Gold Gloves

Half the NL Gold Glove winners have Phillies or Red Sox connections, but only one, Shane Victorino, is a current Phillie, meaning Chase Utley got hosed. Just like last year.

Though there was no travesty as bad as yesterday's award to the fraudulent Derek Jeter, who is among the worst defensive shortstops in baseball. Yes, he's that bad.

For the record, former SoxandPhils honored today include Bronson Arroyo (P), Scott Rolen (3B) and Michael Bourn (OF).

Scoreboard watching

We always enjoy it when the scoreboard does a little something different with the players' headshot screens. For instance, the last time we saw the Nationals, we spotted advertisements on the Capitol building.

On Sunday, they used Nationals players to promote an exhibit (Late Renoir) at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Either that, or Adam Dunn has become so despondent about Stephen Strasburg's latest injury that he's going to study art history.

And it's not just the artsy folk they're targeting with scoreboard ads. They're also targeting folks whose tastes are more in line with little guys like Trent who appreciate the finer things in life such as critters and building blocks.

Yup, there's no better way to get people to come to Philadelphia Zoo's Creatures of Habitat, a "combination of birds and beasts, each intricately fashioned from thousands of LEGO bricks," than using Shane Victorino's mug.

And in some innings, the Phillies still rock it old school.

Sometimes it's real old school, like Jason Werth circa 1999. Or maybe that's Jayson Werth circa 2011 after his hairy look has been Yankee-ized.

Speaking of which, I finally got around to Sports Illustrated's piece on Jayson Werth. It's a decent read.

Thankfully, the formerly bearded Red Sox, Johnny Damon, is staying in Detroit.

Real scoreboard watching: The Red Sox and Mariners were rained out. They trail the Yankees and Rays by 5.5 games. The Yankees beat the Blue Jays, and the Rays lead the Angels.

For the Phillies, it was a typical Cole Hamels night. He pitched well but got no run support. Well, at least he won't be getting the loss as they scored two runs to force the Astros into extra innings. It's 2-2 in the 12th.

The Phillies lead the Giants by a game but trail the Braves by 2.5. The Braves are losing to the Rockies, and the Giants lead the Reds.

Rotating door at the top

It's the middle game of the SoxandPhils series, and each team had a different look at the top of the order.

The Red Sox finally got their speedy leadoff man, Jacoby Ellsbury, back off the DL. He made his first start in more than a month. The Phillies reinserted their speedy leadoff man, Jimmy Rollins, to his usual spot in the lineup on Friday, but he got injured again. He was officially DL'd today. Welcome back, Wilson Valdez.

Tonight's tilt: Joining Ellsbury in the lineup was David Ortiz at 1B and Jason Varitek at C, which is interesting given the reports of the little scuffle between Daisuke Matsuzaka and Victor Martinez.

Replacing J-Roll in the leadoff spot was Shane Victorino, replacing him at SS was Juan Castro.

Actually, the most important lineup machinations were Varitek and Castro - not because of the riff between V-Mart and Dice, but because Tek is the only catcher to squat for four no-hitters. That's notable because he came pretty close to a fifth.

The 8th inning was the most dramatic. Raul Ibanez walked. Then, Carlos Ruiz lined a rope to third. Adrian Beltre made an amazing spear and then doubled off Ibanez. That was followed by a little bloop by ... Castro (where's J-Roll when you need him?). The little duck snort fell just out Marco Scutaro's reach.

At first it looked like it would be a no-doubt hit. "There it is," Christine said happily. But then it looked like Scutaro had a play. She got quiet, before clapping when the ball hit the ground. Her hands still sting. I don't think she's clapped so hard at baseball since the 2008 World Series.

I'll admit it, I wanted it. This might be a season where you have to take moral victories along the way.

That bloop turned a potentially special night into a ho-hum 5-0 victory. Daniel Bard pitched a perfect 9th to end it.

SoxandPhils series starts

I love the morning of a SoxandPhils series. There's something weird but pleasing about reading Phillies coverage in the Boston papers and Red Sox coverage in the Philly papers.

The Phillies writers, who never appreciated the talent of Terry Francona, obviously focused on the Red Sox troubles:

"Right now," conceded manager Terry Francona, the team's bald, bespectacled Job, "we're being tested a lot."

But the two-time champion is continuing to guide the Sox with a steady hand amid troubled waters:

Asked to assume, for a moment, the perspective of a fan viewing a team that seems increasingly dysfunctional, Francona showed an instinct for self-preservation.

"If I speak like a fan," he said, "I'm going to be a fan pretty soon."

The Red Sox writers, however, are in awe of the Phillies and are speculating about Jayson Werth:

The Sox-Phillies series should be interesting if only because it'll be a chance to see Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Roy Halladay and future Sox star Jayson Werth. There are a few too many interleague games and the integrity of the schedule is damaged, but the games are still fun.

Still, it's a bit ridiculous that the Red Sox get the Phillies six times and the Yankees get the F Troop Mets six times.

SoxandPhils writer Scott Lauber checked in with some similar SoxandPhils players, such as Ryan Howard offering support for David Ortiz:

Ortiz texted Howard last month to congratulate him on his new contract. Howard responded by offering Ortiz encouragement through a text message. His advice: Just be yourself.

"Everybody knows that you're going to have ups and downs. Everybody knows that you're not going to get off to a good start every year," Howard said. "You being you, doing what you do, your numbers are going to be where your numbers are pretty much every year.

"As far as (Ortiz) is concerned, I think people make a big deal out of it. It's like, if he doesn't get off to the start that everybody thinks he should get off to, all of a sudden he's struggling and this and that. You've just got to let the man play, let him do what he does."

Tonight's game: It was Ryan Howard homering tonight in the 4th inning to tie the game 1-1. We learned - and can't believe we didn't know this before - that fans who catch Phillies home run balls get to have it signed by the player who hit it. It had been a nice pitching duel between John Lackey and Cole Hamels until the 4th, but then Shane Victorino singled in another run, and in the next inning, "future Sox" Werth hit a two-run home run.

Howard later poked one to the opposite field, against the shift, to drive in another run.

The Red Sox loaded the bases in the 9th, but Papi flew out to end it 5-1. Christine rubbed it in by wearing her Phillies pajama pants and a Phillies T-shirt. She claims it's because I wore my Red Sox shorts, but I wear them on most nights.

Uh-oh: Jimmy Rollins, making his return to the leadoff spot, was removed from the game. It looks like something is wrong with his leg again. Good thing Wilson Valdez cleared waivers today.

And by the end of the game, Victor Martinez's first inning home run was long forgotten.

Mugged

At the game on Saturday, we noticed that the Phillies have a new screenshot for players.

Shane Victorino's looked like a mugshot. Actually, not so much when we loaded the picture onto the blog, but on the scoreboard at the park, he really looked like he was just booked for something. Trust us on this one.

The Philadelphia Zoo isn't new to the scoreboard, but it usually it features a frog (one of Christine's favorite critters), not a polar bear (one of mine).

We think Jayson Werth looks like he's ready to go bear hunting.

But considering all the talk about his next contract, he should probably stay safe and keep away from bears in the immediate future.

Today's news: The Blue Jays were mugged and will have to "host" the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park because of the G20 summit next month. Prediction: The Blue Jays will win one game with a walk-off in their opponents' park. ... Josh Beckett was mugged by a back spasm and will miss a start. Tests came back OK, so I hope this is a case where he takes a couple days off and comes back pitching like the ace we paid for. ... Roy Halladay was mugged from his first start in his hometown tonight because of rain. The Phillies and Rockies will play two tomorrow.

Tonight's game: Daisuke Matsuzaka is pitching well - one run on three hits (no walks and nine strikeouts) through six. He's only thrown 94 pitches, but I hope Terry Francona quits while we're ahead. Jason Varitek hit his 6th home run of the season. In the 6th, Red Sox 6, Blue Jays 1.

We're going to Baltimore

I know, not really exotic.

Let me explain: We made the choice to include the Phillies home finale instead of a Red Sox game in our six pack of tickets. We later learned we could have bought the six pack with a Red Sox game and then bought the finale separately.

Because we're not going to get to see the Red Sox locally, Christine found out there were still plenty of seats available when they play in Baltimore in May. So we bought tickets, booked a hotel room and we're all set. The tickets arrived in the mail yesterday.

Walking in style: We saw the design for the first-ever T-shirts for our MS walk team, dubbed the Red Sox. We're not ready to unveil the design yet, but it rocks. It's got a baseball feel and reminds me a little of my Ramones shirt. We'll be walking in style next month thanks to Kim and Rishi.

More power from a little guy: A day after I noted Rays manager Joe Maddon had predicted more power from Jacoby Ellsbury, there's speculation that the Phillies diminutive outfielder, Shane Victorino, may hit more homers this year because he'll be hitting lower in the order.

Surprise acquisitions: There were reports this morning that both of our teams would be scrounging to add some more depth as spring training ends. The Red Sox picked up infielder Kevin Frandsen and Jersey-native relief pitcher Scott Schoeneweis. The Phillies are still looking for pitching depth.

Sick SoxandPhils

Although the SoxandPhils have been having quiet spring training camps, they haven't been without issues. Our guys have been getting sick. A lot.

This week, the Phillies infirmary has been visited by Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino and Sam Perlozzo, who were bitten by flu bugs. Earlier, Chase Utley had an upper respiratory problem.

Curiously, Christine has not questioned the integrity of Chooch, Shane-O or Utley like she did when we found out Josh Beckett was ill.

Jacoby Ellsbury has also been ill and, of course, Jed Lowrie has mono.

We're going to start a brand of SoxandPhils hand sanitizer and send a complimentary case to the Red Sox and Phillies so they can keep the players healthy because this is getting ridiculous.

Don't forget Valentine's Day

Tomorrow's the day for lovers, so we wanted to send a reminder to be with your special someone ... lean in ... nuzzle ... whisper a little something sweet ... and then ... we'll leave it at that.

Whatever goes on between Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth is none of our business, as long as it does not affect their play on the field.

Christine saw this picture Scott Lauber posted last month and was amused, thinking it looks like J-Dub is chatting up Shane-O as if he were a barfly.

We thought it would make a nice Valentine's Day weekend picture.

Ruben forgot to sign somebody

Following Joe Blanton's three-year deal, Ruben Amaro has inked a similar deal for Shane Victorino and a one-year contract with Jose Contreras.

We're glad Victorino is locked up and blase about Contreras, but don't like the future implications for other Phillies. Contreras' deal diminishes what little chance that SoxandPhils favorite Mike Zagurski has of making the team:

The Phillies now have six relievers under contract, with prospect Antonio Bastardo the frontrunner to fill the remaining void. With veteran lefty J.C. Romero expected to miss up to a month, and with closer Brad Lidge questionable for Opening Day, young lefty Sergio Escalona and righthander Scott Mathieson will also have a chance to contend for a roster spot in spring training.

Other options include lefthander Mike Zagurski. Righthander B.J. Rosenberg, who showed promise at Class A last season, will also be in spring training.

And the beat writers honed in on a conclusion that Christine and I have had for a while: Jayson Werth is a goner after this season. Amaro pretty much acknowledged that Victorino's deal means Werth won't be re-signed after the season:

"Jayson is under contract through this year. We've had very, very preliminary discussions about what his future might be like here. There will be some difficult decisions down the road. We'll have to weigh where we want to fit in all the dollars and how we want to fit the puzzle together. We can not operate with nothing but $15- to $20-million players. And if there's any indication how much the [Matt] Holliday and Bay signings have on direct impact on where Werth may be at the end of this year, we're going to have to sift through it and figure out what's best for the organization, not just for the next couple years but also long-term."

Sounds like J-Dub will be patrolling right field for the Yankees in 2011. They might be looking for a catcher too, so Ruben better stop dawdling and lock up Carlos Ruiz.

Christine would like to know whether she will be able to wear her Chooch shirt beyond this season.

Gold Gloves for Christmas

Only two SoxandPhils won Gold Gloves this year, meaning Chase Utley, Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis got hosed.

To be fair, Rob Neyer, whose assessments I trust on these things, said Jimmy Rollins didn't deserve his third straight gold glove and that Shane Victorino may not have earned his second trophy.

But being a partisan blog, we'll focus on the praise, such as these plaudits heaped on Utley followed by some backhanded love for Shane-O on the end:

This year, the voters returned to Hudson, once again spurning Utley, who still doesn't have a Gold Glove despite being arguably the league's top defensive second baseman for five seasons running. And not over the last five seasons; I mean in each of the last five seasons.

Who cares, right? Well, someday Utley's going to be on a Hall of Fame ballot, and at least a few voters will say, "Gosh, I love the guy's hitting stats, but why didn't he win any Gold Gloves?"

The answer isn't that Utley wasn't a great fielder; the answer is that the Gold Glove voters just weren't paying attention.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure what to say about Matt Kemp and Shane Victorino. Kemp gets bonus points because he's a good hitter and he's fast and he's got a good arm, with the only problem being that Kemp doesn't make a particularly large number of plays, which is sort of the point of the thing.

Victorino didn't make a great number of plays this season, either. But one can almost forgive the voters, because Victorino was solid last season (when he won his first Gold Glove) and even better in 2007 as a right fielder. Players typically peak early as fielders, but Victorino's (apparent) decline has been precipitous, and I have a hard time holding the voters responsible for tracking Victorino.

In the American League, the Red Sox were shut out, much to Neyer's consternation:

Shockingly, the voters selected MVP candidates Joe Mauer, Mark Teixeira, and Derek Jeter, all of whom were probably solid defensively but might not have been the best fielders in the league (my choices at those positions were Gerald Laird, Kevin Youkilis, and Elvis Andrus). At second base, the voters chose Placido Polanco because he made only two errors all season. Polanco is a pretty good second baseman, but nowhere near as good as Dustin Pedroia, who won the award last year (and, coincidentally enough, was also the American League's MVP).

Stupid Yankees. Speaking of which, I went Christmas shopping today. It was very sad and disturbing to see all the Yankees championship gear. Unlike the last two Christmases, there will be no championship garb under our tree this year, but we'll probably see some disgusting trinkets when we visit the family.

I'm pleased with my shopping. I have a feeling Santa will remember which team Christine roots for.

Today's news: Jason Varitek will be back to back up Victor Martinez. ... Some delusional Japanese media think the Red Sox offered Hideki Matsui a contract. I don't believe it for a moment. ... And, while Pedro Martinez remains on the back burner, the Phillies may target Fernando Rodney for the beleaguered bullpen.

Some more deja vu

When the Red Sox trailed the 2004 ALCS 0-3, there was a feeling that the Yankees should finish off the sweep because once the Red Sox started winning, they would not stop.

Anybody getting a similar vibe from the Phillies after they held on to an 8-6 win last night to stave off elimination and send the series back to New York?

Yesterday, I heard Jayson Stark comparing these Phillies to the 2004 and 2007 Red Sox, which are two of 11 teams, according to David Murphy, to overcome 3-1 deficits in the playoffs.

J-Roll used an interesting analogy in this separate piece by Stark:

Maybe 24 hours from now, in a stadium up the Turnpike, the Yankees will find a way to kill this team off. But if we learned anything from Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, it won't be easy. Just ask the leadoff man.

"How hard is it to kill this team? Hopefully it's like trying to run over an armadillo," said Jimmy Rollins, after his team had lived to play another ballgame. "Just roll up and put our shells on. And after the car goes over us, we unfold and walk away."

Yesterday, everything seemed so bleak for those of us rooting for the Phillies, against the Yankees or both. I didn't concede, but struggled to remain positive even though the Red Sox have mounted similar comebacks from 1-3 holes three times in the last six postseasons, hence the feeling that I've been here before.

In 2004, I conceded after the Game 3 drubbing, but my friend talked me off the ledge by pointing out the pitching was lined up (Derek Lowe, Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling) to force a Game 7, which is basically a coin toss.

I was more confident in 2007, especially because we had a dominant Josh Beckett going in Game 5 and then home field advantage for Games 6 and 7.

Last year, I was nervous until we won Game 6. I thought there was no way the Red Sox would come back and force a Game 7 just to lose it - especially given their recent comebacks, Jon Lester was starting, and the Phillies were waiting for their blogmates in the World Series.

I was wrong.

Despite last year's example, I'm using similar logic for the Phillies. If Pedro Martinez can work his magic and the Phillies bats remember they're an elite offense against an old roider on short rest, there's no reason this series doesn't go seven games. If there is a Game 7, it will be all hands on deck and basically even odds whether good or evil prevails. But in this scenario, evil has a track record of choking, so there may be some intangible advantage for the champs.

Unless Cole Hamels really has quit.

Speaking of quitting: There's no quit-orino in Shane Victorino. He says he's playing tomorrow. I don't doubt it, especially given his reaction to being removed in the 8th inning last night - a truly funny moment. Great line about Shane by Mitch Williams today: "He won't build you a rocket, but he'll be the first one on it. He just wants to play."

Phinally: Johnny Damon is a jackass. I heard him say that this World Series is the highlight of his career. Good, value blowing a 3-1 lead more than being part of one of the most notable championships ever. I only mention to contrast what a class act Pedro Martinez is. He's a true SoxandPhil ... and 'Spo:

On whether it would surprise him to know Red Sox fans are pulling for him to beat the Yankees: "No, it wouldn't. It wouldn't surprise me at all. I know that they don't like the Yankees to win, not even in Nintendo games. And knowing that I am part of Boston, I consider myself a Bostonian, as well, too, I've been a Montrealer, a Bostonian, and now a New Yorker, and somehow, I might become a Philadelphian now. But I've only been there for a short period. It's something that's a work in progress. I'm pretty sure that every Boston fan out there can feel proud that I'm going to try to beat the Yankees, and I'm going to give just the same effort I always did for them. They're special fans, and they will always have my respect."

Thank you Pedro. Give 'em hell tomorrow.

[Photo credit: wlarmadillo.com]

Playoff baseball has arrived

Last night felt like playoff baseball - hoping not only for a win, but for an ending so I could go to sleep.

Somehow I was able to fall asleep even after all the craziness and excitement of the 9th inning in which the Red Sox stole a 9-8 walkoff win from the Angels.

Despite the playoff feel, the game never seemed comfortable other than the five-run 6th inning in which the Red Sox took a 5-3 lead. They coughed it right up and entered the bottom of the 9th facing Brian Fuentes trailing 8-7.

The Red Sox had a 23 percent chance of winning at that point, which dropped to 5 percent after two quick flyouts. Then things got crazy. David Ortiz worked a walk. J.D. Drew hit an infield single. Jed Lowrie, making his first plate appearance in more than a month, pinch hit and got another infield single. Actually, this could have been a game-tying double if Chone Figgins didn't knock it down.

Then, a nine-pitch walk by pinch-hitter Nick Green swung the odds in the Red Sox favor. I admit, Green, who looked awful and later said he had a dead leg, should have been punched out at least twice. Once on a checked swing on which he clearly swung and on the final pitch, which looked to be a perfect strike.

I'll let Mike Scioscia and Fuentes do the griping. I don't want to be fined by the commissioner's office.

Nonetheless, in baseball, spit happens, like Alex Gonzalez's little duck snort to left to win it and put the Red Sox comfortably ahead of the Rangers by 6.5 games and still within hope (6.5 games) of catching the Yankees.

Tonight's games: Both games were on TV again tonight, but we decided to rely on the channel return button instead of watching in separate rooms - especially the breath-taking 9th innings that ended without a Red Sox comeback, but a Brad Lidge save in a blemished outing.

Both our teams' aces went eight innings tonight. Josh Beckett gave up three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in the 4-3 loss to the Angels. Billy Wagner blew it for him in the 8th.

Cole Hamels was better than Beckett. He took a perfect game into the 6th. Christine blames me for getting up from the computer for breaking the streak. Hey, I finished prewriting the blog all I could and I was going to have to use the facilities. Jeez, it's not like I needed a substitution like Shane Victorino.

Cole finished with a run on five hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts. Brad Lidge gave up a run in the 9th, but he held on to preserve the 4-2 win over the Nationals.

Thus ended a successful 13-2 homestand for the SoxandPhils. They're cruising toward their October/November showdown.

Chasing down a beer chucker on getaway day

On a day when both the SoxandPhils finished their games before we got home from work, the news of the day is the manhunt for the fan who dumped a beer on Shane Victorino last night.

When I first saw it, I couldn't believe that Shane was able to make the catch when the suds hit his face just as the ball was landing.

Even Shane was impressed with the fan's attempt, handling his postgame comment like a skilled diplomatic politician:

It was definitely in my face and all over me, you know, it was perfect timing, it was right as the ball was hitting my glove. I tip my hat off to the guy, he had good timing but he had to leave the park and it's one of those things we can't have happen.

He was a little more serious today, saying he would file a complaint with the police and may press charges:

I hope he gets to understanding that you can't do stuff like that. If it happens on the streets, I don't think he'd be walking too far with something like that happening in the streets. It's just not something that you do. The big picture is this guy should be held accountable.

This whole thing is surreal. I want to say it's comical, but then I remember Christine's view that if it happened in Philadelphia, the national media would again condemn Philly fans as heathens. It would go on the list right behind booing Santa Claus and throwing batteries at J.D. Drew.

But since it's the lovable Cubbies, this is perceived as a joke. At least Lou Piniella took it seriously:

That shouldn't happen. It's not good sportsmanship ... We apologize to Victorino and the Phillies for that.

Fortunately, it did not affect Pedro's first win as a Phillie.

Today's tilts: Cliff Lee is being called this year's CC Sabathia, improving to 3-0 as a Phillie. He was dominant again: one run in eight innings on six hits, three walks and eight strikeouts in a 6-1 win. He was backed largely by Ryan Howard, who hit a three-run home run and stole his fifth base of the year. He had two career swipes before this season.

Against the Tigers, young Clay Buchholz was nearly as impressive, giving up two runs (one unearned) on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts over seven innings. But Justin Verlander was better, shutting out the Red Sox on four hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over eight innings. The Tigers may be a formidable foe for us in the ALCS with this guy leading the way.

Both teams hit the road to play teams chasing them in the standings: Phillies head to Atlanta to play the second-place Braves, while the Red Sox head to Texas where the Rangers are chasing them for the Wild Card.

[Photo credit: Chicago Sun-Times via Zolecki]

Scenic and scoreboard sights

As we watch Pedro Martinez officially become a SoxandPhil, we'll write about some of the outtakes from Sunday's game.

To the left is the back of the digital sign outside Citizens Bank Park. It needs a fresh coat of paint.

It's bad enough that this sign blocks an otherwise picturesque view of Center City, but it's downright embarrassing to have the World Champions' logo faded in front of the city's prime real estate.

I think they can can afford a couple cans of paint - especially with the money they're saving by sending Jamie Moyer to the bullpen.

We all know how ugly Sunday's game got after Shane Victorino's infamous ejection in the 7th inning. We got the sense that the scoreboard operators were purposely trying to soothe whomever was left in the stands.

We'd never seen Bongo Cam before. They played a surprisingly effectively calming island rhythm, and fans pretended to beat along.

Other than the half-naked old man, it was the only thing that distracted the fans from the mess on the field.

And Bongo Cam had several extended solos to give plenty of time for Renyel Pinto, who was replacing an injured pitcher, to warm up.

To the left is one of Christine's favorite scoreboard distractions. She likes the frog that seems to jump out of the Phillies' heads during the innings sponsored by the Philadelphia Zoo.

We can't decide whether Eric Bruntlett is terrified or disgusted by the little green critter.

Maybe that explains his poor season: He's afraid that if he hits the ball, an amphibian will suddenly appear.

Finally, I just liked this picture Christine snapped. If you look, it's a picture of the scoreboard showing a ball hit to left field during the Alumni Batting Challenge, so it's a picture of a scoreboard, in a scoreboard, in a scoreboard, in a scoreboard, etc.

Today's games: Pedro's pitches look sharp despite a mediocre start. He's faced 13 through three innings, giving up a run on four hits with four strikeouts. He's thrown 55 pitches. In the 4th, Phillies 8, Cubs 1.

Josh Beckett took a no-hitter into the 5th before giving up a home run to Carlos Guillen. Get ready to see Jason Bay and Mike Lowell on Bubba Burger's Who's Hot list. They each homered again. In the 7th, Red Sox 8, Tigers 1.

OK, I'll jinx it. Our teams are back on track to collide in October.

Worst. Phillies game. Ever. (that we attended)

Jamie Moyer's potential swan song as a Phillies starter was overshadowed by an awful blowout to the Marlins in which Shane Victorino was ejected for arguing balls and strikes - by raising his arms - from center field.

Despite a subpar start from Moyer, who has Pedro Martinez eyeing his rotation spot, the Phillies remained in the game until the 7th inning. They trailed 3-1 with former Phillie Wes Helms leading off.

All of a sudden, home plate umpire Ed Rapuano stepped forward and seemed to eject Jimmy Rollins in the middle of the at-bat. While we tried to figured out what was going on, Victorino ran in from center field as if he were ready to demonstrate how much he loves Ultimate Fighting on Rapuano. Fortunately, Paul Bako and Ryan Howard intervened before Shane-O made contact. He's probably going to get fined and might warrant a small suspension, but he would be facing a stiff suspension if he had made contact.

Victorino was replaced by Jayson Werth (I mistakenly assumed he was in the starting lineup until the 4th inning) who went on to make two errors. Fans kept booing Rapuano and chanting Vic-Tor-I-No - until they left in droves after the Marlins scored six runs in the 7th.

Christine was curious how Larry Andersen - he hasn't been a big fan of the umpires lately - handled the call. We heard it on the radio recap on the way home. He fumbled for words before calling it garbage.

Until that point, the game was a frustrating goodbye to Jamie Moyer, who left in the 6th after giving up two singles to lead off the inning. In the 5th, the Marlins scored three runs on four straight singles.

I was hoping for a gutsy, possibly final, starting performance from Moyer, but it wasn't meant to be.

When Charlie Manuel lifted him, there were some boos directed at the hometown hero, who played a big part in the 2007 NL East crown and the 2008 World Championship.

When I heard boos, I started clapping for him. The clapping, subdued but sincere, did win out over the boos.

Game notes: It rained a bit early, but we were under cover and for once did not mind one bit. ... Marlins pitcher Josh Johnson led off the 6th with a soft single to left, but kind of stood at home as if he fouled one off or he was just confused what to do. He still reached base safely. ... Neither team had an extra base hit until Cody Ross' 7th inning double. ... Rodrigo Lopez, who may be the odd man out if (when) Moyer is sent to the bullpen, gave up six runs in two-thirds of an inning. ... Brad Lidge, who still gets his entrance music played in a 9-3 game, gave up three more in the 9th. Final: Marlins 12, Phillies 3.

Observations from the stands: As the crowds thinned out late in the game, leaving empty sections of blue seats, Christine said, "I feel like we're back at the Vet." There was definitely that vibe, especially in the pregame when Mitch Williams, Ricky Bottalico, Dickie Noles, Ricky Jordan, Jim Eisenreich and Milt Thompson competed in the alumni batting challenge. They competed in pairs, and the team of Rickys won. We'll have more on that later in the week. ... On sale at the newsstands, 50 percent off: Chris Coste's The 33-Year-Old Rookie. ... WDVR radio's Jack McDade sang the anthem. I thought it was too long, but the crowd seemed to like it. "I've never heard a crooner sing the anthem," said Christine, who was pleased with it.

Not so pleasing was God Bless America by WXPN's Langhorne Slim. Christine predicted trouble for whoever had to sing after the 7th inning debacle. Langhorne thought he'd win over the crowd by saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, it's going to be OK." That actually got laughs for a couple of seconds, but the laughs quickly turned to boos.

From then on, the entertainment directors did their best to play songs or show images that wouldn't jostle the shrinking but still hostile crowd.

One thing, however, was able to bring some joviality back to the park ...


A half-naked old man draped across some seats. This guy, wearing nothing but shades, shorts and black shoes with white socks, reminded the crowd how to laugh again. The scoreboard kept panning back to him until the fourth time, when he started rubbing his man boobs together.

With that, half-naked old man, like Shane-O, was shelved for the rest of the game.

Fashion review: I saw the Red Sox version of the Phillies Hall of Fame shirt I saw at our last game that lists all of the franchise's Hall of Famers. ... Someone had a jersey with World Champs 08. ... The first shirt I saw today was Cliff Lee's. ... Walking in, I saw two people walking together in Victorino shirts; one wore 8, the other 18. ... I saw a guy wearing a Phillies shirt and a Red Sox hat. ... I wondered how long before we start seeing J.A. Happ shirts. Christine later spotted a homemade one: Happ-iness.

Antiquated shirts spotted: Mike Lieberthal, Jim Thome, Chris Coste, Bobby Abreu, Lenny Dykstra, Aaron Rowand.

Oh well, off to finish this disastrous weekend (we came home last night to another unforeseen home-improvement project: a collapsed shelf in a closet) and see if Jon Lester can salvage one against the Yankees. There's currently no score in the 4th.

Red goes green, Hawaiian style

I mentioned Sunday that in honor of Shane Victorino hula T-shirt day, the Phillies superimposed flowery Hawaiian shirts on all the players' scoreboard photos.

We intended to post Shane's scoreboard shot (pictured on the left) until Christine realized it looked awfully familiar.

A check of the SoxandPhils archives confirmed her suspicion: The Phillies used the same Shane Victorino-in-a-Hawaiian-shirt picture from last year.

I think the Phillies are taking their whole recycling thing (red goes green) a little too far.

Christine takes pride that her team seems to be at the forefront of environmental issues, but can somebody explain to me what energy or resource has been saved by reusing the same Shane Victorino photo (pictured on the right)?

Looking back at last year's post, I noticed that the Phanatic recycled his Hawaiian costume as well. Doesn't he know it's tacky to wear the same dress twice in similar situations?

Speaking of Shane: A colleague who watched Sunday's game on TV told me Victorino's 1st inning stolen base was negated because the umpire interfered with the catcher's throw.

Hairy Harry: I forgot to mention on Sunday that the Ask-A-Phillies question was about pets. Raul Ibanez has a bunch: cats, dogs, guinea pigs and, best of all, a tarantula named Harry. I bet HK is pleased.

Pitching news: The Red Sox may or may not be intruding in the Phillies trade talks for Roy Halladay. I'm not endorsing a trade, but if it occurs, I just hope it works out better than the Daisuke Matsuzaka experiment. Dice-K has blamed the Red Sox for his arm troubles, which has angered the organization.

Today's games: The Phillies and the Red Sox won last night. The Phillies have another late game in Arizona. The Red Sox, after retiring Jim Rice's No. 14, lead the A's 6-3 in the 7th.

'Elua (Hawaiian for two)

You might have guessed that we were discussing weather yesterday because we had tickets to today's game.

With a good chance of thunderstorms and our luck with the weather at ball games, we fully expected a washout. Instead, the weather you see in the picture to the right is what we got from inning one through nine.

Game: The sunny day was fitting for a game dedicated to Shane Victorino and his native Hawaii. The game itself had two simple plot lines: a bunch of two-run home runs and a fine outing by Country Joe Blanton.

The Phillies matched the Cardinals' first inning run, but then Chase Utley (pictured scoring) put them up for good with a two-run home run in the 3rd inning. He was matched by Ryan Howard in the 5th, Jimmy Rollins in the 6th and Raul Ibanez in the 7th.

Victorino, the man of the hour who never seems to shrink when the spotlight is on him, didn't join in the two-run fun, but he did go 2-4 with two singles and a run. He appeared to have a stolen base in the first inning, but the umpire sent him back. We never got an explanation in the stands.

Although his native Nashville wasn't feted throughout the game, Blanton stole the day from Shane-O. He went eight innings, and with just 108 pitches, he could have gone out for the 9th. His strongest inning was his last. After a leadoff single to Skip Schumaker, he struck out Julio Lugo, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday (pictured) to end the inning.

Despite the protests of a youngster sitting behind us, Charlie Manuel went with Brad Lidge to preserve the 9-2 win. He allowed a double to Rick Ankiel and needed 21 pitches, but he ended the inning without a run, lowering his ERA to 7.00. Former SoxandPhil Joe Thurston made the last out.

Observations from the stands: Lots of Hawaiian music throughout the day. The Phanatic hula'd with professionals, then lead his own thing involving a bunch of guys pretending to row a boat with wiffle ball bats. We didn't get it either. ... The Aloha Hula Show did the national anthem. It was a string version - very different, very nice. ... Stephanos Tsirakoglou sang an operatic God Bless America. He kept it moving. ... That kid I mentioned earlier kept Christine and I entertained with constant chatter, such as "Howard looks weird when he sweats," "Paul Bako has to work his way up in the game" and "Rollins hit a grand slam yesterday. Did Pujols? Did Holliday?" ... Matt Stairs, getting a rare start, used Stone Cold Steve Austin's Glass Shattered entrance music. ... All the Phillies had Hawaiian shirts superimposed on their scoreboard pictures - Stairs got a pink one. ... J-Roll came out to Michael Jackson in his first at-bat, but none of the rest. Christine was taken in the 4th when he chose Kriss Kross' Jump for his intro music. ... It was a very annoying day with people around us. There were constant beer runs and invasions of personal space. None was worse than late in the game when a large guy sitting next to Christine leaned forward and shifted to relieve himself of some gas. It was audible, but thankfully, she did not smell it.

It was also a good day for T-shirt watching, including this new RAUUUUUULL Ibanez version. ... We saw a growing number of Charlie Manuel shirts, including his All-Star T. We also saw two Carlos Ruiz shirts. We were glad to see some love for Cholly and Chooch. ... Kind of tacky is a new Phillies Hall of Fame T-shirt that lists every Phillie in the hall, including stalwarts such as Ryne Sandberg, Tony Perez and Johnny Evers. Well, maybe I would get a Red Sox version, assuming it would have Tom Seaver, Rickey Henderson and Juan Marichal. ... There were also lots of recent antiquated Phillies garb, including Jim Thome, Billy Wagner, Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell and the debut of Chris Coste to this list.

Pictures: It was such a photogenic day, we couldn't get them all in this post. Keep checking throughout the week for some more highlights.

Red Sox: The less said, the better. John Smoltz gave up six runs in five innings in a 6-2 loss to the Orioles. We're 2.5 behind the Yankees. Oh well, off to watch the highlights of Red Sox left fielders Rickey Henderson's and Jim Rice's induction speeches.

SoxandPhils at the All-Star game

A combined 10 SoxandPhils were at the 80th All-Star game to determine whether the Red Sox or Phillies will have home field advantage in the World Series.

So far, it's tied at 3 in the 6th inning.

There are ample places to get the game's outcome and complete details. This is the only place that will distill all the SoxandPhils action. Here's a recap of the SoxandPhils at-bats and defensive plays (at least those completed before I shut down for the night):

Top 1st: Jason Bay singled with two on and one out. Unfortunately, he lost a chance at an RBI because his hit landed right at Shane Victorino, and no one wants to test his arm.

Bottom 1st: Chase Utley grounded out to first.

Bottom 2nd: With President Obama looking on from the broadcast booth, Raul Ibanez grounded out to second. Later, Shane Victorino singled, then scored the tying run (2-2). Obama said the Flyin' Hawaiian is a good guy who gave him some macadamia nuts in the clubhouse. Only Shane.

Bottom 3rd: Utley flew out to center leading off.

Top 4th: Bay flew out to right.

Bottom 4th: Ibanez popped out to third. Victorino struck out and couldn't get on after the catcher dropped the ball.

Top 5th: With speedy Carl Crawford on first, Ichiro Suzuki grounded one deep to Utley who spun and made the long throw to nail the lead runner. Excellent play. Risky, but since it worked, excellent.

We'll recap any other important details tomorrow (the worst day of the season - no baseball games at all).

Other news: It'll be a while before we learn who is MVP of the 2009 All-Star game, but the 1999 All-Star MVP, Pedro Martinez, has signed a contract with the Phillies, making him a SoxandPhil.

A new All-Star and maybe a new SoxandPhil

When I came home today, I turned on the TV to see whether Shane Victorino won the final All-Star slot.

He did.

But that was instantly overshadowed as Comcast discussed a Todd Zolecki Tweet that the Phillies had agreed to terms with Pedro Martinez. He has since dismissed the original report from a Spanish publication, but there are strong indications that if the Phillies' 2009 rotation will include a former Cy Young potential Hall of Famer, it will be Pedro, not Roy Halladay. Zolecki even said he thinks Pedro will be a Phil.

If this does happen, Christine and I are on record against it. Although, Christine said she would enjoy it if he did pitch well if only to rub it in the face of his former team, the Mets.

I wouldn't mind Pedro in Philly; I just don't think he would help the club. I would have several questions:

• Would it be acceptable to wear my Red Sox Pedro T-shirt (pictured above) if we happen to go to a game he's pitching?


• Would he instantly be the second-greatest SoxandPhil of all-time? (Behind Curt Schilling.)


• Who was the last Phillie to wear No. 45? (Actually, not that tough of a question. It was another SoxandPhil, Tom Gordon.)


• While everyone was clamoring for Manny Ramirez to play the Red Sox in last year's World Series, could Pedro beat him to punch in the 2009 SoxandPhils fall classic?

When we still thought the signing was completed, Christine said, "Poor Shane Victorino. He's going to be completely overshadowed."

He was. He's barely mentioned in this post (although I would have focused on how he probably didn't deserve the honor), and he was relegated to the final line in Zolecki's afternoon post:

Shane Victorino won the NL Final Vote, which means he is headed to St. Louis next week.

Congrats, Shane. Sorry you didn't get top billing today, but we all know you've received plenty of attention this week. And, I have a feeling you won't just be watching the game from the bench. I have a good feeling your manager will have you starting in place of injured centerfielder Carlos Beltran.

Tonight's games: Chase Utley certainly looked like he enjoyed himself rounding the bases on his inside-the-park home run in the 3rd inning. After a crazy 5th inning, the Phillies have taken a 9-6 lead over the Reds in the 6th inning.

David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia hit traditional home runs, but the bullpen coughed up another lead. They're trailing the Royals 7-5 in the 7th, but that was No. 300 for the big guy, who has been on a tear.

Before today's game, the Globe reported:

While his average remains a disappointing .223, that’s far better than the .186 he was batting at the start of June. Over his last 27 games and 24 starts, Ortiz is hitting a robust .301 with a 1.037 on-base plus slugging, 14 walks (and 18 strikeouts), eight home runs, and 17 RBIs.

All-Star voting has jumped the shark

A question and a note before starting tonight's post:

1) Has "jumped the shark" jumped the shark? It probably has, but how long ago? {Probably around 1998.}

2) The following post may be hypercritical coming from a guy who writes a blog that artificially links two unrelated baseball teams.

But here it goes:

Last night Christine told me that certain players have been linked in All-Star voting, such as Los Angeles-based Chone Figgins with Matt Kemp. Last year, fans voted for White Sox Jermaine Dye and former White Sox Aaron Rowand.

It seems that now everyone has to have a running mate, and today Bran-Torino was unveiled, linking Shane Victorino with the Tigers Brandon Inge. Now, these happen to be my choices for the final spots, but what do the Tigers and Phillies have in common? Nothing. Nada. Zip. This is getting stupid.

Especially because other than for a fleeting moment last night, Shane-O can't seem to get past Pablo Sandoval - who, truth be told, is having a better season. Christine will probably object {yes, I do}, but I will remind her that he's just living up to the lofty expectations she placed on him by picking him for Rookie of the Year. {He can be Rookie of the Year after the All-Star game, not during it.}

Tonight's games: All-Star Tim Wakefield has given up just one run in six innings and leads the A's 4-1 in the 7th behind home runs by David Ortiz and J.D. Drew. The Phillies Rodrigo Lopez' second straight solid performance ended after five innings because of a sore shoulder. The Phillies and Reds are tied 2-2 in the 7th.

Do you get the feeling that the asking price for Roy Halladay just went up?