Quick thoughts on departed Yankees

Here's my take on the two iconic Yankees who died this week.

Bob Sheppard: I'll bestow upon him the highest honor I'll give a Yankee. Like Mariano Rivera, I would love him if he were on any other team. His voice was golden, but the Yankees went a little overboard with the "Voice of God" stuff and the pre-recorded intro for Derek Jeter. Like Rivera, my animosity for him is solely because he's a Yankee.

Ricky Bottalico did a good impression of Sheppard this morning on WIP. He also did a pretty good Harry Kalas.

George Steinbrenner: The epitome of Yankee arrogance and bombast. He's everything that baseball shouldn't be. And the Yankee fans who came to love him when the Yankees started winning in the 1990s are hypocrites because they all hated him just a couple years before.

The Yankees are honoring their departed legends by wearing not one but two separate and gaudy patches. In my day, when a Yankee died, they put just a black band on their sleeves. Steinbrenner was classy with things like this; I'd think he'd prefer the simple black band.

Voter fatigue

Red Sox fans are notorious ballot stuffers, but not this year.

I cannot believe it, but it looks like that no Red Sox will start the game that will determine whether the World Series starts in Philadelphia or Boston.

I guess I can't really complain because we've been a bit spoiled in recent years. (Jason Varitek, a manager/player/coach pick in 2008, is one of the worst selections ever.) And although I filled out a handful of ballots at the park, I haven't filled out any online yet. {Greg and I must have different definitions of "handful." We've filled out quite a few ballots at the games we've gone to this spring.}

That said, I can't explain some of these results:

Kevin Youkilis, the best first baseman in the game, is a distant fourth in the voting. Victor Martinez, who should not be ahead of Joe Mauer, also should not be behind Jorge Posada. David Ortiz's slow start and recent slump probably warrant his first vacation since 2003, but there's no way he should trail Hideki Matsui and the retired Ken Griffey Jr. (At least Papi has passed Pat Burrell in DH voting.)

If there's a silver lining, maybe it's a sign that some of the newcomers are jumping off the Red Sox bandwagon. Or maybe the real fans are just tired of stuffing the box.

Tonight's games: Both our teams are off, but we have baseball on: MLB Network's two-hour special on perfect games. Have I mentioned that I love this channel? Excellent - they showed Carl Everett break up Mike Mussina's shot at a perfect game as a pinch-hitter with just one out to go. I remember watching that game in my apartment. It was on ESPN.

Rest in peace: Oscar Azocar died. For some reason, he always stuck out in my mind. Probably because of his name, I always kind of liked him despite his Yankee-ness.

A look back

Last night, there was a commercial for some baseball broadcast package that used "choose your announcer" as a selling point.

When Christine repeated the line to me, I assumed she was referring to the fact that I was taking advantage of the Extra Innings free preview and had switched to the Red Sox broadcast.

Nope, she was just lamenting the fact that we're still stuck with Chris Wheeler this year.

And then, sure enough, this morning the Inquirer ran a story about the anniversary of Harry Kalas' death with a look back at his last day in the Washington Nationals broadcast booth:

If there was one consolation amid the red-hued grief that day it was that Kalas had died doing what he loved, in a ballpark.

"That was a very strange, weird day," said (Phillies broadcast manager Rob) Brooks. "I got home that night at 1 or 2 in the morning, and at that point I started to review the day and realize the enormity of what happened. I think I did OK. I don't know if there was something I could have done to create a different outcome.

"But I talked to [Kalas' son] Todd that evening, and we both came to the conclusion that had the efforts to revive him worked, he probably would have been angry because he would have been away from the yard for three or four months. That probably would have been unacceptable to him. For Harry, if you can't do what you love, why be here?"

Tonight's games: While we knew we would not hear Harry tonight, Christine is actually disappointed we're not hearing Wheels. She thought this would be the first night we got to watch a Phillies game, but they're pre-empted on Comcast SportsNet because of the 76ers. What a crock.

"I can't believe you're going to get to watch the Red Sox three times before I see the Phillies once," she said.

Sure enough, I'm watching the Sox on Extra Innings. (Phillies are blacked out locally on the package.)

The Red Sox, behind John Lackey, lead the Yankees 1-0 in the 7th. David Ortiz drove in a run, which should calm him down and dispel concern that he would go oh-for-the-season.

The Phillies, behind, or despite, Cole Hamels, lead the Nationals 6-3 in the 6th. Judging from the box score, this doesn't look like 2008 Hamels.

The Phillies play a late afternoon game tomorrow, so I hope Christine gets to see half of their game at least.

Farewell Little Professor

We take a break from the stupidity of modern athletes to mourn one of the all-time great Red Sox: Dom DiMaggio.

Connected to and overshadowed by both premier outfielders of his generation, teammate Ted Williams and brother Joe DiMaggio, he had a stellar, yet underrated, career.

From his Boston Globe obituary:

The author David Halberstam described Mr. DiMaggio as "probably the most underrated player of his day." Playing in the shadow of the era's two biggest superstars made that inevitable, perhaps. But neither of his great contemporaries failed to appreciate Mr. DiMaggio's talents. Williams considered him "the best leadoff man in the American League," and his older brother called him "the best defensive outfielder I've ever seen."

Bill James' 2001 Baseball Abstract rated him the 24th best centerfielder of all time.

And I'm pretty sure he was 100 percent clean.

For some reason, this death makes me madder about the drug-infested era we're living through. It's also sad that there's only one left of the Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio and Johnny Pesky trio.

I have a nice picture of them somewhere. I should go find it. (It's too big to scan in for the blog.)

And didn't mention yesterday because of Manny Ramirez and lack of sentimental attachment, but former Phillies manager Danny Ozark died.

J-Roll's an idiot: First Jimmy Rollins said he was retired from the prediction business. Then, he predicted a .400 month. (Although it's an improvement over April's .207, May's .222 is a far cry from Ted Williams.) Now, we learn he had predicted a Phillies-Yankees World Series. I guess hitting isn't the only thing J-Roll is struggling with this year.

Phillies: We bumped into a friend at the grocery store and talked for a while, so we were later than usual coming home. The Phillies were already three innings in when we tuned in the car radio, just in time to hear Cole Hamels give up his first hit, and to hear Larry Andersen say he's not into "Spacebook or Myface" when Scott Franzke asked if he Twitters.

Hamels pitched his first decent game of the year: six innings, two runs on three hits and two walks. Seven strikeouts. Things got a bit dicey in the 9th when Brad Lidge, who hadn't pitched since Tuesday, was summoned to protect a seven-run lead. He did, but gave up three runs in the 10-6 win over the Braves.

Red Sox: Brad Penny pitched into the 7th (two decent starts in a row) in a 7-3 win over the Rays (finally!). Jonathan Papelbon needed 11 pitches to quickly end the game in his non-save situation.

[Photo: Boston Globe files]

Beautiful day, ugly night

I've waited all winter for this day. The cold was finally replaced by a sunny day in the mid 70s.

I took my first bike ride of the season. I cut the grass and did other spring cleaning around the yard. Christine and I took a walk preparing for next week's charity walk. Then we grilled up a nice summery meal as the Phillies came on.

We didn't go to Harry Kalas' services, mistakenly figuring the place would be jam-packed. Christine watched bits and pieces on TV, and I listened on the radio while putting up some stone edging around one of our flower beds.

Earlier in the day, I heard WIP's Anthony Gargano, while reminiscing about Harry and Richie Asburn, use the old cliche that baseball is life's soundtrack. He said you could walk in South Philly and listen to their broadcast from front porch to front porch, or at the shore from blanket to blanket. I got that vibe for some reason as I listened to speeches from Jamie Moyer, Mike Schmidt and assorted politicians float from my garage to the front of the yard where I hammered bricks into the ground.

Now, I'll probably always associate Harry with that flower bed.

Later, watching the Chase Utley hit in the 1st inning, I thought I should add a standing feature to the blog called "We miss Harry." Today's moment would be when Tom McCarthy felt the need to explain that they give out Silver Sluggers at the end of the year to the best hitter at each position - even the mound. I miss Harry.

Today's games: Not quite a beautiful day for SoxandPhils closers. Brad Lidge's save streak is over. Christine predicted it when he gave up the leadoff double. You know Harry would have sounded pained calling the Padres' four-run 9th inning off the formerly perfect Phillies closer. That's two consecutive awful losses for the defending world champions.

The Red Sox scored six runs off former Phil Adam Eaton in four innings, thanks to a big night by my MVP pick, Kevin Youkilis (4-5, four RBI, two runs, two doubles and a home run). Jonathan Papelbon came close to joining Lidge on the blown saves list, but he ended the 6-4 game with the potential tying run on first.

And congratulations to the Cleveland Indians for setting a record for the most runs (14) in a 2nd inning today in their 22-4 win.

All in all, we've had worse days

Despite the Phillies' worst loss of the season, a Brad Penny implosion and the Harry Kalas ceremony getting pre-empted for the Flyers game, it was still a pretty good day at SoxandPhils.

With the Phillies booted to Comcast Network (unavailable on Verizon FIOS), I called a sports bar Thursday to make sure it would be playing the game because Christine was upset about having to miss the pregame memorial for Harry. A convenient coincidence with my work schedule allowed me to get my normal Friday errands done in the morning and us seated in the bar by game time.

Unfortunately, there were just a few TVs showing the Phillies - I guess Flyers playoffs are more important than Harry - but we did get to see his sons throw the first pitches to Michael Jack Schmidt, John Kruk and Jimmy Rollins. Then, Harry's son Kane sang the national anthem. I got chills watching some of the players, such as Jamie Moyer, break up during the ceremonies.

The bar had sound for the Flyers game only, so we couldn't get the full effect of the Phillies' half-inning silent broadcast.

We had a nice meal and headed home to "watch" the game on the radio. Larry Andersen explained at length about the ugly tie he wore (Christine picked up on L.A.'s odd look when the TV broadcast showed him). In a nutshell, it was one of Harry's ties, and Andersen has a connection to his paisley ties.

As we listened at home, the Padres slowly chipped away at Cole Hamels and the Phils' 7-1 lead and wound up winning 8-7. Christine was a little vocal during the game. However, the Red Sox did the reverse to the Orioles. Brad Penny was awful tonight and put the Sox down by seven runs after two innings. But the Sox struck back and won 10-8.

Another game Christine won't see: Monday. That's because I won another prize from the Inquirer. It's not the tickets for suites at the 76ers or Flyers playoff games we'd been hoping for, or the Daily News Home Run Payoff, but something Christine has wanted: tickets to an advance screening of Earth.

It's not all-you-can eat wings and beer, but I'll take a free show featuring bears.

Catching up

Between Easter and Harry Kalas' unexpected death, a lot of happenings have slipped under the SoxandPhils radar this week.

Since the Red Sox game is over and the Phillies are rained out, tonight presents an opportunity to catch up.

First, when I was leaving work, a co-worker told me Tim Wakefield was working on a no-hitter. I had flashbacks to 2007 when Curt Schilling flirted with a no-hitter during a day game in Oakland. Just like then, I rushed to my car to listen to the radio. Unfortunately, I wasn't getting reception and couldn't listen as Wake gave up a hit in the 8th. He still pitched a great game, giving the bullpen a much needed day off after it went 11 innings on Tuesday.

Why did our relievers go 11 innings? Because Daisuke Matsuzaka left the game after an ineffective inning and has been placed on the DL because he's tired from the World Baseball Classic. Great - is it too early to claim a prediction win for the question about the team most hurt by this stupid tournament? Of course it is because we will survive this blow. But we do have a winner for "this year's Rays" question - Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump for predicting the Marlins.

Preoccupied with Harry's passing (I'm going to miss him too), we neglected to pay our respects to Mark Fidrych - a New England resident who played for the Red Sox in the minor leagues in an unsuccessful comeback attempt. I knew him just from replays of old broadcasts, but it's sad.

Awkward transition: Josh Beckett was suspended for throwing a ball at Bobby Abreu on Sunday. He's appealing, but even if he loses, it's just six days, or an extra day of rest to keep him fresh for October when he will be needed the most.

An irreplaceable loss

It's no secret that Greg is the writer in the family. In addition to his job, he's also recruited by friends and family to write speeches for weddings and eulogies for funerals. But tonight I'm going to try to muddle together a few thoughts about Harry Kalas.

There have been many stories told about Harry over the past day; I especially liked this one by Paul Hagen, about his life pre-Phillies. But I don't have a personal story to share. I never met him at the ballpark or spring training, at a restaurant or an event in the city.

And unlike some, I didn't see him as a surrogate grandfather. He was my baseball announcer. It may sound selfish, but I keep coming back to the same thought - what are Phillies games going to sound like now? And if Harry Kalas hadn't been there my whole life, would I enjoy baseball as much as I do now?

Harry had a good, long life. He was happy and loved what he did every day. And last year, the Phillies gave him the greatest gift they could, another World Series victory.

So while I shed some tears watching TV tributes last night, it wasn't just for his death. It was also for us, the fans. It was knowing that I'll never hear him call another "long drive, outta here;" reminisce about his favorite players and teams; get excited when the Phils make an unexpected comeback; sing High Hopes when the team succeeds again this year.

Like everyone else my age who grew up in the area, I've never known another baseball announcer. Harry Kalas was a constant; from March to September or October of every year, I would listen to him for nearly three hours every day. Who's going to fill that void?

I love the Phillies. Always have, always will. But sadly, the team, and the game, will never be the same.

[Photo: Some of our mementos from Harry Kalas appreciation day, Aug. 18, 2002]

RIP, Harry

There's nothing to write about tonight. Phillies games will never be the same.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Sox don't ruin Nick Adenhart memorial

Even though the Red Sox fell to 1-3 and now have sole possession of last place, last night's 6-3 loss wasn't one I mind terribly because it was the first game for the Angels since Nick Adenhart was killed.

Jered Weaver, who probably figured on pitching alongside Adenhart for the next several years, paid tribute to his fallen comrade with a brilliant 6 2/3 innings, giving up an unearned run and striking out eight.

The new Red Sox battery of Tim Wakefield and George Kottaras struggled for a bit before settling down to keep it a 3-1 game until I turned in. I expected a comeback, but I gather the bats stayed dormant and Justin Masterson got shelled.

Today: The Sox are on Fox. Brad Penny makes his debut with hopes of turning around what has been a poor first week for the SoxandPhils. The Phillies play tonight in Colorado. They still haven't officially DL'd Carlos Ruiz, and it looks like we'll be wondering for awhile whether Cole Hamels arm is right. I have a feeling that unfortunately this could be a season-long debate.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Other than the weather, not a very good day for baseball

Where to start?

I guess with the biggest name: Cole Hamels made his 2009 debut. He got shelled - seven runs on 11 hits and a walk in 3 2/2 innings in a 10-3 loss to the Rockies. The beat writers are debating where this ranks among his worst starts ever. Sports talk mused whether it's officially time to panic in Philly. All I can say is that the title defense isn't off to a smooth start.

And oh yeah, Lou Marson may be called up because Carlos Ruiz left the game with an oblique strain.

Christine and I had Good Friday off, but we couldn't catch the game because of car troubles. Not sure it was so bad of a thing.

Rings: In case you forgot, these Phillies were champions a year ago. Our friend, Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump, took some time from watching a muppet talk about soccer to attend the ring ceremony this week. Here are his videos, and here are his pictures.

Red Sox: The team is preparing for a tougher than usual game - the first game for the Angels since the death of Nick Adenhart. Terry Francona said, "We'll be very respectful and we'll try to compete." We just found out MLB Extra Innings is having a free preview so I may be able to catch some of what will be a very emotional night.

Dice-K picks up where he left off

I told myself I would be more patient with Daisuke Matsuzaka this year. His overall work is better than it seems despite his inconsistent performances that are usually accompanied by lots of walks, high pitch counts and early exits.

I also convinced myself that this would be the year he pulls it all together and dominates the league to the point that even critics wouldn't question the $100 million the Sox spent for his services.

That lasted until about 2:45 today when I checked the score and saw 3-0 Rays in the 3rd. Dice ended up surrendering four runs on nine hits and three walks in 5 1/3 innings. The Sox scored a run in each of the 6th, 8th and 9th innings, making a game of it, but ultimately falling to the AL East champs, 4-3.

Christine's kicking herself for picking the Red Sox over the Rays. I think she knows better than to judge in April how teams will finish in October.

Moment of silence: Angels uber prospect Nick Adenhart was killed after a car accident this morning. The Angels canceled today's game; no word about their impending series with the Red Sox. Nick Cafardo struggled to find a local connection to the tragedy:

It was hard to find a link with Adenhart from any members of the Rays or Red Sox. One was Sox first base coach Tim Bogar, who was a coach on the 2006 Futures Game team that Adenhart pitched for.

"What a tragedy," said Rays senior adviser Don Zimmer. "It's just hits you hard when you hear a young man with so much talent being taken away from us. I hadn't seen much of him but I was told he was a young kid who had a tremendous future. I feel so badly for his family."

Finally: We bought a Sunday subscription to the Philadelphia Inquirer because the paper had a promotion offering Phillies newspaper covers commemorating the '80 and '08 World Championships. After more than a month, they finally arrived today.

Hub fans bid adieu, redux

A moment of silence, and a tip of Ted Williams' hat - if gods are answering letters tonight - in memory of John Updike.

For a writer, I'm not the most literary sort, but I've always liked Updike because of his Red Sox connection, most notably his famous essay about Fenway and Ted Williams' last at bat: Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu. I also liked his short story A&P, probably because I was assigned to read it at a time I also worked as a grocery store cashier.

While looking at his Wikepedia page tonight, I learned he was from Berks County, Pa. I don't know if I had known that. I will consider him an honorary SoxandPhil, like the late John Marzano.

We need excuses for Christine to leave the house

I'm on a Red Sox e-mail list. In the great '04, I forgot how it all started, but it was decided that one woman was the Red Sox good luck charm by watching syndicated episodes of Becker. It was an unspoken bond between between her and the Sox; they would win as long as she wouldn't watch them.

This week, there have been three instances where the Phillies scored big when Christine wasn't watching: On Wednesday, they scored seven runs when we went out for ice cream; yesterday, they beat the Astros 15-6 when the cable was out; and tonight, we took a half-hour walk and missed the bulk of the six-run 4th inning that ignited a 20-5 rout of the Colorado Rockies. (Jamie Moyer now has a win against all 30 teams.)

I guess we're going on many walks and trips for ice cream this summer.

Oh, and yesterday's cable outage? Turns out we did cut a wire. Don't know how or where.

RIP: Geremi, or Jeremi, Gonzalez died after being struck by lightning. He was one of the many pitchers the Red Sox used in 2005 to try to replace Bronson Arroyo who was traded because we had too much pitching. I wish I had a better memory of Gonzalez.

Win a friggin' road game: In the 5th, Red Sox are up 1-0 in Seattle, where Bartolo Colon is trying to end the Sox three-game losing streak and keep pace with the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.

Farewell Johnny Marz

John Marzano, an honorary SoxandPhil, died this weekend.

I'll always remember him from his 1985 Topps Olympic Team card. I wanted to scan it in, but that is still tucked away in my parents' attic. He played 169 games for the Red Sox from 1987 to 1992, never getting a real chance to live up to his potential.

He gets honorary SoxandPhil status because he was a Philadelphia native, played a year in the minors for the Phils, and worked in recent years for WIP and Phillies post-games for Comcast. Christine and I enjoyed listening to his analysis - a compliment we rarely give to a broadcaster. I was hoping his gig with Major League Baseball would be short-lived and he would come back to local outlets.

Unfortunately, that won't happen.

Game notes: The Phillies officially stink against the Mets. It's up to Adam Eaton to avoid the sweep tonight. Since it's a night game, we won't provide wrap-up until Monday night. The Red Sox continue to roll against the Rangers. David Ortiz had another hit.

Hang 'em high: Evil Yankee Kyle Farnsworth got only three games for endangering the life of Manny Ramirez. No bother:

"He don't deserve that. He was just protecting his players," Ramirez said. "You know we hit A-Rod the game before."

Though Ramirez responded by getting out of the way he admitted, "To be honest with you, I never saw the pitch."

Joh-on, Joh-off

With the Sox in pursuit of perhaps the best pitcher in the game, you'd think he'd garner more than a passing mention on this site from me.

It'd be great to have a 1-2 tandem of Santana and Beckett, two of the top 5 starters in the game. They'd make the Sox a cinch to best the Empire again. And what a pair they'd be in the playoffs, like Curt and Pedro, or Curt and Randy Johnson.

But there's something not right with it. I disagree with those (like Christine) who say the Sox are now the Yankees. I understand the argument, but it's not quite true. This deal, however, would be hard to argue. We don't need him, and last year's championship, unlike 2004's, was more about the future and young, homegrown talent. In 2004, it was an aging powerhouse whose window was closing.

It's been quiet on the Sox end, but that's not necessarily good. Who saw Schilling coming before the great '04 when all the talk was on Javy Vasquez?

Theo, thankfully, said it best last week in the Boston Globe:

"We reached a point with our situation, having most of a world championship club back, having a burgeoning farm system, which I think was just rated the second best in all of baseball, where we feel that we can improve by letting our young players play. We don't have desperate holes we need to go out and fill at any cost. We can pick and choose what makes sense for us, rather than be desperately in the marketplace."

That's not an arrogant GM who thinks a successful club one year will autmatically be successful the next. Just one who also understands the value of a great farm system and young talent like Pedroia, Papelbon, Elsbury and Buchholz.

Hopefully, Theo has been hovering over the deal soley to drive the price up for the Empire, who'll have to pony up to beat any of the incarnations the Sox have reportedly offered.

If they get him, we're still the favorites, and hopefully, they'll send enough of their prospects to hurt themselves in the long-run.

Also making a resurgence is the Mets bid, which still doesn't seem to include Jose Reyes. If the Mets land Johan without losing Reyes, the Phils will have a real tough time backing into the division again. If Reyes goes in the deal, it'll still be tough for the Phils , but should make their prospects better in the long-run.

My apologies: In my brief Johnny Podres post yesterday, I didn't mention that he was a former Red Sox pitching coach as well, responsible for developing pitchers like the pre-roid Roger Clemens, Bruce Hurst and Oil Can Boyd. I just found out myself.

RIP Johnny Podres

Johnny Podres, pitching coach of the '93 Phils, has died. Curt Schilling, who has pitched plenty of big games from '93 to '07, credits him for preparing him to take the ball in big spots:

We spoke often about ‘big games’ and he instilled this belief in me, even before I had a chance to pitch in a truly big game, that when the time came I’d answer the bell. The post season success I’ve been blessed to enjoy I’ve always known to be a direct result of who and what he was. I’ve never in my life run across anyone that didn’t have something kind and good to say about him, and after knowing him the past 17 years I know why.