Fun-filled 4th

Here are the happenings, in brief.

The AL All-Star team will have six Red Sox, including Clay Buchholz, who is heading to the DL. He'll be joined by injured Victor Martinez and Dustin Pedroia and healthy David Ortiz, Adrian Beltre and Jon Lester. Kevin Youkilis was snubbed, but he's headed to the ballot for the final roster spot.

Charlie Manuel selected only one Phillie for the NL team: Ryan Howard. He'll be joined by fan-selected but injured Chase Utley and player-selected Roy Halladay.

The Sox and Phils each lost today to crappy teams, the Orioles and Pirates.

Joey Chestnut won another hot dog eating competition, but they had to arrest Takeru Kobayashi to keep him from reclaiming his spot as the world's top eater.

Christine and I had a nice dinner.

I get a holiday

I had to work today, and after I got home, we had to run to the store as the Phillies game was starting. The store didn't have what we wanted, and we couldn't decide whether to try another or go home because Christine has had Phillies withdrawal. She decided to stay out because the Phillies were winning 2-1. "It's working," she said.

Good call. The Phillies finally beat the Pirates 12-4, thanks to Kyle Kendrick's first major league complete game. I wonder if our shopping karma helped the Red Sox, as Jon Lester shut down the Orioles 9-3. I saw a stat this morning that the Orioles are 9-35 in their last 44 games in Fenway. Make that 9-36 ... poor Orioles.

I've been so busy at work lately that I'm not really that excited about tomorrow's Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot-Dog-Eating Contest. It's going to be hard to watch without Takeru Kobayashi, who can't participate because of a contractual issue. I guess Joey Chestnut will have a cakewalk again.

But, at least I get a day off tomorrow. It was looking like I'd have to work July 4th for the first time since 2006. Because the day off was last-minute, Christine and I are breaking from our tradition of staying at home for a barbecue and going out to eat to celebrate having the day off.

Happy Fourth

It's been a hectic holiday weekend - baseball has taken a backseat the past few days to visiting family, riding my bike, watching fireworks (last night and tonight), barbecuing and watching the annual Nathan's hot dog eating contest.

Yup, if you count that as sport, then the bulk of my sports-watching the last two days has been seeing people shove hot dogs and soggy rolls down their gullets. Joey Chestnut won again; I'm bummed.

Last night, I see that Rodrigo Lopez bailed out the Phillies, helping them to get a rare win at home. Christine and I debated whether it's a sign that the champs have righted the ship or that they're just taking advantage of playing an even more dreadful team (the Mets).

The Red Sox battled back to tie the Mariners, but wound up losing in 11 innings. I tried to listen while sitting in my truck waiting for the fireworks to start. Reception was decent, but not clear enough to hear over the din of the crowd waiting for the show.

Later this afternoon, the Phillies and Jamie Moyer host Ferando Nieve and the Mets. The Red Sox (Brad Penny) and Mariners (Garrett Olson) have already started. The Sox are up 2-0 in the 2nd.

We're curious who will read Lou Gehrig's speech for the Phillies and Red Sox. I like this idea to honor him this way.

Waiting with ennui

The Wing Bowl is little more than 24 hours away, and I am not into it at all. It wasn't until this week that I became aware it's amateurs-only this year.

The Super Bowl is Sunday, and I'm still waiting for my internal clock to switch over to football. I haven't even looked at the lineup for Puppy Bowl. OK, I snuck a peek while fetching this link. Some of those suckers are really cute.

And the baseball writers seem to have fallen from the face of the earth (not unlike many of their colleagues in newsrooms across the country). The only news today is that Ryan Howard would welcome a long-term contract. Yeah, so would I, but I think my chances of getting A-Fraud type of money are nearly as slim as Howard's.

The only suspense right now is not whether Jason Varitek will accept the Red Sox' take-it-or-leave-it offer, but whether the deadline for said offer is Friday or Saturday. Can't my team ever do anything normally? Jeez, I know the Captain screwed himself by not accepting arbitration, but there comes a time when the team has to cut bait. I guess that's what Friday's deadline is about.

I'm just bored with the whole situation.

{But we're coming up on the three-month anniversary of the Phillies World Series victory! Plus, there are only 16 days til the start of spring training. And the teams' caravans leaves for Florida next week! Excitement!}

More from '95

Besides pictures of their juiced-up sluggers, the Red Sox 1995 yearbook tried to get a little artsy with close-up shots showcasing players' personalities. Here are a few.

In 1995, Mike Greenwell would have his last season as a full-time player. In case you didn't know, he was nicknamed Gator. (And that's an alligator with jaws agape, ready to chomp.)


Next we have Tim Naehring, a true fan favorite and Dirt Dog before there was such a thing. He's obviously so embarrassed by the concept of this yearbook that he can't stop laughing long enough to open his eyes.


Next, there's then-Sox, future-Phil Rheal Cormier. He must have been hungry. Or maybe he's sending a suggestion to the future for Jonathan Papelbon: Do this the next time you think about opening your mouth.


Finally, what's a yearbook without a look at the farm. The first two aren't bad at all: Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon. There are a few clunkers like would be found in any farm system: Michael Coleman, Marc Lewis and Donnie Sadler. But then there's Carl Pavano, who needs to develop a breaking pitch, according to his scouting report. I wonder what Yankees fans would add to that critique.


Back to 2008: Good performances last night by both our teams' lefty aces over division rivals. Jon Lester took care of the Yankees 7-0, prompting Joe Girardi to hold a closed-door meeting on the eve of George Steinbrenner's birthday. Cole Hamels - soon to be a two-time All-Star? - won 4-1, finishing a sweep of the Braves.

This afternoon, Josh Beckett is already losing in New York, where the major sports event of the day has been completed - Joey Chestnut beat Takeru Kobayashi in the first-ever dog-off. Tonight, the Phillies start a series against the Mets with the pitcher who was going to save the world for the Mets, Johan Santana, facing J.A. Happ. Happ-hazard is making his 2008 debut for the demoted Brett Myers.

Wide right

I still don't know who I'm rooting for tomorrow, but over the past two weeks I've watched hours of interviews, hype and analyses, and I'm amply prepared for the game.


I enjoyed the Friday-before-Super Bowl tradition of listening to Wing Bowl - Joey Chestnut repeated as champ. I've always been more of a Kobayashi fan, but I must admit Joey's starting to win me over. And I was also rooting a bit for El Wingador, though the odds were stacked.


And the other day, the NFL Network played what was probably the first Super Bowl I sat down and watched every play - the 1991 Giants' nail biter over the Bills.


I was a late bloomer to football, and for some reason this Super Bowl was a quiet night in my house. I watched it all with my Dad, hooked on every play. For a Sox fan in a Yankee house, there aren't many opportunities to be rooting with your Dad during a major sporting event. When Scott Norwood missed his kick, there was a sort of joy that I haven't felt again until two weeks ago when I called my dad after Lawrence Tynes made his kick.

At times like these, I think maybe I should have just been sucked into the Empire for all this father-son stuff. Yeah, right. Dad and I can bond just fine busting each other's chops over the Red Sox and Yankees. (Until Mom or Christine tells me to knock it off.)


Back to baseball: Johan's got his deal. Tito's happy. I hope Johan doesn't strain his neck watching the balls fly out of Citizens Bank.