Ump cries foul

Everyone knows the Red Sox and Yankees play slow games. They become part-epic showdown, part-water torture. I'm a fan of not staying up late, so I'd prefer them to pick up the pace.

So would umpire Joe West, who went on a rant before yesterday's game:

"They're the two clubs that don't try to pick up the pace," said West, chief of the umpiring crew that worked the three-game series in Boston. He was the home plate umpire Sunday. "They're two of the best teams in baseball. Why are they playing the slowest?

"It's pathetic and embarrassing. They take too long to play."

I agree, but wonder whether an umpire should be commenting on something like this. Sure, he's placing blame on both teams, but what happens when he makes a controversial call in a game between the Yankees and Tigers, or Red Sox and Rangers? Could his views on the Red Sox and Yankees slant him toward the other teams? Or in a game between the Red Sox and Yankees, might he be more inclined to call a runner for either team out on a close play in an attempt to speed up the game?

The umpire speaks the truth, but often being an independent arbitrator means losing some of your rights to free speech.

(Christine just wonders whether umpires dread getting assigned to a Red Sox-Yankees series because of the extra hours involved.)

Ironically, the rant came before the teams played a 10-inning game in 3 hours, 21 minutes thanks to John Lackey, whose quick style has already won over Kevin Youkilis and is sure to win over sleep-deprived fans.

Phillies: They attempted a rally today, but couldn't push across the tying run in the 9th inning, dropping their first game of the year 6-5 to the Nationals. Kyle Kendrick got knocked around, but new acquisition Nelson Figueroa took the loss. Christine isn't happy that a Mets reject is on the team and curious how I remembered that the No. 44 he wears used to belong to Vicente Padilla.

{Maybe Carlos Ruiz should have played instead of Brian Schneider. The Phillies are still undefeated when Chooch is the catcher.}

Ugly win for Phils; hideous loss for the Sox

"I'm tired of the Phillies being stuck in jams and sucking," Christine said before Brad Lidge struck out Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley to end the game with the potential tying run on base.

And that quote summed up tonight's game - a rare win for the Phillies, 8-6 over the Rangers.

Cole Hamels didn't have his best stuff but labored for seven innings, giving up four runs. Fortunately, he was matched up against Vicente Padilla, who pitched like he did when he was a Phillie. And we may have a legitimate sighting of the offense - every starter except Pat Burrell had a hit. Chase Utley had three, including a homer, and Ryan Howard also hit one out. Jimmy Rollins tried to stretch a triple into a homer in the 6th, but ran through a stop sign and was thrown out at home. Wonder if he's due for another benching.

Funny moments in the broadcast: Chris Wheeler on Hamels' pitch count at the start of the 7th: "He's thrown 193 pitches." I think he forgot to clarify that it was actually only 93 pitches. Not even Dusty Baker would leave a young ace out there for 193 pitches. ... In the dugout, Brett Myers put on a catchers mask (hmm, with the way he's pitching, maybe not such a terrible idea). He then gave it to So Taguchi, who also put it on. We'd love to hear the conversation between those two.

Stinky Sox: Ugly, ugly, ugly game for what may be the second-place Red Sox. Jon Lester entered with 11 straight starts of three earned runs or less - the longest for a Sox starter since Pedro Martinez in 2002-03. Lester gave up six in five innings tonight in a wild back and forth 11-10 loss to the Astros.

The offense, paced by four hits each by Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell, more than did its job. Lester gets a pass - he's entitled to a bad start every couple of months. But the bullpen? Two runs, one earned, for David Aardsma in the 7th, and three for Manny Delcarmen in the 8th.

The Rays are tied with the Pirates in the 13th inning. If they win, the Red Sox are once again the hunters.