It does sound sketchy

I believe Ryan Madson, if for no other reason than "spaghetti arms" is the best defense I've ever heard for someone even remotely accused of taking steroids.

But when a pitcher whose fastball suddenly gained a few miles per hour attributes the increased velocity to a clandestine meeting arranged by the title character of a horror novel who was driving a rented getaway car, it seems awfully suspicious.

"Flash [Gordon] took care of me," Madson said. "He really did. [The program] we were doing was good, but it wasn't the only thing that could help. I give him a lot of credit. He rented a car and said, 'We're going, 9 o'clock in the morning, get up. You're coming with me.' I got the chills right now just talking about it."

I don't know why this story broke today in both the News Journal and Daily News, but Madson says the success he has had dating back to the end of 2008 traces to Tom Gordon introducing him to his Arizona-based trainer.

Like I said, I'm not being a blogger accusing a player of something improper, but if we ever read about Mad Dog getting a 50-game suspension, I'm blaming Gordon.

Speaking of steroids: If you are under suspicion of drug use and know you had tested positive, don't talk about your Hall of Fame induction like it's a slam dunk. That's how Sammy Sosa spoke recently, and today he was revealed as the next player after Alex Rodriguez on the list of players who tested positive in 2003. That was a category in SoxandPhils' predictions this spring, but no one picked Slamming Sammy.

Games back on: After battling the Mets and Yankees, and then each other, the Red Sox and Phillies are facing less-riveting competition in interleague play: the Marlins and Blue Jays. The Phillies, behind Cole Hamels, lead the Jays 3-2 in the 7th. My jaw dropped when the announcers said of Rod Barajas: "Everything he wasn't in Philadelphia, the Blue Jays say he is north of the border."

The Red Sox, behind All-Star hopeful Tim Wakefield, lead the Fish 8-2 in the 7th. Big game for David Ortiz so far: 2-3 with a home run and three RBI.

More memories from Boston Baseball

Yesterday I mentioned Boston Baseball, the underground Red Sox program that Scott Lauber used to write for.

I didn't mention why I had this issue and why I won't throw it out. I got it during the first real road trip Christine and I took together way back in 1998. We went with some of my friends.

Everyone went to one game, but Christine and I planned to go to a second, which was rained out. There was an afternoon game the day we were leaving, and Christine was good enough to let me scalp tickets to catch the matinee before heading back to New Jersey. It cost me a few bucks plus the tickets for the makeup game.

We sat in cramped seats that faced left field. Christine was uncomfortable. I sat next to a larger woman who kept sitting on my jersey. Although Christine still complains about the experience (here's a link to her explanation), it was one of my favorite experiences at a ballpark until all the great times with the Phillies the last two years.

The reason? It was the first year of Pedro. He was magnificent. The park was colored with Dominican flags and Pedro had a vintage outing: 8 2/3 innings, five hits, one walk and 10 strikeouts. Tom Gordon got the save.

The Red Sox had a seven game lead in the wild card (the division was a lost cause), but it seemed like a playoff game. Yes, that feeling was exceeded by attending the Phillies division clincher in 2007 and the three playoff games we saw in 2008, but the atmosphere was incredible for an August game.

Hands off the trophy, pee boy

I couldn't believe what I read this morning - the Phillies are getting impatient waiting for a decision from Nomar Garciaparra, so they are pursuing 42-year-old Moises Alou "pretty hard." I'm not thrilled with the prospects of the old and often injured Alou joining the team, but I can live with it if he accepts a very limited role and doesn't soil the World Series trophy with his pee hands.

Other fallbacks for the right-handed pinch-hitter role include former Red Sox Kevin Millar, Rich Aurilla and Mark Grudzielanek. I don't like any of these. Grudzielanek's not so bad, but I don't want to learn how to spell his name. Besides, it's not a good omen when just the other night Christine saw his name on the MLB ticker as a notable remaining free agent:

"I didn't know he was still playing, let alone a notable free agent," she said.

Bullpen: Tom Gordon wants to come back to the Phillies. The team said it ain't happening. Unfortunately, that same tidbit said one of Christine's favorites, fattie Mike Zagurski, had some snag in his recovery.

Another one bites the dust: Another reputable journalist, Todd Zolecki, has sold out and will be working for the institution he once covered:

Hi, everybody - Yes, I'm joining MLB.com next month. Fortunately, I'm not going
far because I'll still be covering the Phillies on a daily basis. It'll just be for a different company. I want to say thanks to everybody who checks out the Phillies Zone regularly. I think you know you have helped make this one of the top blogs at Philly.com. It's been an absolute blast. Don't worry, the Phillies Zone will continue. It'll just be somebody else at the helm. But like I said, I'm not going far. So feel free to stop by and say hello at my new address. And if you see me in Clearwater or at the ballpark during the season, make sure to say hello. I'll try to post something more later!

We'll miss reading him online at the Inky, but we're glad that he'll still be around and covering the Phils.

Off day

Although the playoffs ended with joy in our house for the second straight year, they make for a pretty tiring month if you closely follow five of the seven playoff rounds, as we did this year.

So today was largely a baseball-free day - except for when I played a few minutes of a game I recorded on the DVR and bought the special Phillies championship edition of Sports Illustrated.

Things haven't been so quiet for the squads. The Red Sox brought back one of their legends for 2009, while the Phillies said goodbye to four of theirs.

The Red Sox picked up Tim Wakefield's 2009 option, bringing him back for a 15th season. Although he was shelled in the playoffs, he remains one of the better pitchers in the league, and if age suddenly catches up with him, he only cost $4 million.

The Phillies, meanwhile, sadly dumped two of their all-time greats. They declined options on Tom Gordon and So Taguchi. We didn't mention it, but did anyone find it odd how Flash was in the middle of the screen every time the cameras showed the clubhouse celebration on Wednesday? And where was Adam Eaton?

Two other guys who actually played major roles in making the Phillies World Champions are leaving. Pat Gillick, who seemed to hint at a return on the podium Friday, will be replaced by Ruben Amaro Jr. Mike Arbuckle, apparently tired of getting passed over, will leave the organization.

Don't forget to set your clocks back.

Sox hit like Inspector Gadget

On Sunday we bought the Phillies 2008 Yearbook. Instead of listing height, weight and other basic stats for the Phillies, they had the team answer questions to give the fans some insight into 31 members of the Phightin' Phils. We're going to review their answers.

First category: Favorite Gadget

Best answer: Tom Gordon's "Inspector Gadget."

I loved that cartoon. Go-Go-Gadget!

Other noteworthy responses: Ryan Madson picked his universal remote. Then for another question, he said a broken remote annoys him. Clay Condrey likes his drill. I love my drill, but I'm not sure it would rank as my favorite gadget. I don't know what would.

The runaway favorite with 10 mentions was the iPod. I'm not surprised that five Phillies picked a video game system, but I'm a little surprised they all said Xbox 360. The other multiple answers were iPhone (3), computer/laptop (3) and cell phone (2).

There were no answers to the question from Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard or Chase Utley.

Today's games: The Red Sox couldn't have scored more runs if they had Inspector Gadget in the lineup, completing a sweep of the Twins with an 18-5 drubbing despite a subpar performance by Josh Beckett. {Greg seems to be misremembering Inspector Gadget. Everyone knows that Penny and Brain were the, well, brains in that operation and had to save Gadget in every episode.} Jacoby Ellsbury led the charge with four hits. Every starter except Brandon Moss had at least two hits. Hopefully that's the wake-up call to get them back to winning consistently.

The win puts them 3.5 games in front of the Twins for the Wild Card and two behind the Rays for the division.

The Phillies made like Inspector Gadget and escaped their four-game losing streak. J.A. Happ had a good start, and Ryan Howard hit the go-ahead homer in the 8th to beat the Cardinals, 4-2.

The Mets and Marlins won, and each remains 1.5 games out. Mets fans, unaccustomed to a winning streak, were quite full of themselves on WFAN today.

Baseball Mogul update: I had a good season, winning 109 games. But everything fell apart in the NLCS against the Diamondbacks, who nearly swept. The best I could do was force a fifth game before losing the series 4-1. I think I'll switch to the Red Sox for awhile.

[Photo credits: Phillies 2008 Yearbook (Tom Gordon) and Disney (Inspector Gadget)]

The 2008 World Series begins Monday

"Oh no, it's tomorrow," Christine said upon realizing what's to come. She'll have to deal with thousands of marauding Red Sox fans and probably some not-too-nice comments coming our way from the Philly denizens as they spot a couple wearing competing colors when the Sox and Phillies square off tomorrow night - the first such meeting since SoxandPhils made its debut.

"Bring it on," I say. Never mind that we have Bartolo Colon against Cole Hamels in the opener; we've faced worse odds than fat Bart vs. the young and talented Mr. Hamels.

Today, the Red Sox look locked and loaded for National League warfare: Josh Beckett was an ace again for seven innings as the Sox beat the Reds 9-0. Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and set the team's rookie record for stolen bases in a season. The seasons he, Jon Lester and Justin Masterson are having make me really pleased we didn't trade for Johan Santana.

Although Jonathan Papelbon coughed one up Saturday, the Sox came back and took two of three in Cincinnati.

The Phillies, meanwhile, head in the opposite direction. Remember the saying "Tinker to Evers to Chance?" Today, it was, "Utley to Gordon to ... uh-oh." After Tom Gordon got two outs in the 10th, there were two ground balls to second; each would have ended the inning. But first Utley erred, then Gordon erred. Game over: Cardinals 7, Phils 6. Combined with Saturday, when Kyle Lohse outpitched Adam Eaton (who again didn't stink!?!), that's two straight losses since Friday night when the Phillies impersonated a football team.

Travel update: Our friends have the cutest little Red Sox hat for their baby. Every infant should have one. {No way. Cute little Phillies hats only. And even though Greg didn't mention it, Kush is cute with or without the hat.}

I gave my Dad an unexpected Father's Day gift - unexpected in that it surprised me, too. I got rid of a couple boxes of junk I have left in his attic - mostly old books, scorecards and magazines. Christine's pleased with how much I threw out, but I salvaged a few that I'll be sharing with the blog once this week's craziness subsides.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 2007: The Phillies and Red Sox wrapped up their exhibition schedule with a two-game set in Philly. I didn't want to go. (I'm not a fan of exhibition baseball.) But when I heard our new Japanese import Daisuke Matsuzaka was scheduled to pitch in the finale, I decided I should go because who knows when I'd get to see him live.

I don't remember much, except it was cold and Dice-K wasn't impressive.

They didn't play any meaningful games in 2007 because the Rockies swept the Phillies out of World Series contention. Tomorrow begin the preview of this year's fall classic. We'll update with our story and pics (unless Christine gets so mad at me that she won't edit the photos) as soon as we can.

A new all-American hero

Big Papi is now Big Daddy, as he became an American citizen today. He didn't make a presidential endorsement. And because he's hurt, David Ortiz didn't get to run on the field with a little American flag, as Manny Ramirez did in 2004.

Also unclear is which Red Sox will be next to pledge allegiance - Daisuke Matsuzaka or Hideki Okajima.

The Red Sox celebrated with a 6-3 win over the Orioles, fetching career win No. 150 for Bartolo Colon. (Didn't he just pitch?)

Things weren't so cheery for the Phillies. Cole Hamels had a strong start - two runs in 8 innings with 12 strikeouts - but his mates abandoned him and trailed 2-1 in the 9th. Erik Bruntlett, on second after pinch-running for Greg Dobbs and a walk by Jimmy Rollins, stole third. Shane Victorino struck out. Bruntlett scored when Chase Utley grounded to short and the Marlins couldn't wrap up the double play.

So the Phillies would have to wait until the 10th to get the lead - just a matter of Tom Gordon in the 9th. Oops. Grand slam, Dan Uggla. Welcome back, Flash. Your ERA is back in the 5's for the first time in more than a month. The Phightin's are now 0-2 since the national media hopped on the bandwagon.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 2003: This is the year things started to get really good between our teams, as they kept swinging haymakers at each other and the Phillies taking the home series 2-1. The series started in June and ended in September.

With a Friday night rainout, Saturday became the first game - the infamous Todd Pratt walk-off homer off of Rudy Seanez (then a Red Sox). Great starts by Randy Wolf and Pedro Martinez yielded a 2-1 Red Sox edge after 7 innings. The Phillies tied it, and the score remained 2-2 into the 12th, when each team swapped runs. In the 13th, the Red Sox scored two runs after the first two men struck out. Jose Mesa, the eventual winner, was pitching. In the bottom of the inning, the Phillies rallied to score three, capped by Pratt's two-run homer. (I kept a pretty good scorecard, but don't know what would have happened if the game went on three more innings.)

We didn't buy tickets to Sunday's game because I worked Sundays at the time. We missed a 5-0 shutout by young Brett Myers. Recently acquired Byung-Hyun Kim didn't fare so well.

The make-up finale was played on Labor Day. It was a Mike Schmidt bobblehead giveaway, which was also postponed from the earlier game. {Schmidt's bat has since been broken on our display model, but we have one unopened in its original box. It'll be our big moneymaker some day.}

Christine couldn't come because she was visiting her newborn niece in Texas. She missed a doozy. It was a great back-and-forth game - Phillies lead 4-0 after two; Red Sox tied it in the 3rd. In the 4th, the Red Sox scored one, the Phillies scored two. After the 8th, the Phillies increased their lead to 9-7 and handed the ball to Mesa to save it. The Red Sox bled in the tying runs off Mesa and Turk Wendell before a Trot Nixon grand slam pretty much ended it. Even Kim, now relieving again, couldn't blow this lead. (He was already in the game and got the win.)

It took forever to get home because without Christine co-piloting, I got lost in Philadelphia. I'm geographically challenged, and somehow this season I've finally learned how to get to and from the park without Christine's help. {Considering that the ballpark is right over the Walt Whitman bridge, this really isn't a huge challenge. But I'm glad Greg has finally learned his way.}

[Photo credit of Papi: Boston Globe]

Phils lick Braves; Sox lick their wounds

Christine was a little cranky tonight as Chris Coste popped up his first pitch in the 9th with the tying run on second and two outs in a 2-1 game.

"When Jamie Moyer gives up two runs, the Phillies should not be losing the game," she said earlier.

But Braves 2B Kelly Johnson dropped the pop-up, allowing the tying run to score; Pedro Feliz, trying to score the go-ahead run, was thrown out at home.

The Phils survived Tom Gordon's scary 9th inning and scored two in the 10th inning, highlighted by Shane Victorino's second triple of the game. The bottom of the 10th was also scary for Christine - who was blaming me for confidently starting a "Phillies win" post - as Brad Lidge put two on. Another hit seemed like it would tie the game, but Shane-O gunned out the tying run at home. Phils win, 4-3.

Will the Gordons match the Griffeys?: One of Gordon's sons, Devaris Strange-Gordon, was drafted by the Dodgers.

In Looneyville: The Sox lost an 8-0 drubbing to the Mariners, ending their 13-game home winning streak. Bartolo Colon had his first poor outing. Only three of his six runs were earned, but he can only blame himself for making two errors.

Suspensions have been handed down for yesterday's fight. Red Sox: Coco Crisp, 7 games; Jon Lester, 5 games; and Sean Casey, 3 games. Rays: James Shields, 6 games; Jonny Gomes, 5 games; Edwin Jackson, 5 games; Carl Crawford, 4 games; and Akinori Iwamura, 3 games.

Manny and Kevin Youkilis patched things up, but still no strong indication what that dust-up was about. They say Jacoby Ellsbury is day-to-day.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 1998: Phillies swept two in Boston, then split two at home. I can't believe they played four games home and away without a day off. I don't remember interleague play being set up like that. I digress. I had come down to Trenton from North Jersey for a school function, so Christine and I caught the Wednesday night game at Veterans Stadium. It was our first major league game together; we had been to a couple of minor league Trenton Thunder games previously (when they were an affiliate of the Red Sox, not the Yankees).

What a treat. Steve Avery was knocked out in the third after giving up seven runs. The Sox chipped away at Carlton Lower, but could only manage a not-as-close-as-it-looks 11-8 loss. Gregg Jefferies was the star of the game for the Phils. A general admission ticket cost $5. Other winners in that series were Wayne Gomes, Mark Portugal and Bret Saberhagen. Other losers were Tom Gordon (then a starter), Derek Lowe and Matt Beech, who in subsequent years would be part of a more infamous footnote in SoxandPhils lore.

Somehow, the bullpen didn't blow it

I'm hoping that the Phillies have one of their patented offensive explosions on Wednesday because the back end of this bullpen is getting a little beat. Tom Gordon and Brad Lidge made it interesting in the 8th and 9th innings tonight, but they managed to get out of their respective innings with minimal damage, giving the team a 3-2 victory over the Reds.

Neither Gordon nor Lidge was sharp tonight. Gordon allowed a lead-off triple, which scored on a sacrifice fly, before facing pinch-hitter Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey came out to a nice ovation from the fans but didn't hit No. 600, as he walked on four pitches. Flash then managed to get out the next two batters. Lidge also faced only five batters, but it felt like a lot more - maybe because of his 20 pitches, only nine were strikes.

Adam Eaton pitched well again, his third good start in a row. Good thing too, considering that Kris Benson can't stay healthy.

Chase Utley continued his hot streak by going 2-for-3 with a walk, a RBI and a run. Baseball's infatuation with the second baseman is reaching new levels every day; I've run out of adjectives to describe his play right now. He continues to lead the NL in all-star voting and is second in baseball behind only David Ortiz. (Theo Epstein swears that Ortiz will be OK, but he'll still be out for at least two to three weeks and won't be playing in the Philadelphia series.)

[I hadn't considered that aspect of his injury.]

But come on, Phillies fans, where's the ballot-box stuffing for Pat Burrell? He added another two RBIs tonight with his 6th inning home run. He continues to rank sixth in outfield voting, trailing undeserving players like Griffey and his lofty .255 batting average, non-home-plate-touching cheater Matt Holliday, and whiny, unoriginal Met Carlos Beltran. Show Pat the Bat some love (eww, not like that) and throw some votes his way. (Josh Hamilton, too. I'm a sucker for a good comeback story like his.)

The Phillies lead in the division is now 2.5 games, after the Braves came back to beat the Marlins.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox also staged a comeback tonight to beat the Rays 7-4. The Sox now trail in the division by only half a game and are 22-5 at home this year. Which means they're 14-20 on the road. So two weeks from now, there might be some pretty spirited conversations and blogging going on around here. We counted out to the possible starting pitchers - Moyer, Kendrick and Eaton vs. Lester, Colon and Wakefield. Well, it's not as bad as some past pitching match-ups that we've been witness to. Check back later in the week as we reminisce over the last 10 years of Phillies-Red Sox interleague games.

Smooth sailing for the Phils, not so much for the Sox

The Phillies held off the Reds 5-4 tonight, keeping their hold on first place. Kyle Kendrick didn't pitch particularly well, but the bullpen kept the game in check. Another great game all around for the 2008 MVP Chase Utley. Even Harry Kalas doesn't know how to handle it. After Utley ended the game with a diving catch, Harry revived his "Chase Utley, you are the man," but it sounded forced. Tom Gordon pitched a clean 8th without a chat with Jimmy Rollins.

Things weren't as smooth for the World Champs tonight, as they finished their series with the Orioles before beginning their big showdown with the first-place Rays. For the second time in a row, they wasted a great Tim Wakefield start. Tonight's culprit was Hideki Okajima (four runs in two-thirds of an inning). He's been in my fantasy team's doghouse, but I started him this week.

More importantly, with our best pitcher already on the DL, David Ortiz could be out for a month, or even the whole season. Not good.

Manny trivia: Guess which pitcher has been most victimized by the newest member of the 500-homer club? Jamie Moyer. Christine points out that J-Moy is 45. When Manny Ramirez is 45, Moyer will be 54 and more likely than Manny to still be playing then.

So why exactly did we buy season tix?

I'm cynical when players argue calls that go against them, but I've never seen a left fielder run to the infield to argue a home run call. But Pat Burrell did just that after umpire Adrian Johnson ruled Mark DeRosa's poke in the sixth inning fair, giving the Cubs a 4-2 lead. The replay on Baseball Tonight showed the ball was definitely foul.

The game seemed over. Even when the Phillies trailed by only one run today, it felt like seven for some reason. I can't decide whether they were flat or whether the cold day made them seem so. But the Phillies finally made a game of it, taking the lead with three in the bottom of the sixth. Unfortunately, Christine had to miss much of the rally to dry off after a drunk sitting behind us dropped his beer bottle on her. He was all excited that 10 people, two sections over, were starting a wave. People suck.

The Phillies gave the lead back in the eighth when Jimy Williams (Charlie Manuel was ejected in the sixth arguing the home run call) decided to stick with the book that says Tom Gordon starts the eighth inning, not the better pitcher, J.C. Romero. Flash struck out Kosuke Fukudome and then reverted to his awful self, giving up two singles.


Williams suddenly remembered he had Romero. J.C.'s quite adept at pitching out of self-inflicted jams but couldn't pitch out of Gordon's today. Pinch-hitter Geovany Soto (Christine's pick for NL Rookie of the Year) hit a dying quail just out of Chase Utley's reach. The game stayed tied until the 10th,when pinch hitter Carlos Zambrano (yup, Lou Piniella depleted his bench by the eighth inning) grounded into a surefire double-play, but Utley couldn't turn it and threw the ball into the Phillies dugout.

Overheard in the stands: One nimrod blaming Eric Bruntlett for that throw; another blaming Howard, who was getting ripped unmercifully by the fans every time he touched the ball. Don't let the facts get in the way of preconceived notions.

Observations from the stands: The maligned Bruntlett had a good day, going 3-5 with a homer. You probably won't see this on the highlights, but Burrell made a good catch in foul territory to end the ninth with a man on. Chris Snelling made his Phillies debut, popping out to third on a towering fly.

Lineup change: Today's lead-off batter was Geoff Jenkins. Usually when we walk by the wall where they post the day's lineup, I happen to look up. Today I didn't, even though everyone was wondering who Cholly would bat lead off without Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. When was the last time "Rollins" didn't appear atop my scorecard?

Losing streak: Counting playoff and exhibition games, the Phillies are in a three-game losing streak when we attend. We don't think we've seen three straight losses ever. They better break it next Sunday night against the Mets. And Daisuke Matsuzaka better dominate tonight against the Yankees.

Last night's notes: We left the house at 5 last night but saw five innings in what seemed to be the quickest Yankees-Red Sox game ever, until rain hit. Good job by Josh Beckett, Manny Ramirez and Jonathan Papelbon. And when our party ended, the Phillies game was still in the eighth, so we bought drinks and watched the end in a bar in Philly.

[Photo credit: Christine {Please excuse the blur. These are zoomed in from the 400 level.}]

Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!

Christine hoped it was an April Fools' joke. But it wasn't. Alas, coming off a stinging opening day loss thanks to an awful Tom Gordon, the Phillies went out and got the best arm they could - 39-year-old Rudy Seanez.

Actually, he had a pretty good season last year for the Dodgers, but he has been injured and didn't pitched well, or much, in spring training. I can't imagine he will be much help to the Phillies, but I guess he's better than another go-around with Jose Mesa.

And, Seanez has a place in SoxandPhils lore. He made nine pretty poor appearances for the 2003 Boston Red Sox - one of them came in one of the better games we've seen played between the Red Sox and Phillies, a 6-5 nail biter that went 12 innings and ended with a Todd Pratt walk-off home run at the Vet. Mesa got the win. Pedro Martinez and Randy Wolf dueled. Seanez entered the game in the 12th, with one on and the Sox up by one. The game ended on his second pitch to pinch-hitting Pratt.

Seanez fared a bit better in his only other SoxandPhils appearance in 2006, but that too was a loss. The Phils won 10-5 behind another typical Cory Lidle start. Seanez pitched 1 2/3 scoreless to end the game.

We were at both games.

More predictions: I should have given a predictions form to David Ortiz to fill out. In an interview with the Globe, Papi gives clues to what some of his picks would have been:

World Series: Detroit Tigers
AL Cy Young: A.J. Burnett
AL MVP: Alex Rodriguez

Payroll: Speaking of 2003, it's the first time since then the Sox don't have the second-highest payroll. They're now fourth. Phillies are 13th. The Empire still outpaces the next closest team (Tigers) by $70 million.

Stinky Phillies

I managed to leave work just before 5 p.m. I was in the car when Jimmy Rollins tied up the game in the 7th. I skipped an important errand so I could get home and watch the end of contest. I was rewarded with a 5-run 9th inning by the Nationals, en route to yet another Opening Day loss by the Phillies, 11-6 - their third-straight Opening Day loss.

I wanted to be able to write a nice, long piece on Brett Myers. But his 5-inning, 4-run effort is not worth it.

I was going to rail against all the comments made by the players, that they would be ready for Opening Day, like it's just as easy as flipping a switch and they would start to play well. But then the Phils fought back and made it a game again in the late innings, lead by J-Roll, showing that maybe the offense can flip a switch.

What it comes down to, as any fan knows, is the pitching. Brad Lidge hasn't pitched for the Phillies yet, so who knows how he would have done out there today, but chances are it would have been a better performance than the one turned in the by the aging Tom Gordon, who is mercifully in the last guaranteed year of his contract. If this is how he pitches after a spring where he repeatedly proclaimed himself healthy despite numerous drubbings, then give me last year's Gordon who went away for a few months and then came back and pitched well enough to keep the team in the game most nights.

And Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump was right. The Nationals are dominating the division, and the Phillies may manage to win a game here or there. Nah, I still have full confidence in my team, just disappointed and uneasy that they may start this season with the same subpar record as years past. Last year they managed to overcome an 11-14 April; they came back 48 times to win games after giving the opponent the lead. But the 2008 Phillies need to play better than that, and the offense better drive in every single run that it can because right now, who can trust any of these pitchers.

And now the long wait until Wednesday night, when the Phils begin the quest to knock the Nats out of first place.

(It's just one game. Though Gordon does suck.)

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and other scary stories

Here are some of the scary thoughts I've had about Brad Lidge.

Yes, the surgery was successful, but I don't believe this three- to six-week time frame. Last year Brett Myers was supposed to miss two weeks; he missed two months. He was replacing Tom Gordon, who wasn't supposed to be injured at all but missed more than two months. So by Phillies injury prognosis, does that mean Lidge's three to six weeks translates into three months to the whole season?

I've been joking that the over-under for his return is the All-Star break.

If this injury does put the pen in shambles, will we see another triumphant return to Philadelphia of Jose Mesa? What about Antonio Alfonseca?

Back to Gordon. He had a historic year for the Sox in '98, but I blame him for blowing Game 4 of the ALDS against Cleveland. If he didn't blow that game, Pedro would have won the series the next day. (Christine and I went to see the Barenaked Ladies after the Red Sox lost the afternoon game. Funny I remember that.)

Jim Salisbury's column about Pat Gillick's intrigue with a 134-pound slab of beef did somehow reassure me. I still don't believe Lidge will be pitching for the Phils by early April, but since they weathered so many injuries last year, they'll survive this one too.

This is one big burger:


Keep Bartolo Colon away; he's got to get in shape.

Uh-oh

I wonder which one of these tidbits will prove more disastrous: Manny has new representation or Brad Lidge limps.

Remember the other day when Manny reported on time and curiously didn't make a demand for a contract extension or for his $20 million option year to be picked up? Maybe that was strategy for his new agent Scott Boras. Flash-forward to Game 6 of the 2008 World Series, Sox down 3-2 in the series, 4-3 in the game. Winning run on second and Manny's due up. Boras will halt the game and demand an extension before Manny hits.

OK, a bit far-fetched, but this does look to be the end of Manny - not that we were expecting him to be around much longer.

Of more immediate concern is that Brad Lidge limped off the field after catching his spike while throwing off the mound. Is this really nothing, as the Phils are saying? Or is this going to be like 1997, when the big off-season acquisition (Danny Tartabull) got hurt on opening day? Or is it going to be like last year when the Phils brass insisted Tom Gordon was OK when he was injured in spring training, but were soon sending opening day starter Brett Myers to the bullpen to be the team's closer?

Hat update: Went back to Philly today. Christine's hat didn't fit. (It had cardboard in it so it didn't seem proper to try it on in the store.) I did learn something interesting: Don't attempt to buy tickets at the ballpark on Saturdays in the off-season; the box office is closed. Some guy, who apparently drove some distance to buy tickets, found out the hard way.