A couple of rivalry series

The Phillies and Red Sox renew their big rivalries with the Rays and Nationals this week.

Everyone knows the bloody history between the Phillies and the Rays as they prepare for a rematch of the 2008 World Series. Actually, do two teams playing in a World Series count as a rivalry, especially when the series was so lopsided? Christine still dislikes the Rays, just because they were matched up against the Phillies, but I can barely remember who we beat in 2004 and 2007. I think if either the Cardinals or Rockies put up a fight, I might remember them more.

The Rays certainly remember. According to this story in the St. Petersburg Times, the Rays actually believe they would have won the World Series if Game 5 hadn't been postponed. Yeah, and I might be retired if I had bought a winning lottery ticket.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, relive their storied rivalry with the Nationals. OK, no real rivalry here, but I'll link to the Globe's story on the Nationals for our friend at Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump who's hoping for a Red Sox sweep to improve the Nats chances at Bryce Harper.

So far, so good: Phillies, on the road of course, are blowing out the Rays 10-1 in the 8th. Red Sox have a slim 4-3 lead over the Nationals in the 7th.

Latest bullpen injury: Clay Condrey. I swear Christine hadn't seen this post when she wondered whether MLB will cancel "The Pen" because injuries have wiped out just about everyone from the original cast. It's like the end of Family Matters when they replaced the mom and the youngest daughter quietly disappeared.

Maybe Elvis will snap this funk

Greg and I stopped by our friends' house yesterday afternoon, so we missed the ends of both games. Does it matter anymore?

The Red Sox took care of business and beat the Braves 6-5. They open a series against the Nationals tomorrow in Washington.

The Phillies, meanwhile ... sigh. Lost. Again. 2-1 to ... sigh ... the Orioles. Cole Hamels pitched well, but it wasn't enough with no offense. Stop me if you've heard this one before.

Todd Zolecki recaps all the ugly numbers and facts from the awful 1-8 homestand. I'm glad he has them because I didn't want to look them all up. It's bad enough watching these games the first time; I definitely don't want to spend the off day figuring out all the ways the Phillies stink right now.

They open a series in Tampa Bay tomorrow, where they will see Pat Burrell and maybe Elvis. Ryan Howard may or may not be there, may or may not play. I fully expect the whole team to go on the DL on the same day this week. Maybe a bulldog can cure what ails the Phillies.

The Pen: Last night's episode was depressing. And not just because of the cheesiness of the haircut contest and the road trip between San Diego and Los Angeles. It covered the first 10 days or so of June and included Brad Lidge's two blown saves against the Dodgers. But that wasn't the depressing part.

The Phillies went 7-3 on that road trip before this most recent abysmal home series. The show served as a reminder that they are a good team, despite whatever is happening right now. I'm feeling pretty confident about them going on the road, but I really hope they can sustain that momentum and bring it back home in early July. First home opponent? The Mets. No biggie, right?

Phillies TV show and Wawa's first-ever hardcover book

We watched The Pen last night. We enjoyed it, but don't think we would watch it if it were based on a team we didn't root for. And it was odd - they covered from February through May in a single one-hour episode. Based on that ratio, there won't be enough material left for the five episodes covering June through the All-Star break.

Another reviewer, on the Bleacher Report, was disappointed they didn't show a lot of behind-the-scenes personal stuff. We agree. Other than showing Jack Taschner play with his baby and talk about the sudden trade with his wife, Scott Eyre watch his son's Little League game and Clay Condrey lead a big fishing expedition in what appeared to be a drainage ditch in a housing development, there wasn't much stuff you wouldn't get from an extended feature on Comcast SportsNet. (Christine wants me to point out that Condrey did catch a fish.)

Oh, we did love hearing Charlie Manuel rip Taschner immediately after he was traded to the team in spring training. Ruben Amaro Jr. was critical of his acquisition, too. That was good stuff, and surprising to hear on an MLB-produced, Phillies-sanctioned production. I'd love to see the Trashman's reaction to those comments.

I'll take a Shorti with a side of Harry: On Sunday, I saw a sign at Wawa advertising
"Remembering Harry Kalas" for $9.99. I had no clue what it was.

Today, driving to work, they were talking about it on WIP. It turns out Wawa is selling this book exclusively. It retails for $25, but it's discounted at Wawa, which is donating $10,000 to the Kalas family's favorite charity.

Of course we bought it, although we probably won't read it until we take a couple days off later this summer.

We had a couple of "We miss Harry" moments yesterday. Every half inning, the broadcast would come back late, and we'd miss the first batter. And the announcers kept messing up people's names. Classic example was when Josh Beckett hit his home run. They showed a replay of him walking from the on-deck circle to the plate instead of showing the home run live. Then, they said it was Mike Lowell who homered. We miss Harry.

Tonight's games: Both teams are off. Clay Buchholz, dominating AAA, wonders why he is not mentioned in all the discussions about what the Red Sox are going to do with their plethora of starters. He didn't demand a trade, but would welcome one. And you know how when a coach or GM is upset with a player, he won't refer to him by name? Check out this quote from young Clay:

I feel like I'm more equipped with everything that I have right now as far as the pitches and the mental aspect and physically healthy to be up there and helping that team. If not that team I want to be in the big leagues and I do want to go somewhere where I'll be able to play and pitch every fifth day.

Dog bites man

As is becoming an unfortunate habit when we go to Citizens Bank Park, Christine and I had to sit through a long, cold, wet and delayed mess of a baseball game. It spanned two calendar days, but at least we didn't have to pay twice for parking.

Only in baseball can the same two teams that played a beautifully crisp 13-inning game in little more than four hours on a pleasant 83-degree night come back the next night and take nearly three hours and forty minutes to play nine innings of slop during a cold and wet night that felt much worse than the listed 71 degrees. Oh, and that game time doesn't include the hour and a half rain delay.

Here's our recap of Game Two of the SoxandPhils showdown in which the 2007 champs beat the 2008 champs, 11-6:

Yesterday, I noted that Antonio Bastardo hadn't had a bad start in either of his first two big-league games. He took care of that early yesterday. Jacoby Ellsbury walked, stole second and went to third when Carlos Ruiz's throw went to center. Ellsbury scored on an errant pickoff attempt at first base after Kevin Youkilis walked. Jason Bay homered him in. As the rain began to drive down, Julio Lugo singled to center, but Shane Victorino let it get by him, allowing two more runs to score. 5-0 before the Phillies even batted.

Daisuke Matsuzka pitched a 1-2-3 first inning. I gave up keeping score because the scorecard was getting too wet, even tucked inside a plastic bag. I joked to Christine that tonight would be the night I would see a no-hitter without a scorecard to record it. I couldn't have been more wrong.

As the Phillies warmed up in the top of the 2nd, Christine was confident her Phillies would make a game of it and predicted a long, ugly back-and-forth affair. They would come back, but not after we spent some quality time in the concourse of the ballpark waiting for the rain to end. Our primary amusement was trying to decide which drunken Red Sox fan would fall down first. There were a couple of close calls, but no winners.

When play resumed, new Phillies pitcher Chad Durbin kept the Red Sox in check for three innings as the Phillies took care of Dice-K. They scored a run in the 3rd on back-to-back doubles by Victorino and Chase Utley. In the 4th, when I made a rare run to the concession stand, Raul Ibanez led off with a home run, followed two batters later by a two-run blast by Pedro Feliz. Dice finished the inning, but that was the end of his night – Red Sox 5, Phillies 4. {Actually, by my count, it was 4-0. Because I was entrusted to keep score when Greg got up, I corrected the early scoring and nullified the 1st inning runs.}

Jack Taschner, who is gaining on Chan Ho Park for the title of least-loved member of the Phillies pitching staff, relieved Durbin in the 5th. The Trashman delivered – he faced nine batters, giving up three runs on four singles, a double and a walk. The inning ending on a flyout to center in which Victorino showed some great range. He made an exaggerated gesture to show the crowd he had the ball. Earlier in the inning, he was miffed that the umpires said he trapped a ball when he thought he caught it on the fly.

The Phillies rallied to get one back off Manny Delcarmen, who's starting to exhibit signs of a slump. The Sox rallied for two more in the 7th off of Sergio Escalona. We had no idea he was called up to replace Friday night's goat, Kyle Kendrick. The teams traded a pair of solo home runs (Jayson Werth in the 7th and Jacoby Ellsbury in the 9th) before Jonathan Papelbon mercifully ended this nightmare of a game at 12:25 a.m.

Observations from the stands: Great national anthem by the United States Air Force Heritage Brass quartet. One of the best renditions I've heard at the park in a long time. ... Rob McElhenney of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" threw out the first pitch. ... Among the many rain ponchos we saw, I spotted one with Buffalo Bills logos on it and another with the Pittsburgh Pirates. ... We spotted a dutiful helper dog during the delay wearing a rain slicker and a Phillies bandanna. ... The subject of the night's scoreboard marriage proposal had an infant in her arms. Christine wondered how the guy convinced her to wait out the cold, wet delay with the baby. ... A grown man behind us wore bright white sneakers with Phillies logos on them.

Christine wanted the Phanatic's late-game dance segment to play off how late it was getting. It didn't, but the PA did play "After Midnight" during the first inning break occurring after midnight. ... Speaking of music, we didn't hear Journey's Separate Ways last night, but Werth is now rotating his at-bat songs, including his original Heavy Metal by Sammy Hagar and newly added Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. I know you all love J-Dub and his intro music selections, but we can't keep up anymore.

On-field stars: Dice-K (1st), Durbin (2nd), Hideki Okajima (6th) and Ramon Ramirez (8th) for the few 1-2-3 innings in the game that saw the teams combine for 386 pitches (176 by the Red Sox, 210 by the Phillies). ... Ryan Howard surprised everyone by attempting to steal in the 2nd inning. He slid with an awful thud, but it was for naught because Ibanez fouled off the pitch. Christine wondered if he swung out of panic thinking he missed a hit-and-run sign when the big guy took off. ... Ellsbury showed his range in center field all night. ... Mike Lowell made a tremendous spear of a low liner smoked by Howard in the 3rd. It's one of those plays that looks like nothing in the box score, but could have prevented the Phillies from catching up. ... In a game that featured 17 runs on 26 hits and 11 walks, there were too many offensive stars to name. You can look up individual performances here. Although I didn't realize until just now that the Red Sox gave up only one of those walks.

Etc.: Here's some background info on the love affair between Philadelphia fans and J.D. Drew for the Red Sox fan who asked Christine with two outs in the bottom of the 9th whether Drew gets booed in Philly because he used to play here.

Today: No rest for the weary. Todd Zolecki says the Phillies deserve a short game featuring a long outing by J.A. Happ today. The Red Sox could use one too, but two SoxandPhils fans over here could really use one. We'll catch the finale this afternoon (Josh Beckett vs. Happ), then make a call to The Pen at 8 p.m. on MLB and then we'll try to catch up on some of the sleep lost last night.

Bring it on

This is a big week here at SoxandPhils. First the good guys battle the New York teams before coming back to Philadelphia to preview the 2009 World Series.

I think Christine and I may start bickering even before the SoxandPhils series begins. Tonight wasn't a problem, but the Red Sox games against the Yankees will be nationally televised Wednesday and Thursday. One of us will have a thumb attached to the "previous channel" button on the remote, and the other will likely accuse the other of being too slow in switching back to a particular game. It's a good thing we have three TVs - but only one of them is HD.

Opponents: The SoxandPhils find two New York teams headed in opposite directions. Nick Cafardo cautions that the much-improved Yankees squad is a different team from the one the Red Sox are 5-0 against this year. Phil Sheridan states the obvious: Advantage, Phillies, in big rivalry. He also drops a SoxandPhils reference:

We are getting a taste of what it has been like to be a baseball fan in New York and Boston for the last decade or so. Following a winning team with a strong nucleus, good chemistry, and committed ownership turns out to be even more fun than it looked from afar.

Amen.

Case closed: On Saturday, I heard a nimrod call WIP to suggest that Brad Lidge's struggles may be mental because his blown saves seem to coincide with nationally televised games against good opponents.

I thought that was ludicrous until this morning when I saw a commercial for the Phillies' bullpen reality TV show. Maybe the caller was on the right track, except that Lidge, a perfect World Champion last year, wasn't buckling under big-game pressure. No, maybe he was melting under the pressure of being a TV star.

Or, maybe he's just been injured all friggin' year without admitting it. He was DL'd today and it sounds as if he's still in denial:

"He did not suggest it," said Amaro. "I don’t know how on-board he was with it, because he doesn't want to make any excuses, but he understands. Our medical people and staff took the decision out of it for him."

Where we stand: We're glad they're shutting him down since he's hurt, but upset it has taken this long.

Tonight's games: Red Sox are up 7-0 in the 9th courtesy of a nice four-run 2nd inning, that featured a two-run home run by Mr. David Américo Ortiz Arias, aka Big Papi, and two more runs after an error by Alex Rodriguez. In the battle of former Marlins, Josh Beckett struck out eight and allowed three base runners in six innings. A.J. Burnett allowed five runs (three earned) and 10 baserunners in 2 2/3 innings.

Things weren't so good for the Phillies. It was a competitive back-and-forth game with lots of home runs, but they fell short to the Mets, 6-5

Christine says: Why isn't this on VH1's Celebreality?

Christine often complains that her Phillies never get mainstream attention and respect. Christine loves reality TV shows. So she is pleased, and we're both shocked, by the MLB Network's first original series: The Pen - a reality show about the Phillies bullpen as it tries to defend the World Championship.

I hope the show doesn't limit itself to the bullpen. Brett Myers was made to be a reality TV star. (For no reason, because I have never said that before, I just had a feeling of deja vu when I typed that.)

Clay Condrey, who could be a good sidekick for Myers, is excited:

"I think it'll be pretty neat," Clay Condrey said.

You'll probably become a star, Clay.

"I ain't no star," he said.

No, he's not. But Grammy-attending, white-tux wearing Shane Victorino is. Or, maybe not:

"When I walked on the red carpet I was like, 'Let me just go,' because I felt so out of place there," Victorino said. "But it was definitely a neat experience. I sat there and watched and it's amazing what kind of talent it takes to do what they do. I've played at the pinnacle of my sport, and they're playing at their pinnacle - the Grammys. It's like the top. To be able to watch them perform, it was very cool. Steve Wonder was great. Carrie Underwood. She was pretty impressive."

Shane does know how to grab attention, Hollywood style. He made sure to get in a SoxandPhils line to ensure he made this blog:

"Neil Diamond was unbelievable," Victorino said.

Fan of Neil?

"I'm not a fan, but I know his music," he said. "Sweet Caroline was the last song of the night. I was like, 'Oh, Boston, seventh-inning stretch. Here we go.' That's what I thought in my head."

{Please, don't let the Phillies become my worst nightmare - the Red Sox of 2005.}

[Photo credit: Albert L. Ortega, PR Photos]