Babies on the brain

I've been preoccupied with my little guy for the past month or so, and even now when the Red Sox are playing the Yankees in a series that many consider their last chance to hang in the playoff hunt, I can't get babies off the brain.

That's because Trent isn't the only SoxandPhil babe experiencing his first Red Sox-Yankees series:

Meanwhile, it's baby time in the rivalry. Jon Lester welcomed a son last weekend. Clay Buchholz and his wife had a baby girl a few days ago and yesterday CC Sabathia and his wife had their fourth child.

Hopefully, Papa CC gets tired like Lester and Buchholz have been:

Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have had trouble resting this week, as both became fathers for the first time. "We got a run going on — on babies," Francona said. Lester told Francona after Wednesday night's loss that his left hamstring was fine. Francona said Lester was just dehydrated.

Tonight's games: Papa Clay pitched well - three runs in 7 1/3 innings as the Red Sox won 6-3. This is also Trent's first Phillies-Mets series, and the good guys won that series opener 7-5. So, Trent's first SoxandPhils vs. New York series has started off well.

Jon Lester is a wuss

It's hard for me to say that about our beloved cancer conqueror and World Series hero, but I think I can be critical of a fellow newly minted first-time father:

In the real world, a first-time father returns to work after a day or two off and eases back into the routine while showing everybody photos of his pride and joy.

Jon Lester's task last night was to climb the mound at Fenway Park in drenching humidity and to try and pump pitches past the Cleveland Indians.

Sleep had come sparingly since the arrival of his son Hudson on Saturday and after a few innings his left hamstring started to ache. Errors, a passed ball, and the other residue of a season going steadily awry only made things worse.

“He'd had a long three or four days," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said.

OK, I took off four days (not including the weekend) and I returned to work in a climate-controlled building. But...

I'm just glad that Lester didn't become the 16th Red Sox to be DL'd after hearing last night that the trainer made a couple of visits to the mound.

Tonight's games: Kevin Youkilis' injured thumb will cost him the rest of the season, but the gimpy Sox forged ahead. Daisuke Matsuzaka went 8 strong innings (?!?!?), and the Sox lead the Indians 6-2 in the 9th. ... Roy Oswalt pitched much better than in his debut and left with a 2-0 lead in the 7th, but J.C. Romero allowed the runners he inherited to score and the Phillies trail the Marlins 4-2 in the 9th. They might be attempting a comeback now with two on base and no one out.

Friday night link dump

The Phillies are playing late tonight, so I have time to catch up on some of the news of the week.

But first, kudos to former Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy who was among eight men who subdued a nut who was threatening to blow up an airplane.

Here's the stuff I have missed.

***Jacoby Ellsbury decided he needed more tests after he was having trouble breathing - turns out he has four fractured ribs. Great.

***A day after everyone reported that Tim Wakefield was going to the bullpen because Daisuke Matsuzaka was coming back, the Red Sox announced Dice-K will throw a simulated game. We're still waiting to hear from Wakefield:

Tim Wakefield came into the clubhouse 45 seconds before the media had to leave. I asked him if he would answer a few questions. "Nope," he said.

I hope we're not seeing a repeat of Jaime Moyer from last year.

***To cure the inability to stop anyone from stealing bases - even Vladimir Guerrero had a couple swipes the other night - the Red Sox are shopping for a catcher, which probably would mean the end of the line for David Ortiz, who accepted blame for his failures.

Red Sox: Papi homered for the first time this season. Jon Lester wasn't dominant, but he didn't give up a run in 5 2/3 innings against the Orioles. But the bullpen is blowing it - three runs in the 7th and 8th innings after going 21 straight scoreless. It's 3-3 in the 8th.

Phillies: When the game started, I was downstairs and Christine was upstairs. I heard the annoying Chris Wheeler babbling on. "Wheels is on," I angrily yelled upstairs. Christine didn't hear me and came down to tell me that Wheels was back.

We thought he was going to be on the radio again because Scott Franzke is home with his wife and their newborn son August - congrats to the them. By the way, Jim Jackson is doing radio tonight, now that the Flyers have a few nights off before the second round of the playoffs.

The Phillies lead the Diamondbacks 1-0 in the 4th. Cole Hamels continues his Roy Halladay impersonation, even hitting a double and scoring the lone run so far.

Music to our ears

Christine and I were busy getting the house ready for our post-walk party on Sunday, so we missed the opportunity to sit down and enjoy the best Phillies game of the year. I can say that even if they blow their 8-3 lead over the Braves. It's the best game because Scott Franzke left Atlanta because his wife is having a baby, which means Chris Wheeler got bumped to radio (our sympathy to Larry Andersen), and we get nine innings of Gary Matthews on TV. Go Sarge!

The on-field action (so far) isn't bad either. Jamie Moyer escaped after six innings without his trademark lousy inning. He even froze Braves phenom Jason Heyward in a key spot in the 6th.

Red Sox: Clay Buchholz dominated six innings - no runs and nine strikeouts - but then lost it in the 7th, giving up three runs. Folk hero Darnell McDonald had a chance to tie it in the bottom of the 7th, but grounded out. In the 9th, Rangers 3, Red Sox 0.

We're stuck with Wheels

With the anniversary of Harry Kalas' death upon us, the Inquirer took a look at the state of the Phillies broadcast team. It's interesting but disappointing because you get the sense that the Phillies know that people don't like Chris Wheeler, but they have no plans to remove him:

To gauge their broadcasters' appeal, the Phillies and their primary television outlet, Comcast SportsNet, conduct frequent viewership surveys, the results of which they don't reveal. Fan reaction, [the team's senior vice president for marketing and advertising sales Dave] Buck said, is taken seriously, but it's not a popularity contest.

"You don't want to put something out there that people don't like, but you want to give it enough time to either succeed or fail on its own."

Um, there's been enough time. Wheels sucks.

At least they know what they have in Gary Matthews: "Buck said: 'Sarge is a personality in and of himself. And I think he's getting much better.'"

Amen.

At least we won't have to hear Wheels tomorrow because we're going to Opening Day.

Personal: My back and neck are a little stiff and sore after yesterday's fall, but nothing too bad. I'm still not ready to do sit-ups again, but it could have been worse. ... We had a nice afternoon watching the baptism of the little guy who shares my name. I hope there isn't a clerical error in heaven so that the wrong Gregory James gets the blessing. I think I'm a lost cause.

Games: Roy Halladay dominated the Astros, and the Red Sox avoided losing the series against the Royals.

Pitching comebacks inspired by children

There's a pair of human interest stories on SoxandPhils pitchers who are on completely opposite ends of the baseball spectrum and are attempting completely different sorts of comebacks. But each is inspired by his child.

Cole Hamels is looking to reclaim his throne as a baseball king, while Scott Atchison is just trying to claw his way back into the kingdom to facilitate the special care his 2-year-old daughter needs for her rare genetic disorder.

Hamels' rise and fall has been well-documented, but Andy Martino did a decent job recapping it and adding insight from the pitcher as he attempts to return to dominance. This comeback is in part inspired by his new son, Caleb:

The baby stared at unfamiliar objects with fierce interest and approached challenges with a determination that struck his father as admirable. And after enduring the most serious setbacks of his athletic life, Hamels embraced the inspiration.

"Kids never quit," the pitcher, now 26, said last week, smiling when asked about his son. "They're going to fall down a million times before they learn how to walk. There's something I can learn from that in baseball, about how you have to get beat down in this game before you finally fix yourself."

From a PR standpoint, I'm most impressed that in another part of the article Hamels says he will try to think before he speaks because he has realized how his statements can be perceived differently from how he means. He even boned up on making innocuous statements by watching other athletes' post-game comments in the offseason.

While lacking the name and panache of Hamels, Atchison's story is more interesting. Back from Japan, the 33-year-old hopes to squeeze onto the Red Sox roster to be closer to the hospital in Dallas where his daughter gets treatment for thrombocytopenia-absent radius.

This is some heady inspiration for a guy trying to make his way into a bullpen chock-full of established stars:

There are no guarantees for Atchison this spring. He must fight his way through an overcrowded clubhouse, stuffed with low-cost, last-chance relievers itching to be the 25th man on the roster. That spot will go to a pitcher who can get lefthanders out, and Atchison will have a chance.
[...]
"Theo [Epstein] told me I'd have a chance to win a spot, and that's all I can ask for," Atchison said. "I'm getting a little older. I need to be somewhere where they're going to contend because that's who's going to use somebody in my position, whereas a team that's not going to contend might be looking at younger guys and I don't really fit that bill anymore."

Needless to say, the Atchisons have have some supporters here at SoxandPhils.

More on sharing pitches: The other day, Hamels acknowledged patterning his cutter after Jon Lester's. In today's column, Nick Cafardo casually mentions that Roy Halladay learned his sinker from Derek Lowe. I'm not sure if I knew that, nor whether I'm particularly pleased presuming that this occurred when D-Lowe was still a Sox and Doc still a Jay. Unless Halladay promised to never use the devastating pitch against the Red Sox.

J.D. gets some love

It's quite clear why Cupid's arrow never struck between the hearts of J.D. Drew and Philadelphia fans - something about Scott Boras, jilted love and some misuse of batteries.

Believe it or not, there are still some who don't know the history between J.D. and the Phillies. We were shocked that someone at Citizens Bank Park asked Christine last year why he was getting booed.

Philly fans will never forgive J.D. And that's OK. But I don't understand why he's not more appreciated by Red Sox fans. Yes, he struggled in his first season as a Red Sox after signing a huge contract, but he redeemed himself with a grand slam in the 1st inning of Game 6 of the 2007 ALCS and has played pretty well since then.

Yes, he's stoic, injury-prone and doesn't post gaudy power numbers. But he is quietly one of the better players in baseball. And as Amalie Benjamin points out, he has even out-performed the five-year $70 million contract the Red Sox were laughed at for giving him:

Just 10 players had an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .900 or greater in 2008 and '09: Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Berkman, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis, Hanley Ramirez, Matt Holliday, Chase Utley - and Drew.
[...]
The offseason of 2006-07 was, in short, a period of abysmal deals around baseball, highlighted by those given out to pitchers Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, and Kei Igawa. But the outfielder market - in terms of bad contracts - wasn't much better. Instead of signing Drew, Epstein could have chosen Alfonso Soriano ($136 million, eight years), Carlos Lee ($100 million, six years), Gary Matthews Jr. ($50 million, five years), or Juan Pierre ($44 million, five years).

According to the value estimations on fangraphs.com, in the three years since those deals were signed, Soriano has earned $33.4 million (8.0 wins above replacement player), while being paid $41 million. Lee has earned $40 million (9.2 WAR), while being paid $43 million. Matthews has earned -$5.2 million (-1.1 WAR), while being paid $26.2 million. Pierre has earned $15.4 million (3.6 WAR), while being paid $25.5 million.

And Drew? Even with a rough 2007 in which he "earned" just $5.6 million (1.4 WAR), Drew has earned $45.4 million (10.3 WAR) in Boston, while being paid $42 million. So, in the warped world of baseball finances, the argument could be made that Drew is underpaid. Or, perhaps, that he is compensated equally to his value.

Amen. I've been thinking along these lines for awhile. Maybe this is the year that J.D. gets some love from the fans - especially as he wins his second World Championship. {Please excuse Greg, he must be on a sugar high after eating too much chocolate. There is no way that J.D. Drew will be on the 2010 World Champion Phillies.}

For the record, yes, I am aware that Jayson Werth has produced nearly $60 million for little more than $5 million since 2007. I'm not saying the Red Sox have a better right fielder, just that they have a pretty special one who doesn't get the recognition he deserves.

Welcome: The world has a new Nationals fan who shares my name and Zoe's birthday. Congrats to Nick and Maria. Hope you and little Gregory are home soon.

Phillies suck

For once I can use this title without complaint from Christine, although she will point out that it is because the Phillies don't stink that we have a beef with the organization right now.

For more than a decade, way back since we were in college, Christine and I have always seen the Red Sox at least once every year they have had a series scheduled in Philadelphia. Similarly, we've always made it a point to attend Fan Appreciation Day - the last Sunday home game of the year. Christine thinks we may have skipped one in the few years between graduation and marriage, but I'm pretty sure we've had perfect attendance.

But now, the Phillies have pitted two of our family's oldest traditions against each other. Their new rules for six-pack tickets include either a Red Sox game or Fan Appreciation Day, but you can't get a six-pack with both a Red Sox game and Fan Appreciation Day.

What a crock.

Yes, I know that winning sometimes has negative consequences such as price hikes, fewer available seats and even **gasp** a new breed of pink-hat-wearing fans, but this is ridonkulous.

As a consequence, Christine and I are in serious negotiations deciding whether to succumb to the Phillies' marketing trap and just buy the entire Sunday plan like we did in 2008. Hey, maybe doing so will jinx another World Series, and maybe we'll jinx something else even better.

Today: I hung out with my buddy Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump while Christine attended his wife's baby shower. Along with the usual baby gifts, we bought a set of Washington Nationals baby garb for the baby. Poor kid - he's going to inherit my name and possibly his father's love of a hapless team. But at least he'll have a lot more character than a brainless Yankees fan.

Recapping one Game 2, while waiting for another Game 2 to start

I know this game recap is a bit outdated, but we had a busy day yesterday and I needed something to do while waiting for the Red Sox to start Game 2 and hopefully even things up with the Angels.

In past years when we were headed to a playoff game, even though it wasn't my team, I could not concentrate on anything but the impending game.

This year, not so much. I couldn't decide whether it was because we decided to buy tickets at the last minute or because this is becoming old hat. I settled on the fact that last year was so perfect (how many three-day World Series clinchers can you attend in one lifetime?) that I didn't want to run those memories.

It turns out that despite the 5-4 loss to the Rockies, we had a good time and I don't think it soured my memories of 2008. Here's our day:

Christine and I joked that it was the Budweiser Clydesdales that pushed her over the edge when she was torn whether she wanted to pay a premium for marked-up playoff tickets.

I'm not so sure it was a joke.

She had her picture taken in front of the horseys, but after making her blog pictorial debut earlier in the week, I don't think she was ready for another.

Afterward, I spotted a guy wearing a Cubs jacket. I don't wear Red Sox garb while attending a Phillies playoff game - unless we get tickets to the SoxandPhils series.

John Kruk tossed the first pitch to Milt Thompson. ... Jarrod Spector of Jersey Boys sang the anthem. I don't remember it so it couldn't have been too bad. {Greg may not have been paying attention, but the crowd really enjoyed it.} ... The sweet smell of roasted nuts - not sold during the regular season - permeated the stands. ... When they broke out Motley Crue's Kickstart My Heart in the 2nd inning, we thought the scoreboard guys weren't going to leave anything to chance, but then the music selection got really weak. They even broke out Bongo Cam at one point. But after Christine complained about it (to me) things picked up.

Before the 6th inning - the only frame featuring a Phillies rally - they started playing the pump-you-up montages. It started with a scene from Friday Night Lights followed by Welcome to the Jungle. In the later innings, they showed clips from Rocky II, Hoosiers and Miracle, with musical selections of the Rocky theme, more Crue, this time Wild Side, and something else that I neglected to write down in my notes.

In the 9th, it started with the apocalyptic Phillies montage followed by Are You Gonna Go My Way. Then, after a pitching change, they broke out Animal House and Rock and Roll.

But it was all for naught; not even the Phillies biggest cheerleader could rally the crowd. I think the playoffs require something a little better than the Phanatic in drag. Although, kudos to his umpire partner who lifted the big lug so the Phanatic could sit on his shoulders.

Our section was prominently featured on Phan-O-Vision all day. I first noticed it because a couple of rows in front of us were three women waving two signs: "Got Phillies Fever" "Trust Us, We're Nurses." ... The scoreboard might have caught me, but I didn't notice. I hope not because I was blowing my nose when it focused on a little girl dancing in the row in front of me.

We felt bad for the two children, the aforementioned dancing girl and a young infant, in front of us whose parents crammed into two seats. It was fairly cold in our section, which didn't get any sun. The baby was blue before they were seated and removed his jacket. ... Another big theme for signs was some variation of how it was "Werth it" to skip school for the playoffs.

J-Dub also got a Wayne's World style "We're not Werthy" from a couple of nearby fans. ... I couldn't believe how quickly the fans have turned on Cole Hamels and some of the other Phillies champions. One guy compared Chase Utley, who has never lit it up in the playoffs, to notorious October choker Alex Rodriguez. That guy, though, was an ass. Carlos Ruiz ended the Phillies lone rally by grounding into a double play on the first pitch. You'd think he was responsible for every little baby who has every cried and every little puppy with sad eyes. ... The guys in front of them were very loud, too. One guy kept standing up for no reason. But Christine liked him once the family with the chilly baby arrived and took his place as the most annoying fans in the section. ... Bunny Sigler sang God Bless America. He was well-received. I really liked his Phillies red suit he wore for the special occasion.

With just Paul Bako on the bench, I noted that Charlie Manuel had no one left to pinch-run for pinch-hitter Matt Stairs when he drew a 9th inning walk.

"Cliff Lee," Christine said, thinking of his stolen base on Wednesday.

"Hmm," I said. "That makes sense."

Sure enough, out he came. He took a really big lead as if he were going to steal again, but he stayed put and the Phillies couldn't drive him in.

Today's news: Pedro Martinez will start Saturday in the bitter cold; Cole Hamels had his boy, Caleb Michael Hamels; and Jamie Moyer has been in the hospital. (All in one Todd Zolecki post.)

Red Sox: They lost Game 1 to the Angels 5-0, but Jon Lester will be back for Game 4. Red Sox fans aren't too happy with CB Buckner. After some bad tacos, it's nothing but bananas and saltines for Terry Francona.

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.

Mets now accepting has-beens, cast-offs

Trot Nixon, a long-time Red Sox fan favorite, is now a Met. That's how bad things are going for the second team in New York, where Willie Randolph is on what seems to be the 12th death watch of the season.

I'll always root for Trot. I wasn't happy when he won a game for the Indians in last year's ALCS, but I didn't hold it against him personally. I hope he can rejuvanate his career as the Mets finish in last.

We're trotting all over the state. We're going to see one of the newest Red Sox fans, then up north into Yankee territory. So we may not update tonight.

Sox-Phils interleague history, 2006: The Sox took two of three in Philly in May - splitting the two games we attended. We didn't go to the opener in which Matt Clement beat Jon Lieber 5-3, keyed by Mike Lowell and David Ortiz homers. In the Saturday game, we saw Josh Beckett for the first time. Sloppy defense on both sides ruined his duel with Brett Myers. Beckett gave up four runs (three earned) in 7 innnigs; Myers gave up six runs (two earned) in 6.1. Sox won 8-4. Beckett also hit a homer and an RBI single.

Before the game, we were stopped by a couple of girls who wanted to take our picture because they were on a scavanger hunt and needed a picture of a couple wearing competing jerseys. We obliged. Our picture is probably on some weirdo Web site like ours.

The finale was a Phillies blowout. Brian and Liza invited us to join them in their section in right field, so I sold the tickets we had bought to a colleague (Red Sox fan). Cory Lidle, who we seemed to see more than any other Phillies pitcher at the time, was pitted against Lenny DiNardo, who combined with Abe Alvarez to give up eight runs in five innings. Future enemy Bobby Abreu was a double away from the cycle. Phils won 10-5.

There was a strange off-field incident: David Wells accused David Dellucci of using steroids.

The teams hooked up again a month later in Boston, and the Phillies faced some serious PR problems for starting Myers in a nationally televised game after reports that he hit his wife. Charges were dropped, and Myers seems to have matured since the incident.

On the field, the Red Sox swept. We didn't go to any games, but I have lots of memories of the series. During the first game, I was sanding and spackling a room we were planning to paint. Josh Beckett beat the Phils 10-2, but I'll remember Scott Mathieson pitching well for 4.2 innings after starter Ryan Madson got shelled. We listened to the middle game (the Myers debacle) while driving to North Jersey for a wedding. David Ortiz had a walk-off homer against Tom Gordon in the 10th. Jonathan Papelbon won it. I don't remember the Sunday finale; we were probably driving home from the wedding. Sox won 8-7 in 12, Craig Hansen over Clay Condrey.

Aging aces

A night after 45-year-old Jamie Moyer took care of the Arizona Diamondbacks on the mound and at the plate, 41-year-old Tim Wakefield made quick work of the Detroit Tigers. So quick, in fact, I forgot to check on his progress.

We had to run an errand, and I put the game on the car radio at 9:36. Christine asked if they were playing because there was so much talking. I said they were because they have four games against the Tigers - not thinking that the Red Sox could actually end a game in 2 hours, 21 minutes.

They can when Wake and Mike Timlin combine on a three-hit shutout.

Phillies: They're losing 6-3 after an awful fourth inning in which Adam Eaton walked in a run. (Randy Johnson was batting.) Then a three-run home run. Wonder if Eaton can again escape implosion and keep his record at 0-0.

On this date: Ten years ago, Kerry Wood struck out 20. It doesn't seem that long ago. And, even better, it's the one-year anniversary of that dramatic "goodness gracious" call by Suzy Waldman when Roger Clemens returned to the Bronx. After one scandalous year, it sounds even better. I wonder what she thinks when she hears it.

Almost on this date: Former Phil Gavin Floyd again lost a no-hit bid late in the game. This time it was with one out in the ninth before Joe Mauer doubled. I was rooting for it; Christine was conflicted, ever mindful that if the Phillies had kept young Gavin, Eaton would be dragging down some other team.

Welcome: Congrats to my friends on their new baby this week. Kushal, when it comes time to pick a baseball team, gravitate toward your Mom's family in Massachusetts, not your Yankee-loving father.

Uh-oh

I woke up cranky enough because I overslept. To make things worse, I then read Josh Beckett left a spring training game because of back spasms. I don't have to say that losing Beckett for any major stretch would be catastrophic.

He came to Boston with a reputation for not being able to hold up for a full season. But in his two seasons with the Red Sox, he has averaged more than 30 starts and 200 innings - marks he never reached with Florida.

Hopefully, he will be ready to go in Japan in little more than two weeks. Terry Francona is optimistic but vague:

Sox manager Terry Francona had a good report on Josh Beckett who left Saturday's game with back spasms after throwing six warm-up pitches. The manager said Beckett "looked way better than we expected,'' but would not commit as to whether Beckett would be ready for the opener in Japan.

More bad news on the pitching front: Clay Buchholz continues to impersonate Adam Eaton this spring, but there is hope it's just a mechanical problem. Speaking of the $24 million dollar man, the candidates to replace him haven't exactly been jumping at the opportunity, but Kris Benson threw all of his four pitches in a minor league game, topping out at 88 mph, giving himself a shot of opening the season in Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, opening day starter Brett Myers continues to exhibit class with a new T-shirt that reads: "You mess with me, you mess with the whole trailer park."

Real class: Thanks to punks such as Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon, it is a story when athletes such as Beckett or Jimmy Rollins care more about winning than money. Rollins took a gamble in 2005 with a five-year, $40 million contract. At the time it was debatable whether the Phillies overpaid. After an MVP season, they have underpaid, but J-Roll doesn't gripe:

I knew there was a chance I would play better and the Phillies would be getting a little bit of a bargain. But there was also a chance I wouldn't produce as much. I knew the market could change after I signed it. I knew all that when I signed.

That column reads like a text the new wave of players should read to learn how to portray themselves and their pay in the press.

Baseball Mogul update: Despite another 90+ win season, I won't be making the playoffs for the first time. I don't know what happened, other than the Braves, D-Backs and Dodgers had better years. I need better starting pitching - it would help if Cole Hamels stopped pining to be a Royal.

Baby shower update: We had a good time yesterday. I learned that it's harder than it looks to drink out of a sippy cup. Don't ask.

Media musings

I have to post early today because Christine and I are heading into enemy country (Yankees and Mets region) this morning.

A few headlines did jump out at me: Dice-K's return to Japan on hold till wife has baby from the Philadelphia Daily News and Matsuzaka might make it from the Boston Globe. I guess they're both accurate. The stories, which are essentially the same, say that Daisuke Matsuzaka's wife is due March 19, and he won't travel to Japan with the team for its March 25 opener against the A's. But he may be available to pitch depending on when the baby comes. Basically, yesterday's news makes it seem more likely that he will pitch than when the trip was first announced. Then, the Sox were non-committal about Dice-K pitching. (Did I mention our trip to North Jersey is for a baby shower?)

And then I read: Let's not go overboard on the Red Sox. I knew instantly it was Dan Saughnessy. I must say, however, I agree with him. The crusty columnist has been better in recent years. He's not denigrating the Sox's success, just pointing out some have gone overboard:

Two new books (at least) are scheduled to hit stores this spring: Michael Holley's "Red Sox Rule: Terry Francona and Boston's Rise to Dominance"; and Tony Massarotti's "Dynasty: The Inside Story of How the Red Sox Became a Baseball Powerhouse." Whoa. Dominance? Powerhouse? (Gulp) Dynasty?

We aren't a dynasty. Even ignoring the two-year gap, the teams of 2004 and 2007 are too different to be considered as part of one. Yes, key players such as Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield remained, but a bulk of the roster overturned. Now, if they win in '08, start printing those books.