SoxandPhils revelations

After yesterday's wrestling snafu, Todd Zolecki redeemed himself with today's post.

Nothing has consistently driven traffic to our humble SoxandPhils blog like people looking for the names of players' intro songs - especially Jayson Werth.

Today, Zolecki listed every Phillies' intro song. We couldn't place our finger on J-Dub's current song all season. Thanks to Zo, we know now it's Right Above It by Lil Wayne. We've also been fascinated by how Carlos Ruiz uses Phil Collins' In The Air Tonight, but we didn't know that his backup, Brian Schneider, uses the same song.

Zolecki still needs to work on his knowledge of wrestling history, but I certainly appreciate this effort.

That wasn't the only SoxandPhils theme in the news today. We've often discussed how injured both teams were this year. SoxandPhils beat writer Scott Lauber takes a look at how the Red Sox are home licking their wounds, while their brothers in pain have survived.

Even our general managers felt a kinship:

At one point during the summer, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and his Phillies counterpart, Ruben Amaro Jr., even had a phone conversation in which they commiserated over their teams’ respective misfortune.

"We were having some trade dialogue," Amaro recalled yesterday, "and I guess we were both woe-is-me-ing for a while."

I wonder what they were talking about ... Werth for Jonathan Papelbon, perhaps? {Ugh, the idea of Papelbon as a Phillie ... awful.}

If you're interested, Lauber has a sidebar listing every injury suffered by a Red Sox or Phillie.

Go back to Minnesota

Christine and I played hooky from watching the Phillies today to go to Popcorn Park Zoo, a favorite home for needy animals.

We missed them not giving Roy Halladay any support and getting shut down 4-1 in a complete game by Carl Pavano. Incredible.

So the Phillies lost a series to the Twins, and many Twinkies fans will be leaving Philly happy. We couldn't believe how many Minnesotans ventured to the East Coast for the series. At first it was cute, then it quickly became nauseating because the fans didn't give them the Philly treatment.

Consider this couple who sat near us on Saturday, decked out in matching Nick Punto (why Nick Punto?) shirts. We got past that tackiness when we learned from their sign, which they waved incessantly, that it was their honeymoon and they were following the Twins from Philadelphia to New York.

The kind usher in our section loved their story, offered some tourist sight-seeing advice and gave them a ball he said he got in batting practise the night before. (We've seen several ultra-nice ushers at the park lately.) They cheered hard for their guy, Punto, but left when he walked in the 9th inning, missing the Twins great comeback.

We can't understand why they didn't catch any of the Phillies fans' vitriol. Late in the game, finally, someone told them to put down their stupid sign and helpfully pointed out that they misspelled "Philly's." And, yes, that was in reference to the team, not the city.

Christine and I appreciate the idea of spending a honeymoon chasing baseball, but we would not feel the need to advertise it, and we would not wear matching outfits.

These weren't the only Twins fans near us on Saturday. Perhaps a foreshadow for the honeymooners were a couple of retired folks. The gentleman wore a Michael Cuddyer T-shirt, and his wife wore a "Gramma Jan" Twins jersey with the No. 41 on it. She also wore big baseball earrings with Twins logos. She didn't really irritate me until we were leaving and she stopped traffic down the stairs to chat with some more Minnesotans who were still in their seats.

Other observations from the stands on Saturday: The kid next to me amused me until late in the game when he spit incessantly. He didn't have anything to drink, so I don't know how one boy could have so much saliva. Before annoying me, I learned that he and a buddy got balls tossed to them from Twins Francisco Liriano and former Red Sox Ron Mahay. The balls had logos for the Twins inaugural season at Target Field; apparently the road team brings its own balls. ... His buddy made us laugh when he started calling Jayson Werth shaggy. "He looks like Shaggy from Scooby-Doo," he said, breaking out his best Scooby impression.

Once again, we caught the Phillies' father-child game before the real game started, so the dads actually lost two games in one day.

Musically speaking: After stints with Journey, Sammy Hagar, Kings of Leon and others, Jayson Werth is using Metallica's Wherever I May Roam for his intro music. It's probably a slump buster, but I wonder if he's talking about his impending free agency. ... I'm addicted to Placido Polanco's into music, I Know You Want Me by Pitbull. I don't know why it never caught my ear when Pedro Feliz used it. ... They played Roller Coaster at one point. I think it should be retired in honor of Chris Coste. ... The Phanatic danced to Cab Calloway's Minnie the Moocher. We never heard that one at the ballpark before. ... The St. James Alumni Blue and Gray Voices directed by Pete McLaughlin did the anthem because it was St. James Alumni day. I don't remember their rendition, so it probably wasn't bad.

Antiquated shirts: Jimmy Rollins (not being snarky, I saw a Rollins No. 6, ironically walking next to a Howard No. 6), Jim Thome (also saw a current version of his Twins shirt), Bobby Abreu, Cliff Lee and former Twin Carlos Gomez.

I don't consider shirts of Hall of Famers antiquated, so it was nice to see a Kirby Puckett jersey, even though the guy wearing it should go back to Minnesota.

Oh well, almost time to see the Red Sox try to complete a sweep of the Dodgers to remain a game behind the Yankees and pull into a tie with the Rays for the Wild Card. Who was worried about their slow start?

Two knocks and a shave

So Charlie Manuel finally corralled the offensively challenged Phillies in for a team meeting. Nobody's saying much, except that Cholly didn't read them the riot act. It hasn't helped because the Phillies still have not scored a run in their series against the Mets. But they have an excuse tonight - the game has been delayed by rain.

The only thing that seems to have changed is Jayson Werth's beard. He shaved it again, but we want to see a picture to prove it.

It is implied that J-Dub broke out the razor to snap him and his Phils mates out of their phunk, but I have two other theories. 1) He's practicing for when he's a Yankee next year. 2) He wants to be more aerodynamic because he's on pace to make a run at a storied record - most doubles in a season, currently held by Earl Webb, who had 67 in 1931. Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski thinks he has a real good chance.

I knew Webb held the record, but I didn't know he was a Red Sox.

Tonight's games: The Red Sox were leading the Royals 1-0 when I started this post, but Daisuke Matsuzaka just suffered an ugly-looking three-run 5th inning. He was yanked mid-frame at 112 pitches. Recently activated Joe Nelson, whose a fan of Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA," came in from the pen. It's now 3-2 in the 6th.

Two hours late, the Phillies and Mets are just beginning.

Diver down

Christine and I were running errands this afternoon when the radio played Rainbow in the Dark by Ronnie James Dio, who is one of SoxandPhils' favorite characters.

Usually, when we hear a random song like this, one of us would joke, "What did he die or something?"

We didn't say that today, but the DJ came on with the sad news: Dio has taken his final dive. He is now a Holy Diver.

How sad that Dio is gone and it happened the day after Pat Burrell, who used to come to bat to Dio's iconic tune, was released by the Rays.

I wonder whether Rays GM Andrew Friedman feels guilty today.

At this moment, all we can do is huddle with Elvis and let out a good howl for a silenced voice.

Today's games: The Red Sox followed up losing in extra innings yesterday with a walk-off walk with a listless 5-1 loss today to the Tigers. It's getting harder and harder to keep my patience.

The Phillies are off to a good start on Sunday Night Baseball, leading the Brewers 2-0 in the 2nd.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

Last dance, extended version

They're not saying "booooo," they're saying "Hoooove," in anticipation of Paul Hoover's walk-off hit.

I said that before Paul Hoover ended the game with a single in the 10th inning - a game that, with the Phillies playoff position cemented, felt like a spring training exhibition.

The only real drama was whether Jayson Werth - the only regular in the lineup for the Reading, err, Philadelphia Phillies - would get hits 100th RBI, hence the crowd's reaction when Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez played the game like it mattered in the 10th inning, opting to walk Werth with a base empty and a man in scoring position.

It didn't matter for the outcome. Hoover lined a single off the glove of former Phillie Wes Helms to end the Phillies last game of the regular season as reigning 2008 World Champions, 7-6.

As I said, this game was played like an exhibition. Charlie Manuel was auditioning pitchers for the playoff roster. He churned through eight of them - two more than an official Phillies scorecard can hold.

J.A. Happ started and was taken out after two innings. He was relieved by Kyle Kendrick, who pitched OK. He went 2 1/3 innings of hitless ball before walking pitcher Josh Johnson, which led to a two-run inning.

Brett Myers, possibly making his last appearance ever as a Phillie, started the 6th. He struck out the leadoff hitter, but was removed when he walked the next guy.

Sergio Escalona also pitched well in his last-minute push to make the playoff roster with just 14 major league games under his belt.

Phillies offense: They couldn't muster a hit off Josh Johnson until Miguel Cairo (Chase who?) led off the 4th with a home run. I was trying to convince Christine to root for the no-no because I really want to see one, and this one would have an asterisk because the Phillies didn't field a competent lineup.

(We've seen Johnson pitch twice this year - the same amount we've seen Jamie Moyer. We've seen Happ, Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton and Antonio Bastardo each start once.)

Cairo later tripled in the 8th and scored on an overthrow to tie the game. ... Stat-minded Werth stole two bases in the 4th, giving him 20 for the season. ... Stat-minded Ben Francisco was caught stealing three times today. Maybe he's not so stat-minded.

Observations from the stands: The anthem was sung by the Central Bucks West High School Choir, directed by Joseph Ohrt. Not bad, but we've heard it before. ... The crowd was so indifferent early on that Helms wasn't booed during introductions. Only one guy yelled "Phillies reject" when he came to bat. Also during introductions, they played "Under the Sea" for the Marlins. ... Like Lou Marson on last year's Fan Appreciation Day, they played Pat Burrell's old Holy Diver, this time for Andy Tracy's intro music.

The Phanatic rehashed his streaking skit when it was announced that his jersey was one of many giveaways on Fan Appreciation Day. ... Kudos to the Phillies: They seemed to give out a larger number of prizes this year and did a much better job of spreading them around to the upper sections (it seemed like every section in the 400 level won something, except ours). ... Comcast SportsNet employee Josh Schrager sang God Bless America.

A guy in front of me at the newsstand, wearing a Pat Burrell jersey, jorts and Phillies socks, bought Chris Wheeler's book. I probably shouldn't comment beyond noting my observations.

Before heading off to see whether the new 2009 flag will hang with the 2008 and 1980 World Champions, 1983 and 1993 League Champions, or relegated to mere division champs such as 2007, 1981 and 1976-1978, a couple of Phillies players (Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins) helped the Phanatic toss T-shirts and balls into the stands after the game, in further appreciation of us. We moved down and came close to some of the throws, but walked away with nothing but our memories ... and this picture someone took for us after asking us to take a picture of her.

I like it, but I'm biased.

Antiquated Phillies jerseys: We sat in the last row of the whole stadium and didn't see too many, but we made up for it in obscurity with David Bell and Robinson Tejeda. We also saw the obligatory Burrell, Jim Thome, Scott Rolen and Aaron Rowand.

Red Sox: In the last game before Jon Lester opens the ALDS in Anaheim, the Red Sox beat the Indians 12-7. Clay Buchholz gave up six runs in three innings, adding to my concern about the state of our pitching entering the playoffs, which don't start for me until Thursday. That's in a friggin' week. And I haven't mentioned that they're starting West Coast time, not Greg time.

Christine's not happy either. Her first two games are at 2:30 p.m. on weekdays, and her third will also be geared toward the West Coast.

We'll save the playoff rants for tomorrow while we watch the Twins and Tigers battle it out for the right to issue the Yankees an embarrassing first-round exit.

Picture perfect

Recently, I wrote about how Christine likes when the Phillies get zoo-i-fied on the scoreboard.

She particularly liked Jayson Werth's zoo shot Saturday because it looks like he's blowing away the frog.

I know, we're weird.

Looking at that picture reminds me how awful Saturday night's game was and how we forgot to mention whom we hold responsible. Not Cliff Lee. Not the anemic offense. Not even the crappy weather.

No, we blamed the music operator. He was off his game. The biggest offenses were playing a club remix of Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer early on and not playing Bob Marley for Shane Victorino's at-bats.

I thought things were going to get better later in the game when he played Van Halen's Unchained during a Braves pitching change in the 6th, but Peter Moylan stranded the two Phillies who were in scoring position. I foolishly thought things would improve the next inning when he finally broke out Sammy Hagar for Jayson Werth, but Werth just struck out with the bases loaded - just like Ryan Howard before him. Raul Ibanez followed with a flyout to end the inning in the Phillies last at-bats before the rain fell.

The music operator better get his fingers pushing the right buttons before the playoffs start.

We miss Harry: In the first inning tonight, they showed Edgar Renteria's stats at Citizens Bank Park. Tom McCarthy noted that those numbers came when he was a Cardinal and a Brave. Stupid Chris Wheeler chimed in pompously, "And a Marlin."

Yeah, Wheels. Renteria has played in Citizens Bank Park as a Cardinal, Brave, Red Sox and now the Giants, but he hasn't played for Florida since 1998. Citizens Bank opened in 2004.

Tonight's games: Three words: Colbert Richard Hamels. He's back and showing Clifton Phifer Lee who's the real ace of the Phillies. He retired 21 straight batters at one point tonight and has now gone 17 innings without a run. It was a magnificent 1-0 win over the Giants, a complete game shutout for Cole. Kudos to Charlie Manuel for sticking with his ace instead of playing by the book and going to the "closer."

Hamels gave up just two hits and a walk with nine strikeouts when his mates could manufacture just one run off his opponent Jonathan Sanchez.

The Red Sox, meanwhile, lead the Rays 6-2 in the 8th in the start of a series that is hopefully the Rays' last stand. The Sox young lefty ace, Jon Lester, was not as dominant as Hamels: two runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. But he did have nine strikeouts.

'Elua (Hawaiian for two)

You might have guessed that we were discussing weather yesterday because we had tickets to today's game.

With a good chance of thunderstorms and our luck with the weather at ball games, we fully expected a washout. Instead, the weather you see in the picture to the right is what we got from inning one through nine.

Game: The sunny day was fitting for a game dedicated to Shane Victorino and his native Hawaii. The game itself had two simple plot lines: a bunch of two-run home runs and a fine outing by Country Joe Blanton.

The Phillies matched the Cardinals' first inning run, but then Chase Utley (pictured scoring) put them up for good with a two-run home run in the 3rd inning. He was matched by Ryan Howard in the 5th, Jimmy Rollins in the 6th and Raul Ibanez in the 7th.

Victorino, the man of the hour who never seems to shrink when the spotlight is on him, didn't join in the two-run fun, but he did go 2-4 with two singles and a run. He appeared to have a stolen base in the first inning, but the umpire sent him back. We never got an explanation in the stands.

Although his native Nashville wasn't feted throughout the game, Blanton stole the day from Shane-O. He went eight innings, and with just 108 pitches, he could have gone out for the 9th. His strongest inning was his last. After a leadoff single to Skip Schumaker, he struck out Julio Lugo, Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday (pictured) to end the inning.

Despite the protests of a youngster sitting behind us, Charlie Manuel went with Brad Lidge to preserve the 9-2 win. He allowed a double to Rick Ankiel and needed 21 pitches, but he ended the inning without a run, lowering his ERA to 7.00. Former SoxandPhil Joe Thurston made the last out.

Observations from the stands: Lots of Hawaiian music throughout the day. The Phanatic hula'd with professionals, then lead his own thing involving a bunch of guys pretending to row a boat with wiffle ball bats. We didn't get it either. ... The Aloha Hula Show did the national anthem. It was a string version - very different, very nice. ... Stephanos Tsirakoglou sang an operatic God Bless America. He kept it moving. ... That kid I mentioned earlier kept Christine and I entertained with constant chatter, such as "Howard looks weird when he sweats," "Paul Bako has to work his way up in the game" and "Rollins hit a grand slam yesterday. Did Pujols? Did Holliday?" ... Matt Stairs, getting a rare start, used Stone Cold Steve Austin's Glass Shattered entrance music. ... All the Phillies had Hawaiian shirts superimposed on their scoreboard pictures - Stairs got a pink one. ... J-Roll came out to Michael Jackson in his first at-bat, but none of the rest. Christine was taken in the 4th when he chose Kriss Kross' Jump for his intro music. ... It was a very annoying day with people around us. There were constant beer runs and invasions of personal space. None was worse than late in the game when a large guy sitting next to Christine leaned forward and shifted to relieve himself of some gas. It was audible, but thankfully, she did not smell it.

It was also a good day for T-shirt watching, including this new RAUUUUUULL Ibanez version. ... We saw a growing number of Charlie Manuel shirts, including his All-Star T. We also saw two Carlos Ruiz shirts. We were glad to see some love for Cholly and Chooch. ... Kind of tacky is a new Phillies Hall of Fame T-shirt that lists every Phillie in the hall, including stalwarts such as Ryne Sandberg, Tony Perez and Johnny Evers. Well, maybe I would get a Red Sox version, assuming it would have Tom Seaver, Rickey Henderson and Juan Marichal. ... There were also lots of recent antiquated Phillies garb, including Jim Thome, Billy Wagner, Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell and the debut of Chris Coste to this list.

Pictures: It was such a photogenic day, we couldn't get them all in this post. Keep checking throughout the week for some more highlights.

Red Sox: The less said, the better. John Smoltz gave up six runs in five innings in a 6-2 loss to the Orioles. We're 2.5 behind the Yankees. Oh well, off to watch the highlights of Red Sox left fielders Rickey Henderson's and Jim Rice's induction speeches.

Dog bites man

As is becoming an unfortunate habit when we go to Citizens Bank Park, Christine and I had to sit through a long, cold, wet and delayed mess of a baseball game. It spanned two calendar days, but at least we didn't have to pay twice for parking.

Only in baseball can the same two teams that played a beautifully crisp 13-inning game in little more than four hours on a pleasant 83-degree night come back the next night and take nearly three hours and forty minutes to play nine innings of slop during a cold and wet night that felt much worse than the listed 71 degrees. Oh, and that game time doesn't include the hour and a half rain delay.

Here's our recap of Game Two of the SoxandPhils showdown in which the 2007 champs beat the 2008 champs, 11-6:

Yesterday, I noted that Antonio Bastardo hadn't had a bad start in either of his first two big-league games. He took care of that early yesterday. Jacoby Ellsbury walked, stole second and went to third when Carlos Ruiz's throw went to center. Ellsbury scored on an errant pickoff attempt at first base after Kevin Youkilis walked. Jason Bay homered him in. As the rain began to drive down, Julio Lugo singled to center, but Shane Victorino let it get by him, allowing two more runs to score. 5-0 before the Phillies even batted.

Daisuke Matsuzka pitched a 1-2-3 first inning. I gave up keeping score because the scorecard was getting too wet, even tucked inside a plastic bag. I joked to Christine that tonight would be the night I would see a no-hitter without a scorecard to record it. I couldn't have been more wrong.

As the Phillies warmed up in the top of the 2nd, Christine was confident her Phillies would make a game of it and predicted a long, ugly back-and-forth affair. They would come back, but not after we spent some quality time in the concourse of the ballpark waiting for the rain to end. Our primary amusement was trying to decide which drunken Red Sox fan would fall down first. There were a couple of close calls, but no winners.

When play resumed, new Phillies pitcher Chad Durbin kept the Red Sox in check for three innings as the Phillies took care of Dice-K. They scored a run in the 3rd on back-to-back doubles by Victorino and Chase Utley. In the 4th, when I made a rare run to the concession stand, Raul Ibanez led off with a home run, followed two batters later by a two-run blast by Pedro Feliz. Dice finished the inning, but that was the end of his night – Red Sox 5, Phillies 4. {Actually, by my count, it was 4-0. Because I was entrusted to keep score when Greg got up, I corrected the early scoring and nullified the 1st inning runs.}

Jack Taschner, who is gaining on Chan Ho Park for the title of least-loved member of the Phillies pitching staff, relieved Durbin in the 5th. The Trashman delivered – he faced nine batters, giving up three runs on four singles, a double and a walk. The inning ending on a flyout to center in which Victorino showed some great range. He made an exaggerated gesture to show the crowd he had the ball. Earlier in the inning, he was miffed that the umpires said he trapped a ball when he thought he caught it on the fly.

The Phillies rallied to get one back off Manny Delcarmen, who's starting to exhibit signs of a slump. The Sox rallied for two more in the 7th off of Sergio Escalona. We had no idea he was called up to replace Friday night's goat, Kyle Kendrick. The teams traded a pair of solo home runs (Jayson Werth in the 7th and Jacoby Ellsbury in the 9th) before Jonathan Papelbon mercifully ended this nightmare of a game at 12:25 a.m.

Observations from the stands: Great national anthem by the United States Air Force Heritage Brass quartet. One of the best renditions I've heard at the park in a long time. ... Rob McElhenney of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" threw out the first pitch. ... Among the many rain ponchos we saw, I spotted one with Buffalo Bills logos on it and another with the Pittsburgh Pirates. ... We spotted a dutiful helper dog during the delay wearing a rain slicker and a Phillies bandanna. ... The subject of the night's scoreboard marriage proposal had an infant in her arms. Christine wondered how the guy convinced her to wait out the cold, wet delay with the baby. ... A grown man behind us wore bright white sneakers with Phillies logos on them.

Christine wanted the Phanatic's late-game dance segment to play off how late it was getting. It didn't, but the PA did play "After Midnight" during the first inning break occurring after midnight. ... Speaking of music, we didn't hear Journey's Separate Ways last night, but Werth is now rotating his at-bat songs, including his original Heavy Metal by Sammy Hagar and newly added Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon. I know you all love J-Dub and his intro music selections, but we can't keep up anymore.

On-field stars: Dice-K (1st), Durbin (2nd), Hideki Okajima (6th) and Ramon Ramirez (8th) for the few 1-2-3 innings in the game that saw the teams combine for 386 pitches (176 by the Red Sox, 210 by the Phillies). ... Ryan Howard surprised everyone by attempting to steal in the 2nd inning. He slid with an awful thud, but it was for naught because Ibanez fouled off the pitch. Christine wondered if he swung out of panic thinking he missed a hit-and-run sign when the big guy took off. ... Ellsbury showed his range in center field all night. ... Mike Lowell made a tremendous spear of a low liner smoked by Howard in the 3rd. It's one of those plays that looks like nothing in the box score, but could have prevented the Phillies from catching up. ... In a game that featured 17 runs on 26 hits and 11 walks, there were too many offensive stars to name. You can look up individual performances here. Although I didn't realize until just now that the Red Sox gave up only one of those walks.

Etc.: Here's some background info on the love affair between Philadelphia fans and J.D. Drew for the Red Sox fan who asked Christine with two outs in the bottom of the 9th whether Drew gets booed in Philly because he used to play here.

Today: No rest for the weary. Todd Zolecki says the Phillies deserve a short game featuring a long outing by J.A. Happ today. The Red Sox could use one too, but two SoxandPhils fans over here could really use one. We'll catch the finale this afternoon (Josh Beckett vs. Happ), then make a call to The Pen at 8 p.m. on MLB and then we'll try to catch up on some of the sleep lost last night.

SoxandPhils swap?

With young Clay Buchholz dominating AAA and another farmhand named John Smoltz beginning to make a case for a promotion, there's been a lot of talk about the Red Sox trading Brad Penny.

With Brett Myers' injury - which will require surgery, likely ending his season and perhaps his Phillies career - and the poor Phillies starting pitching for most of the season, there's been a lot of talk about the Phillies trading for a starting pitcher.

Is there a match?

Buster Olney muses about a Penny for Jason Donald deal. While part of me pines for the first SoxandPhils transaction since 2004, I don't want this deal to happen.

1. Christine would blame me every time Penny gave the fans in right field a souvenir or Donald appeared in highlights on MLB Network.


2. I'd love to dump Penny, who despite a pretty 5-1 record has an ERA of nearly 6 and a WHIP of nearly 1.6, so this would be a steal for the Sox unless Donald's injury is more than a sore hamstring.


3. See No. 1.

I think the Phillies will make a deal, but I don't think it will be this one.

Irony: In a week dominated by the news of Myers' injury, the Phillies had a curious "injury update" in Sports Weekly that I've never seen before: "The Phillies had no injuries to report." C'mon, every team has some strain or muscle pull to talk about. This jinxed Brett.

Tonight's games: Brad Lidge may be back. Before he entered, Christine said she thought he would have a good night. She even went so far as to say it would be pain-free, but she wasn't too confident about that after he nearly hit the leadoff hitter. J.A. Happ got the win in the 5-4 defeat of the Nationals. Shane Victorino had four hits. For some reason, Jayson Werth started using Sammy Hagar's Heavy Metal for his intro music again. It's about time. ... Red Sox lost to the Jays 6-3. Tim Wakefield had his worst outing of the year. David Ortiz was the only Red Sox without a hit.

Busy day in 10 clicks

Since I last posted:

• The Red Sox tied a record last night for wild pitches, and Tim Wakefield wasn't even pitching.


• Brett Myers wasn't pulled from last night's game for ineffectiveness, but for a hip injury that he's had for awhile. He may need surgery, which could end his Phillies career.


• Harry Kalas will be inducted to the Wall of Fame. It's such a no-brainer, but I hadn't thought about it before.


• Pedro Feliz might get his 2010 option picked up.


• This afternoon, the Red Sox beat the Twins 3-1 behind a good performance by Josh Beckett and switch-hit home runs by Jason Varitek, who managed the feat before getting ejected along with Terry Francona and two Twins.


• Someone with a vested interest read my book report post. More Roger Clemens posts can be found here. {Hi Rusty Hardin & Associates!}


• Our observation, not previously mentioned on the blog, that Charlie Manuel has lost weight has been confirmed.

Funny, this morning I thought that with an off-day for the Phillies and an afternoon tilt for the Red Sox that I would just write tonight about Todd Zolecki's Random stuff post. I still will.

Like many of our SoxandPhils readers, Zo says he is a fan of intro music. He noted that when Brad Lidge last pitched, he came out to the silly music for a scoreboard bobblehead race instead of Soldiers. I had wondered if they would keep playing that tune if his struggles persist. Lidge might have a similar thought:

"I was coming in to some circus music," Lidge said. "That's about right."

Another favorite silly Phillies thing for Christine and me is Sarge. Especially his hats. He's not only a fashion plate, but also a shrewd salesman:

Gary Matthews' hat collection is available at the Majestic Clubhouse Store, but I told him yesterday that I could not pull off the Sarge hat look. I just don't think I have the cool factor to do it. Sarge assured me that I did, which I thought was nice of him to say.

But then I remembered he's trying to sell hats. Why I oughta (shaking my fist in the air) ...

Final note: I'm always bummed when the Phillies aren't on, especially after a long bad day at work. But the Spelling Bee finals will substitute nicely tonight.

Jayson Werth goes soft

Jayson Werth has traded in headbangers in leather for pulsating keyboards and sleeveless T-shirts. We noticed that he switched his intro music from Sammy Hagar's Heavy Metal to Journey's Separate Ways when we attended our first game of the year on Saturday.

It took us a minute to identify the new song. Actually, I had no shot, but it came to Christine in dribs. She pictured the video - Steve Perry in a sleeveless shirt, something like a dockyard and the woman walking. The music played in her head, and then she finally remembered the lyrics. She told me to write down Separate Ways to check when we got home. She was right.

I don't know whether Werth is a huge Journey fan or whether he's going through some marital trouble. I will assume it's the former and have taken the liberty to check the band's tour dates to see when J-Dub can check them out this summer. I saw two possibilities: Aug. 31 in Uniondale, N.Y. (the Phillies are off in between games at New York and Pittsburgh) and Sept. 13 in Wallingford, Ct. (the Phillies play the Mets at home in the afternoon, but are off the following day before hosting the Nationals).

Unfortunately, the Phillies are in Houston when Journey plays in Atlantic City, and they have a night game when the band plays in Reading.

If the schedule doesn't work out, Werth always can always hit YouTube, where unfortunately all the Separate Ways videos don't have embeddable links.

Tonight: Rain pushed the Red Sox game in New York to 9:30; they're up 1-0 in the 1st. The central time zone pushed the Phillies back to 8 p.m.; they're up 6-1 in the 5th.

Christine was watching Ryan Howard bat with the bases loaded in the top of the 5th.

"Is he going to do it?" I said.

"I don't know," Christine said with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Uh-oh," I said when Howard made contact, which is my pre-home run call, good or bad.

Then, the camera pans to Howard's dad and a woman in the stands cheering the grand slam.

"I bet that's Jayson Werth's mom," Christine said.

Tom McCarthy confirmed it was shortly after.

[Image: Austin Chronicle]

Walking off with a win at our first game

After attending a World Series clincher, it was a little tough to get amped for a game in early May, especially when starters Oliver Perez and Jamie Moyer were awful.

But by the time Shane Victorino drew a bases-loaded walk on a 3-2 count to force in the winning run in the 10th inning, it felt just a notch below playoff atmosphere.

The game started off ugly. Oliver Perez was toast after 2 1/3 innings - four earned on six walks and five hits. Before walking in the final run, Victorino scored the first run after a lead-off triple. Raul Ibanez drove him in with a sacrifice fly.

Both teams muddled through the middle innings until the floodgates opened in the 6th. After Jamie Moyer retired the first two, Christine and I started debating whether they would try to squeeze one more inning out of him to save the bullpen, even though his pitch count was in the 90s. Before the discussion got too far, Daniel Murphy crushed one out to right. Raul Castro followed with even a bigger blast to center. Former World Champion Alex Cora scored a run after tripling to give the Mets a 5-4 lead, which was erased in the bottom of the inning by a rocket by Ibanez. Things quieted down except for a few nervous innings by Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge and Jack Taschner.

But the game really got good in the 10th against Sean Green (while Frankie Rodriguez stayed in the pen). After Jimmy Rollins grounded out, Pedro Feliz hit a slow little nubber that David Wright couldn't make a play on (Pete Happy would have made the play). Anticipation of a game-ender built as pinch-hit homer extraordinaire Matt Stairs lumbered to the plate. Green, obviously terrified of the big lug, hit him with a pitch. The next pinch hitters, Greg Dobbs and Chris Coste, flew out and walked to load them up for Victorino's game-ending walk. What a thrill.

Mets-Phillies rivalry: I did a double take when I saw someone wearing a Phillies hat and Mets shirt. But then I saw what was printed on the back (pictured on the left). There was also an '07 version. ... Another good shirt had a Mets fan burying his face in his hands. "It must be September in Queens" it said on the back. ... Some stupid Mets fans dressed a Build-A-Phanatic in a Mets uniform. A) That's a waste of $50. B) Mascot envy?

Outdated player shirts: Aaron Rowand, Jim Thome, Edgardo Alfonzo, Mike Piazza, Pat Burrell (including one who put a "Who?" over the five), Lenny Dykstra (Mets), Randy Johnson (Yankees), Dwight Gooden and Scott Rolen.

Game notes: Feliz made a great snare of a liner by Jose Reyes in the 5th - pure instinct. ... In the 7th, Ibanez made a nice play to rob Fernando Tatis. ... In the bottom of the inning, Feliz hit another little nubber that rolled down the third-base line. Wright could only hope it would roll foul. It didn't. ... Of course the play of the game came in the 8th with the Mets threatening to take the lead. With runners on first and second, Carlos Beltran hit a single to right. The Mets sent Omir Santos home, but Jayson Werth nailed him. After the inning-ending out, a pumped-up Ruiz spiked the ball and ran off the field. He led off the next inning but popped out.

Weird lineup today: Victorino, Ibanez, Werth, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins (fifth?!?), Feliz, Eric Bruntlett, Ruiz (we didn't even know he was activated) and Moyer.

Game notes: Gotta love this guy's "World F*cking Champions" sticker. ... The national anthem was performed by the Peabody Veterans Memorial High School Chorale. I was too distracted by my scorecard (I'll explain later) to remember how they did. ... Victorino has a new Hawaiian Punch graphic featuring Punchy. ... Werth changed his intro song. We're not happy. Now, he comes out to Journey's Separate Ways. This is the worst intro music decision since Pat the Bat ditched Dio. ... The roaming vendors seem to offer more selection this year. ... There was an annoying girlie brigade behind us, very loud, but at least they didn't dump anything on us. ... The PA played Home Sweet Home after Jamie Moyer walked with the bases loaded in the 3rd. ... I got my ice cream shuffle mojo back and also picked the winning Septa train and bobblehead bouncer on the scoreboard.

Walking into the park, we saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hanging out at the gate. We also saw Christine's second-favorite mascot, the Geiko gecko. Later, the Turtles came out to help the Phanatic save a Phillies helmet from an evil ninja. It was probably the worst Phanatic skit I've ever seen.

Early in the game, Christine noted the "Raul" cheers sound like a howling dog. After Ibanez homered, they played Werewolves of London. ... The Ask-a-Phillies segment asked for their favorite day of the year. We don't think the crowd got the reference when Chase Utley named Halloween. Christine thinks he should have said f*cking Halloween. ... Before the 10th inning, they did the Kiss Cam. Inappropriate. That's for the middle innings of a blowout, not when you're playing your hated rival in extra innings.

OUTRAGE: When I sat down to fill out my scorecard, I noticed the sheet with the roster and "newsy notes" was missing. I went back to the stand, and the clerk told me they're not doing that anymore because the Phillies felt it was a waste of paper. There is other waste the Phillies could have gutted before that useful piece of recyclable paper, such as page 2 in the program that lists every nominal staffer in the organization. And I really could have used a roster when the Mets brought in Ken Takahashi. I had never even heard of him and had no chance at spelling his name correctly. {Uh, scoreboard?} The Phillies win one World Championship, and they think they can just dump on their fans. BOO!

Oh, getting back to Ask-a-Phillie, they kept Harry Kalas in the rotation. He got big cheers when he said Opening Day. And after the excitement of the win started to subside, they played him singing High Hopes on the scoreboard.

It was a very nice mint at the end of a great meal.

Red Sox: They played another ugly one, but salvaged one from the Rays. They won 10-6.

Happy Easter - rock out

So it's another holiday, which means four hours in the car and not much time for blogging.

If your holiday allows for a few minutes of nonsense, here's a video of Sammy Hagar playing Heavy Metal in concert. For some reason - this blog would love to know why - Jayson Werth uses this song for his intro music before his at-bats. For even more mysterious reasons, people are curious to find out information about the tune.

I never mind an odd cross-promotion - such as SoxandPhils - and I love combining my interests in baseball and 1980s metal.

Rock on:


[YouTube credit: HelioRodarte]

Sweep?

This morning, contemplating the pair of SoxandPhils Game 1 wins, I was very proud of myself. I was pleased with each victory, but not getting ahead of myself.

Tonight, however, after Shane Victorino's grand slam off CC Sabathia, I looked at Christine and said "Sweep?"

"Looks that way," she said.

Here are the last 24 hours of Red Sox and Phillies baseball:

Maybe it was sitting in the rain for a few hours on Wednesday. Maybe I'm just getting old. But I was conking out before midnight with the Sox winning 2-1 in the 7th.

I saw enough from Jon Lester to know the game was in hand once Jason Bay hit a two-run homer in his playoff debut that caused John Lackey to go nuts and lash out at his offense.

He's no Jon Lester. The Angels kept getting on base, six hits, a walk and an error in seven innings, but Lester never lost his cool and kept stranding them, except for an unearned run in the 3rd. He wasn't even bothered that his mates couldn't score until the 6th inning. Every time I think I'm not going to underestimate Lester anymore, he raises expectations. These next few weeks will be harder if Josh Beckett's unable to go, but Lester's certainly a capable replacement. Red Sox 4, Angels 1.

Jacoby Ellsbury picked up from last October, going 3-5 with a run, RBI and two stolen bases. Jonathan Papelbon gave up a hit but somehow still struck out the side needing only 13 pitches. I hope Brad Lidge was watching. {I hope Brad Lidge was sleeping. That game ended too late.}

Last year, in the AL Championship Series, everyone thought the Indians, up 3-1, would seal the deal because Sabathia and Fausto Carmona were lined up to finish us off.

This year, Sabathia was unstoppable for the Brewers, and many were writing off the Phillies in Game 2 because of him. Well, the clock struck midnight on his Cinderella season, and Victorino hit a grand slam to cap off a five-run 2nd inning marked by CC's wildness and a nine-pitch at bat by Brett Myers, who walked to keep the inning alive and make the Hawaiian Punch possible. Phillies 5, Brewers 2.

Myers, who later had a 10-pitch at-bat and singled in another inning, didn't take a back seat to Cole Hamels the night after the lefty became the unquestioned ace of the staff. Myers gave up two runs on three walks and two hits with four strikeouts over seven innings.

Lidge - maybe he was watching Papelbon? - rebounded from Wednesday's 35-pitch outing to post a clean 9th on 12 pitches.

Jayson Werth had two hits including a double to start the scoring in the 2nd; Pedro Feliz knocked him in with a double. Atop the order, Jimmy Rollins and Victorino went 5-9. It wasn't all good tonight, as the bats still aren't clicking, leaving 10 men on base. The heart of the order, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell, went 0-10 with seven strikeouts. They have to bust out sometime. Right?

Music: We've been getting a lot of queries about Jayson Werth's intro song. Being a hair metal aficionado, it's one I can answer: Sammy Hagar's Heavy Metal. Rock on.

[Photo credits: Associated Press]

A perfect ending to the regular season

Today was our last Sunday regularly scheduled home game of the year - Fan Appreciation Day at Citizens Bank Park.

It was a hybrid of Appreciation Days years ago when the Phillies were long eliminated and last year when it was a thrilling all-or-nothing gambit for the division.

With the Phillies minted as repeat division champs, they trotted out the likes of So Taguchi, Greg Golson and Les Walrond. Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard got pinch-hit at-bats, but other than that, the closest any regular got to the field was an opening greeting to the fans before the game to toast their title, thank the fans and pump them up for the playoffs.

Jimmy Rollins might have been a little too pumped up. He wants to win the division series, which begins Wednesday against the Brewers, and the World Series, but forgot all about the league championship series he needs to win in between. One game at a time, J-Roll.

Most of the drama came from watching the scoreboard to see whom the 2008 National League Eastern Champion Phillies would open against - the Dodgers if the Mets won the Wild Card or the Brewers if the Mets collapsed.

The Brewers trailed 1-0 for most of the game, but came away with a 3-1 win with a complete game from CC Sabathia - no word whether his arm has fallen off yet. The Mets, of course, did finish their collapse. I wish we could have seen the post-game festivities when they closed Shea Stadium today.

Despite a lineup that resembled an Independent League team, the Phillies game, an 8-3 win over the Nationals, did warrant the post-game fireworks that these guys worked so hard to set up - especially two home runs in the 8th to put the game away.

Kyle Kendrick started strong, retiring the first six, but was removed after giving up three runs in four innings. So Taguchi tried to make the playoff roster by going 3-5 with a triple and three RBIs. Pinch-hitting in the 6th, Ryan Howard poked a soft little grounder to the opposite field to beat the shift for a single. Walrond was the deserving winner - striking out four in two innings with two hits and no runs. But the player of the game, judging from the fact he was being interviewed in the dugout afterwards, was catcher Lou Marson, who made his big-league debut.

The 22-year-old went 2-4 with a two-run homer in the 8th. It took me a moment to figure out why fans were booing. (They're not booing, they're saying Boo-urns.) One day we'll tell the kids how we were at the big-league debut of the great Lou Marson. Unimpressive was Golson, 0-4 with three strikeouts and a run on a fielder's choice. He also looked a bit lost in center field, often taking a wrong first step on fly balls.

Observations from the stands: Van Halen's Standing on Top of the World has become the Phillies playoff celebration song - they played it after clinching last year, clinching this year and again today when the team took the field. ... The Central Bucks High School Chorus, directed by Joseph Ohrt, sang the anthem. ... Not only was Marson the star of the game, he resurrected Pat Burrell's old intro song, Holy Diver by Dio. We were psyched and so were the guys behind us. We wondered whether Pat the Bat was pranking the rook. ... A healthy dose of boos sounded whenever someone in a suite or a prime seat in the lower level won a prize. (The Phillies give out prizes throughout the game to random ticket holders.)

A sign in the stands endorsed Jamie Moyer for president with convincing arguments: He's smart, a proven leader, experienced and wins battles. ... Terry Pier, a Phillies hostess, sang God Bless America in the 7th. Then, for some reason, the park didn't go to Take Me Out to the Ballgame. Kudos to the fans in the 400 level who started singing it among themselves unprompted. ... Walking out of the stadium, the Phanatic shot a T-shirt right over my head - not close enough to touch, but close enough to get my heart pumping. ... We had a mostly dry game; although there was some lighting and thunder in the 9th inning, the rains held up until we were walking to the car. The heavy stuff didn't hit until we were under cover.


When we left the stadium, the Mets were in the 8th inning while CC was still finishing off the Cubs in the 9th. When we got in the car, the Brewers had won and the Mets, who just finished the bottom of the 8th, were trailing 4-2 thanks to a homer by former forgettable Phil Wes Helms, who is also a former Brewer. Judging by the picture above, the Mets knew they were done. Even the announcer said the Mets fans couldn't will themselves to believe there would be a miracle in Shea's final moments. The crowd sounded dead on the radio broadcast. Early in the day, I predicted one of the New York tabloids would use "Shea it ain't so" if the Mets lost. Both did.

We won't go too hard on our friends from Flushing today. They had to endure the loss of a season and their stadium and whatever pride they had left after last year. So we'll conclude the last day of the 2008 regular season with a photo of their proudest moment of 2008 - the celebration Saturday after Johan Santana saved their season. I wonder how his former team is doing.


Red Sox: They lost to the Yankees, who are going for the sweep tonight. I'm more bummed that I'm going to lose my last fantasy league to a welcher.

[Photo credits: Associated Press]

Jammin'

Besides their rediscovered winning attitude, the Boston Globe today noted another difference with the post-Manny Red Sox. They've gone country.

That, combined with an 8 p.m. start for the Sox and an off-day for the Phils, reminded me that I've been neglecting the Phillies yearbook answers. Next up: "Musical group or artist you'd like to jam with."

Surprisingly, only two Phils have similar tastes as the Red Sox: Kyle Kendrick (George Strait) and Cole Hamels (Keith Urban). I didn't think young Cole would go country. I thought Clay Condrey would, but he went with Bruce Springsteen. Also staying local was So Taguchi with Bon Jovi.

Only two bands got more than one mention: Black Label Society by Rudy Seanez and Brett Myers, who also listed Pantera, and Pearl Jam from Chris Snelling and Greg Dobbs.

Some other oddities: Geoff Jenkins admitted to liking Journey. Chase Utley listed Pussycat Dolls - maybe it's the animal thing. And Brad Lidge went with Breaking Benjamin and Rage Against the Machine, not his favorite band Drowning Pool. I can't believe he wouldn't pick them; he has hung out with them and uses "Soldiers" for his intro song, as a tribute to the troops.

Phanatic: The fuzzy mascot wants to jam with the Reading Phillies Mascot Band. I mention because I omitted his answers for the first two entries. His favorite gadget is the hot dog launcher (it doesn't make it up to our 400 level) and his biggest annoyance is other teams.

Not answering the music question were Tom Gordon, Jayson Werth, J.C. Romero and Pat Burrell, who is the only Phillie yet to answer a single question. Jimmy Rollins answered, but he shouldn't have: "I don't do jammin'," he said, apparently too cool for the team bus and too cool to jam.

Games: The Red Sox lost to the Royals 4-3, blowing a chance to gain a game on the Rays, who also lost. Jason Bay came up with the bases loaded in the 9th but could only muster an infield single. The Yankees are tied at the moment; Joba Chamberlain left the game with a shoulder injury.

The Phillies, Marlins and Mets were all off.

Congrats: In the off-season, I thought Jon Lester would be a solid major leaguer. I didn't think he'd be one of the best in the league and worthy of pitcher of the month.

Finally, a nice day at the park

An innings-eating start by Jamie Moyer, a clutch comeback by the offense and a shut-down performance by the bullpen. It was quite a win for the once-again first-place Phillies, 7-5 over the Marlins. (And, for the first time this year, we went to a game when it wasn't raining, freezing or both.)

The Phillies hung tough, even after the Marlins took a 5-1 lead in the 3rd. The turning point came in the 6th with the Phillies down 5-3. Geoff Jenkins pinch hit for So Taguchi with Pat Burrell on and two out. Moyer, who had thrown 81 pitches to that point, was on deck. I mused out loud whether Charlie Manuel would let him hit if Jenkins hit a homer. As soon as I said it, Jenkins crushed one to right. (Moyer struck out and then pitched a good 7th, making Cholly look like a genius, according to Christine.) The rest of the game seemed like a formality. It was just a matter of how they would win it.

Burrell answered that with a two-run double to the delight of this guy in our section who must be the biggest Pat the Bat fan out there. He always wears his jersey and starts a pronounced clap every time Don Henley starts playing Burrell's intro music. Although Burrell won the game, it wasn't all good for his fan. A kid about 12 years old dumped some chocolate ice cream on the back of the jersey. (You can see some of it near his left shoulder.) We're not sure if he felt it because he didn't seem to wipe it off.

In-game notes: Ryan Howard made not one but two great plays in the field. A diving catch of a bunt in the 7th. The inning before, he speared a liner and then doubled off the runner at first. ... Marlins CF Cody Ross had a nice catch off Pedro Feliz in the 3rd. We'll be watching Web gems tonight. ... Mike Jacobs' 2nd inning homer hit a billboard that says "great home run." ... Tom Gordon started out shaky in the 8th, walking the first batter and going two balls on the next, Hanley Ramirez. Jimmy Rollins went to the mound. It worked. Ramirez struck out and the next two flew out.

Pre-game festivities: Michael Scott Lieberthal, possibly the greatest Phillie to ever don the tools of ignorance, signed a one-day minor-league contract to retire in the red pinstripes. He threw out the first pitch, then caught a second first-pitch from some corporate sponsor.

Observations from the stands: J-Roll, who had been using the song from the Geico caveman in the airport commercial, has gone back to rap intro music. The Geico music ended just as quickly as it started; it was weird. ... I filled out 19 All-Star ballots. It got tedious, but I didn't want them to go to waste. ... Saw some odd jerseys today. We thought we'd see plenty of Lieberthals, but saw only one on the way out. We did spot a Curt Schilling from his Phillies day and a Daisuke Matsuzaka hat. But the kicker was a couple near us wearing home and away Doug Glanville jerseys.


We thought it was funny because we were at the game when New Jersey native Doug Glanville signed a one-day contract to retire as a Phil. He may have been the last player to do this before today.

Giveaways: Like Mother's Day, Father's Day was celebrated early at Citizens Bank Park. Although not a dad, I'm older than 15 and qualify for the giveaway: a picture of a hat. On a hat. Sometimes the Phillies marketing department is quite clever; sometimes they got nothing. Here's the hat on a hat, next to the pink visor Christine got on Mother's Day. (We forgot to post a picture of it last month.)


Red Sox: Another decent outing for Bartolo Colon and Manny Ramirez's 501st homer led the Sox past the Orioles, 9-4.

You ask, we try to answer

Since the Red Sox and Phillies are off to rest up before pushing the Florida teams out of first place, we're going to answer some of the questions we've received since starting this blog.

1) Is Jayson Werth married? Pat Burrell? Werth is married with two children, but he doesn't list their names in the Phillies media guide. Burrell is married to Michelle Fonseca with a bulldog named Elvis, who gave his owner a stiff neck this week. It's unconfirmed whether there's a second bulldog named Priscilla.

2) Who was the guy who painted a birthday portrait of the Phanatic this month? He's Dan Dunn, a Paint Jam Artist.

3) What does Daisuke Matsuzaka's Japanese stamp look like? Here's the Dice-K that sends mail (found at the Japanese site Garbage News):


4) When was the Phillies last no-hitter? Kevin Millwood, 1-0 against the Giants, April 27, 2003. The last current Phillie to be involved in a no-hitter is Brad Lidge, who combined with five Astros to blank the Yankees 8-0 on June 11, 2003. (We were vacationing in Hawaii at the time.)

5) What is the intro song for (fill in the name of just about any ballplayer)? This is the most recent list we could find, but some are dubious. Burrell used to rock to Dio's Holy Diver, but now comes out to Don Henley's Dirty Laundry.

Manny being Manny: While the Red Sox dropped a 1-0 game to the anemic Mariners last night to fall 1.5 games behind the Rays, Manny was glad he didn't hold up the team and media with a post-game press conference for his 500th homer.

The press conference would be too late and it would delay us getting into Baltimore.

Great, that's much more important than tying or taking a lead in a game against the worst team in baseball.

My team is sick

I'm not talking about racking up wins at a sickening pace (even though they are). Or that they had a rare loss tonight (which they did). No, they're practically puking on their cleats.

Captain Jason Varitek has missed several games with the flu (we've been playing with one catcher and Dustin Pedroia's the emergency backup). And tonight Daisuke Matsuzaka was too sick to pitch. Also hit with the flu bug were Manny Delcarmen and Bartolo Colon, who's not even on the team.

I can't remember a team getting sick like this. But they've still played well so they are going to be unbeatable once their sniffles go away.

The 9th inning of the Phillies game made Christine sick tonight. No excuse for stranding the potential tying run at third with only one out.

Holy Diver: After Pat Burrell homered to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead, his old intro music (Dio's Holy Diver) came on the TV radio station. We thought it was a good sign; it obviously wasn't.

They should have pitched to Howard, or at least to Werth

I used to love business-person specials because they gave me the chance to watch most of a game before going to work at night. But now that I'm a daytime cube dweller, I hate 'em. I want to enjoy the games on TV or in person, not through periodic updates on Yahoo.

But today's game ... that would have been brutal. It was wrenching enough checking the box score on the computer. I think I may have drove Greg crazy if we were watching it.

So many things to process: Jamie Moyer's awful first inning. Fourteen men left on base. Four errors. Pinch-running Adam Eaton. Only one player left (Tim Lahey) at the end of the game.

Neither Greg nor I can remember back-to-back intentional walks to load the bases, let alone back-to-back intentional walks twice in one game to the same batters. Greg said he doesn't recall it happening with David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, and they would be an obvious choice for this scenario. So that's either some crazy respect for Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, or the Nationals must think very poorly of Jayson Werth.

Luckily, Werth didn't even swing at a pitch in the 10th, and four balls later, Phils won, 8-7.

However, I have to question the events leading up to this situation - using Eaton as a pinch runner for Pat Burrell in the 7th. At this point, the Phillies were ahead 7-6. Howard was on third and Burrell was on second with no outs. So why run with Eaton? If there is any kind of base hit, Howard is going to score to make it 8-6. Even if there is a play at the plate and Burrell is thrown out, they're still up by two runs. I know the Phillies need to score as much as possible, but I think they needed Burrell's bat more in the 8th inning. Like many of Charlie Manuel's decisions, it just doesn't quite make sense, but it worked out in the end.

Thankfully, the Phillies avoided a third consecutive 0-3 start. 1-2 sounds so much better. On to Cincinnati and hopefully a .500 record by tomorrow night. Today's game, without a doubt, is the turning point of the season. I proclaim this probably about 50 times during a season.

Alternate uniforms: I've always liked that the Phillies had only two jerseys, home and away. None of this batting practice jersey stuff in games. I reluctantly accepted the interleague hats that were worn for only a handful of games a year. I'm still undecided on the new day uniforms. They look sharp, but I was afraid that if the Phils lost today, they might be cursed like the blue hats of 1994.

Intro music: Pat Burrell is to blame for our obsession with this one. Holy Diver? Really?? So disappointed when he switched songs last year. Anyone know if he's still using Don Henley?

Anyway, when I left work today, WXPN was playing a list of songs that are used by ballplayers for their introduction. I heard only one song - Sal Fasano comes out to Jimi Hendrix - but the station had a link to this list of songs. Some of these are accurate, at least for the Phillies, but I kind of doubt that Manny comes out to the Final Countdown by Europe.

[You have to doubt any list that still lists Keith Foulke, Brendan Donnelly and Eric Gagne as Sox.]

Why I'm not cut out to be a blogger: I can only wish that I would have come up with these recent gems.

From Chamomiles Davis on Deadspin: The girl who loved Tom Gordon just called and said she hates him now.

From D-Mac on Philadelphia WillDo: Bottom seventh, still. Adam Eaton just gave up 2 runs while standing on second.

Finally: Bigger ballpark danger, hawks or hot dogs?