell, Jim Thome, Lenny Dykstra and Jayson Werth.

Etc.: Everyone around us jumped for a hot dog even though the Phanatic's hot dog shooter couldn't reach us in the 400 level.

Oh well, pretty good game, but we've got a nerve-wracking night and morning ahead of us. Trent's been on the DL too many times this season with ear infections, so we're doing the tube thing tomorrow, but we're sure he'll be hotter than the Red Sox by the time our teams resume play on Tuesday.

Nobody sleeps if nobody hits

The Red Sox and Phillies are playing late games on the West Coast this week. For no reason, I teased Christine last night that Trent wanted to be woken up if Josh Beckett were pitching a no-hitter.

Sure enough, when I flipped on MLB Network to check the score, they did a live cut-in to Anaheim where a story was brewing - Josh Beckett had a no-hitter into the 6th inning. He immediately gave up a little bloop infield hit.

But, no worries, the network quickly switched to San Diego, where Roy Oswalt was working on his own no-hitter. I didn't bother to watch. It was late. I was tired.

Besides, as I told Christine, who was worried about staying up herself, he had thrown nearly 80 pitches and there was no way he would pitch a no-no.

"But there could be a combined no-hitter," she countered.

There wasn't. Oswalt gave up a hit in the 5th and combined with three relievers on the 3-0 shutout. Beckett, who may actually be back this year, gave up two runs in eight innings, but had to settle for a no-decision in the Red Sox 4-2 11-inning win.

Trent needs new PJs

The baseball jammies didn't work. Yesterday's game couldn't have ended any worse - a walkoff win off of Roy Oswalt, who is scheduled to pitch Game 6* on Saturday.

Trent is back to his elephant PJs tonight as the Phillies attempt to join the 1986, 2004 and 2007 Red Sox on the short list of teams that came back from a 1-3 deficit in an LCS. (I have to remind readers that the 2004 Red Sox came back from an 0-3 deficit against the Yankees.)

Being keenly aware of two of those comebacks (and nearly another one in 2008), I feel comfortable with the Phillies' chances. Roy Halladay came to the Phillies for a situation exactly like tonight's game (he's leading 3-2 in the 6th), and then the series will swing back to Philly. I'm a bit concerned about Oswalt in Game 6 because he threw a side session before pitching in relief last night. But if the Phillies can survive that, there's no way Cole Hamels, and the vocal Phillies fans, will allow the Giants to win on Sunday.*

*if necessary

Memories I

Two years ago, when we had guaranteed playoff tickets and more flexibility in getting to the ballpark at the whims of the baseball gods, we were able to squeeze in a trip to North Carolina, the day after we went to Game 2 of the NLCS, to visit Christine's brother and family as our teams played their respective LCSes and came very close to a SoxandPhils World Series.

We weren't good guests, monopolizing the TV until all hours of the night. (They were long and painful nights.)

This year, they have come up to visit Trent. It shouldn't be as bad with just one team in the playoffs, but I had a similar vibe as I tried to squeeze in all our regular errands (grocery shopping, bathing Trent, vacuuming, etc.) in between visits, caring for the baby and work.

It'll get done.

Tonight, Roy Oswalt became the first of the Phillies trio of starters to give up a hit and a run, but the Phillies survived a subpar outing to come back and win 7-4. They're up 2-0. I want to type that this series is over, but Christine says it's not till it's over.

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.

Sleepy Sunday

Well, it started out that way. On a chilly, rainy day, I slept in - 6:30 a.m. is now extraordinarily late by my new standards.

Later, Trent and I went to the basement to watch some football (I think I'm going to watch more of it this year now that we have the little guy) while Christine listened to the radio as she got some work done upstairs. She heard Roy Oswalt dominate the Mets (four hits and a walk with six strikeouts) in a 3-0 shutout.

In the basement, we toggled between that game and the Giants' 31-18 win over the Panthers and the Patriots' 34-24 win over the Bengals. After the Eagles dropped their opener in the afternoon, we just need the Braves to lose to the Cardinals tonight for a pretty good sports day in this house. And, oh yeah, forgot about the Red Sox ... they won, too, 5-3 over the A's.

Busy week ahead for the SoxandPhils Phamily. We'll try our best to keep up, but expect quickie posts like this.

Sleepy games

This week, I learned that I could sleep outside in the middle of a storm so violent that it carried a tornado warning. And I later learned that I could sleep through what was probably the most interesting Phillies game of the year. Some may argue that designation should be Roy Halladay's perfect game, but I didn't get an expensive watch out of it, so I'm going with last night's tilt that I did not see.

I could blame the baby for my fatigue, but truthfully, I wouldn't have stayed up much later even before Trent arrived.

I fell asleep as the game headed into the 14th inning. At one point, Christine told me that Ryan Howard was ejected and that Raul Ibanez was shifted to first base with Roy Oswalt taking over left field because there were no more "extra men," as Chris Wheeler stupidly calls bench players. I was fascinated with the scenario, but couldn't open my eyes.

Later, I heard her slip into bed. "Who won?" I asked in a fog.

"They did. Roy Oswalt grounded out in the 16th with the potential tying run on base," she said.

"Snore, snore, snore," was all I could muster.

This morning, I was flipping through the program I got at Sunday's game and noticed the Citizens Bank ad on the back. I liked its slogan, but just now connected it to last night's intriguing game: "This could be the game you get to tell everyone, 'I was at that game.'"

We've had a few of those, most notably Game 5 of the 2008 World Series and the 2007 regular season clincher, but given my propensity for falling asleep, I'm kind of glad we weren't at last night's game.

With Halladay pitching for the Phillies and the Red Sox playing a double header, I was fairly confident I would be awake when two of three of today's SoxandPhils games finished. Partial victory - Trent and I napped through a portion of the Red Sox afternoon game.

Tomorrow is a Phillies business-person's special. I have a feeling Christine might come home from work with her two guys conked out on the living room floor.

Tonight: J.A. Happ and the 'Stros beat Halladay and the Phils 3-2. The Sox split their twin bill against the Mariners, but picked up a half game on the Rays and Yankees, who each lost.

{Side note: The Phillies have entered yet another frustrating skid. They could be in first place right now, if only they could have scored some runs over the past three days to beat the lousy Astros.}

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.

Another injured SoxandPhils catcher

Victor Martinez, Carlos Ruiz, Jason Varitek, Brian Schneider and now Kevin Cash. Five catchers DL'd by the Red Sox and Phillies this year.

It's incredible that both our teams have lost their entire catching corps for portions of the season. Although, the latest addition, Cash, who I believe is the 17th Red Sox to hit the DL this season, might need an asterisk.

That's because there have been several wink-like references from beat writers that suggest this move was a sham just to call up newly acquired Jarrod Saltalamacchia:

Meanwhile Varitek is working on his throwing with Gary Tuck, playing catch with Cash.

Boy, for a guy who needs to go on the DL Cash looks pretty good.

Whatever. All I know is that the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 10-1, which pulls them within 3.5 games of the Rays. And if the Rangers can clean up Cliff Lee's mess and hold on to beat the Yankees, we'll be just four games from the top spot.

The Phillies partied like the 2005 Astros, beating the Dodgers 2-0 behind Roy Oswalt's first Phillies win and a clean save by Brad Lidge.

Jon Lester is a wuss

It's hard for me to say that about our beloved cancer conqueror and World Series hero, but I think I can be critical of a fellow newly minted first-time father:

In the real world, a first-time father returns to work after a day or two off and eases back into the routine while showing everybody photos of his pride and joy.

Jon Lester's task last night was to climb the mound at Fenway Park in drenching humidity and to try and pump pitches past the Cleveland Indians.

Sleep had come sparingly since the arrival of his son Hudson on Saturday and after a few innings his left hamstring started to ache. Errors, a passed ball, and the other residue of a season going steadily awry only made things worse.

“He'd had a long three or four days," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

OK, I took off four days (not including the weekend) and I returned to work in a climate-controlled building. But...

I'm just glad that Lester didn't become the 16th Red Sox to be DL'd after hearing last night that the trainer made a couple of visits to the mound.

Tonight's games: Kevin Youkilis' injured thumb will cost him the rest of the season, but the gimpy Sox forged ahead. Daisuke Matsuzaka went 8 strong innings (?!?!?), and the Sox lead the Indians 6-2 in the 9th. ... Roy Oswalt pitched much better than in his debut and left with a 2-0 lead in the 7th, but J.C. Romero allowed the runners he inherited to score and the Phillies trail the Marlins 4-2 in the 9th. They might be attempting a comeback now with two on base and no one out.

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.

Phillies (yawn) land big-name pitcher before trade deadline

For the second consecutive year, the Phillies landed a big fish for their rotation. Of course, the celebration is muted for Roy Oswalt because only a few months ago the team had jettisoned a better, slightly younger ace who was very popular in the clubhouse and among fans.

That was my first thought, but then I considered this: What if, last year, the Phillies landed Roy Halladay midseason and Cliff Lee never came to town? Can you imagine the euphoria there would be today if the Phillies then acquired a matching Roy for the top of the rotation?

Under that scenario, Ruben Amaro Jr. would be viewed as a god in this town. But that's not the scenario we have, so he'll probably be remembered as the dolt who dumped Cliff Lee (even if the Phillies win more World Series).

We'll see what the new Roy has to offer when he debuts tomorrow.

The Phillies continued to roll tonight, beating the Diamondbacks 3-2 in 11 innings on 1980s night.

The Red Sox were off, but they were still rolling, too. It was Josh Beckett's charitable bowling event.

Phillies lose quietly; Red Sox losing ugly

With the Phillies banished to CN8 again and the Red Sox on pace for a five-hour game against the Yankees, I have some tidbits but not much substance tonight.

Phillies:

1) I know the Phillies were facing Roy Oswalt, but when Kyle Kendrick, your worst pitcher thus far, scatters two runs over seven innings against the Astros, a loss is inexcusable.

2) Wouldn't you know that Michael Bourn homered and scored both runs?

Red Sox:

1) David Ortiz had a good swing on his RBI single in the fifth.

2) This team doesn't quit.

3) I think this is the first time I could watch young Clay Buchholz start. He should have known better than to get shelled against the Empire for my debut.

4) If the score holds, it will be 18-16 Yankees. If the pace holds, the game, which started at 7 p.m., will end just before midnight.

5) Yay, LaTroy Hawkins enters the game. Oops, spoke too soon. I didn't know he has been perfect in three innings against the Sox so far this year. Interesting: Through age 34, Hawkins is most similar to Jose Mesa.