Christmas is coming

Christine and I gave up our Saturday with Trent to go on some official business: buy Christmas presents for relatives and put in a good word for our little guy to Santa Claus.

On our travels, we saw lots of Phillies ornaments, including Santa as a Phillie, Phillies candy canes and Wally the Green Monster. Wait ... how did that get in there? I dunno, but somehow, a mall ornament stand in South Jersey was well stocked with ornaments of the Red Sox mascot, but none of the Phillie Phanatic.

We told the big guy that Trent probably wouldn't want a Wally.

Mobile madness

Christine thought Trent could use a mobile for his room.

I disagreed.

A SoxandPhils baby should have two mobiles: a Phillies mobile with the Phillie Phanatic and a Red Sox one, even if it has Wally the Green Monster.

Christine didn't go for my idea of dueling mobiles, so we set out (on Trent's first day as a vaccinated baby) to the local baby supply store to find a more traditional mobile - something in a jungle animal theme to complement his room. We also stopped by a bookstore to beef up the Dr. Seuss selections in his library.

We found the prefect mobile - it had the required jungle animals, and they were playing different sports. (The baseball player is an elephant.) But it was out of stock, so we headed to another store a couple towns away while we listened on the radio to Roy Halladay lead the Phillies past the Mets 6-5.

Trent was doing well on his first day out and mobile and we were getting hungry, so we decided to push our luck and stop at a chain restaurant to attempt our first dinner out as a family of three.

Dinner was flawless, and when we got home, we set up the athletic critters to spin around his crib. I read Trent some Dr. Seuss as the Red Sox started their game against the Yankees. The only bad part of the day is that Josh Beckett got knocked out in the 5th and the Red Sox trail the Yankees 7-2 in the 7th.

I've been telling Trent that you can't quit on your team, but reality is starting to sink in.

Catching up on yesterday's news ...

Daisuke Matsuzaka remains undefeated, as the Red Sox waited until the bottom of the 9th to lose against the Mariners. Dice was long gone by then; apparently his shoulder has finally fallen apart from all the pitches he throws. Funny, he logged only 65 in four innings last night - pretty efficient for him.

The game was not without drama, however. Manny, as promised, hit No. 499 to build excitement for No. 500. I'm certainly thrilled and hope it comes when the team continues to struggle on the road.

Question: It looks like the Red Sox may be well represented at the All-Star game. Will they play like the awful road team they are or the dominant home team? I've considered Yankee Stadium their home away from home since 2004, so look for them to trump the NL and have the World Series open at Fenway.

I will admit it would be embarrassing to see so many Sox on the squad. Kevin Youkilis deserves it; Dustin Pedroia isn't undeserving, but you could easily pick someone else, and David Ortiz, Jason Varitek and Manny Ramirez also aren't undeserving, but their history factors in a lot. Oh well, these things even out over time - remember when Scoot Cooper was our only selection?

{Greg is so obnoxious. Sounds just like a Yankees fan.}

The NL released their vote tallies today. The Phillies' moms need to learn from Chase Utley's how to stuff the ballot box.

Today's milestones: Congratulations. A whole-hearted congratulations on this significant accomplishment - Adam Eaton's first win of 2008. He actually pitched six solid innings in the Phillies 6-1 win over the Rockies tonight. ... ESPN is showing all of Manny's at-bats as he tries for 500. So far, he's 0 for 1. No score in the 3rd. ... Finally, congrats to Wally the Green Monster, who was named by Maxim as the baseball mascot most deserving of a punch to the groin.

Also tonight, we stepped out for a walk and to get some dinner. What did I miss? The Phils' five-run 5th inning. Oh well, as long as they keep winning - I can always watch the highlights later.

Where's Youppi?

I'm stealing this one from Todd Zolecki's blog. The Phanatic is the best mascot in sports, according to some marketing survey.

Now, I have warmed up to the Phanatic in my time in the Philly area. That's saying a lot. I don't approve of baseball mascots. I once came up swinging at Boomer, some dinosaur-ish mascot of the AA Trenton Thunder, when he took my hat. {It was not swinging. It was hilarious confusion as Greg grabbed for his hat.}

But there's two problems with the list. 1) No mention of the mascot formerly known as Youppi, whom the Expos dumped off on some hockey team when they moved to Washington. 2) Where's Wally, the Green Monster?

This being a blog about the Red Sox and Phillies, we need a tale of the tape between the Phanatic and the giant green wall, who I've just learned also has a blog that hasn't been updated since before he left for Cleveland. In 2006.

Height: Phanatic's 6'6"; Wally's "Big"

Weight: Phanatic's 300 pounds (mostly fat), waist 90 inches; Wally doesn't like to say.

Have to give points for honesty here.

Favorite song: Phanatic's "Motown Philly" to Wally's "Dirty Water"

Huge edge to Wally.

Categories the Phanatic has on his online bio that Wally omits:

Eyes: White eyeballs, black pupils, purple eyelashes and blue eyebrows.

Skin: Bright green fur

Physical Attributes: Overweight, clumsy feet, extra long beak, extra-long curled up tongue, gawking neck and "slight" case of body odor

Birthplace: Galapagos Islands

Mom: Phoebe

Best Friend: Phyllis

Favorite Food: Cheesesteaks, soft pretzels, hoagies, scrapple and Tastykakes

Favorite Movie: Rocky

Greatest Moment: The parade down Broad Street after the Phillies won the 1980 World Series

Hobbies: Eating, reading, sleeping and cheering on the Phillies

Stupid stuff Wally lists:

MLB Debut: April 13, 1997

Bats: Right

Throws: Right

Resides: Green Monster, Fenway Park

Color: Green

Baseball team: Boston Red Sox

Vacation spot: Ft. Myers (every March)

I know, not even close. The Phanatic is original. Wally is a corporate knockoff designed for kids, and I don't know why. Wally arrived years before the Sox became ultra-trendy. But he was the first embarrassment (pink hats, Fever Pitch, Red Sox Nation membership cards, etc.).