Home field settled - now, let's get there

It ended just before 2 a.m. with a 4-3 win for the AL, which means Christine and I will have to wait until at least Game 3 to go to the World Series when it comes to Philadelphia.

J.D. Drew (2-4 with a walk and big two-run home run) was the only standout from the SoxandPhils in the longest, most riveting All-Star game ever.

Both our closers gave up a run. Brad Lidge, who warmed up a bunch of times before finally entering the game in the 15th, obviously wasn't in an ideal situation and took the loss.

Jonathan Papelbon, who was booed relentlessly for earlier saying he'd like to close the game before acknowledging Yankees great Mariano Rivera should have the honor, gave up an unearned run. It looked like catcher Dioner Navarro was more rattled by the booing. He threw the ball away when Miguel Tejada stole second. If not for that errant throw, Tejada wouldn't have scored, Billy Wagner could have blown the game in the 8th and Rivera could have gotten the save in the 9th.

SoxandPhils hitters went a combined 3-12. Other than Drew, only Chase Utley (1-3) had a hit.

Now that the love fest for Yankee Stadium (home of the third-best team in the AL East) can subside for a few weeks, it's time to concentrate on getting our teams to the World Series.

Here's where they stand:

Red Sox: Their standing seems more tenuous than at this point last year, but the team is actually performing just as well. They're at 57-40, one game off the pace Pythagorean says they should be on, which is the same record (58-39) they had a year ago. They've scored three more runs and given up 10 fewer. The difference? The Rays. The Yankees are essentially where they were last year (six games back as opposed to seven). But the un-Devil Rays lurk a half-game out - a 19.5 game improvement from last year.

I expect both teams to give the Sox a scare at points in the second half, but given that the Sox have withstood so many injuries without losing pace, I think they have every shot to win the division and probably overtake the Angels for the top slot.

Phillies: Last year, we were kidding whether we would buy playoff tickets that would ultimately go unused. They were at .500 - six games behind the yet-to-collapse Mets and 5.5 behind the yet-to-collapse Padres for the Wild Card. They were barely outscoring their opponents 510 to 502. This year, despite the awful stretch they have been in since June, they have scored fewer runs (481) but slashed the number they have given up (403). Pythagorean says they should be at 56-40 instead of 52-44.

Despite their meager half-game edge over the Mets, the Phillies can and should play better in the second half. The Mets, incidentally, are at 51-44 - just where Pythagorean says they should be.

So Phillies and Red Sox fans can start thinking about the World Series beginning with Jimmy Rollins trying to tee one off the Green Monster against Josh Beckett. Hopefully those games are a little quicker than last night's.

[Photo credit: Associated Press]

We have some races

With the Red Sox entering play five games out, I'm thinking the unthinkable. It might be time to be - gasp! - rooting for the Yankees against the Rays this week. A solid 1-0 win over the Twins (7.1 scoreless innings by Daisuke Matsuzaka) crept us back to four out and extended our wild card lead to 2.5 games over Minnesota. I'll put off rooting for the Empire, but if the Rays don't start losing soon, I may be forced to root for evil next time.

The Phillies, meanwhile, dropped their third straight to the Mets, who are now just 2.5 games behind. A lousy start by Adam Eaton culminated in the Phillies being down 10-1 entering the bottom of the 6th. The ghosts of 2007 seemed to return as the Phillies scored in all of the remaining innings, including two in the 9th off Billy Wagner. But Jayson Werth, who had been perfect against B-Wags, flew out to end the game with the potential tying run on second base. Mets 10, Phillies 9.

Another busy day

Once again, it's off-field happenings that dominated the news today. With 24-hour news cycles, talk radio and instant reporting, there are few surprises in sports news because every conceivable - and some not so conceivable - scenario is already hashed over ad nauseam for days until something happens. Today's headline - Phils demote Myers to Triple A - qualifies as a shocker. I'm stunned, although I wonder if the Tigers set a precedent for struggling pitchers with Dontrelle Willis.

Before that move, I thought the Phillies' talk of the day would be this nugget from Jimmy Rollins - the catalyst of a team that has averaged 2.8 runs per game since June 16 and an MVP whose personal OPS has dropped more than 100 points over the past month:

We do need to get some pitching help, there's no doubt about that. If we could get some pitching help that would be great. Or if the pitching just pitched better. We have pitchers who because of our offense keep us in the games, but sometimes you want that shut-down pitcher. And Cole [Hamels] has been that. And Moyer has been that at times, also.

I've always said just keep us in the game, and for the most part they've done that. Especially now when we haven't been hitting the ball, and we've been in pretty much every game. Going down the stretch, pitching is key.

Yup, just pitch better guys. No reason to be losing when you've got 2.8 runs on your side.

At least J-Roll walked the walk a bit tonight, going 2-4 with a walk and a sacrifice, helping the Phils solidly beat the Braves, 8-3.

Red Sox: The good news is that the embarrassing off-field incidents seemed to have lulled today. The bad news is they dropped another one to the Rays and now trail by 2.5.

What a day

Thankfully the Phillies are off tonight because the Red Sox have given us more than enough to chew on. Consider the day's events: a threat against black and Latin players on the Rays and Sox; a Manny Ramirez altercation with the team's traveling secretary; and, oh yeah, the team was in Tampa to try to reclaim first place against their new rivals.

When Manny fought with Kevin Youkilis I initially, and incorrectly, blamed the petulant star. I don't think I'm wrongfully jumping to conclusions for blaming him for shoving to the ground the traveling secretary who couldn't accommodate a ticket request. Manny apologized, and Jack McCormick said there's no ill will. Another stupid distraction for a team when it's faced with a young, hungry challenger. And, oh yeah, if I were Manny I'd be real pissed that the team couldn't get 16 of my friends into Houston to watch me drop two of three against the Astros.

More serious: Someone threatened players on both teams. I thought we were past that.

On a lighter note of law enforcement, former GM Dan Duquette is in trouble with the Massachusetts Ethics Commission for selling 2004 World Series tickets to a local mayor at face value. Duquette wanted his minor league team to play ball at a park in the mayor's town. Both the Duke and the mayor deny wrongdoing. I appreciate this story on so many levels.

Finally, David Ortiz says he won't play in the All-Star game. Still no word on whom will take his spot in that stupid home run derby promotion that got Hank Steinbrenner in a tizzy.

That's it. No more news today. Oh yeah, Sox lose 5-4 to Rays. 1.5 games out. We'll get 'em tomorrow.

Ugly win for Phils; hideous loss for the Sox

"I'm tired of the Phillies being stuck in jams and sucking," Christine said before Brad Lidge struck out Josh Hamilton and Milton Bradley to end the game with the potential tying run on base.

And that quote summed up tonight's game - a rare win for the Phillies, 8-6 over the Rangers.

Cole Hamels didn't have his best stuff but labored for seven innings, giving up four runs. Fortunately, he was matched up against Vicente Padilla, who pitched like he did when he was a Phillie. And we may have a legitimate sighting of the offense - every starter except Pat Burrell had a hit. Chase Utley had three, including a homer, and Ryan Howard also hit one out. Jimmy Rollins tried to stretch a triple into a homer in the 6th, but ran through a stop sign and was thrown out at home. Wonder if he's due for another benching.

Funny moments in the broadcast: Chris Wheeler on Hamels' pitch count at the start of the 7th: "He's thrown 193 pitches." I think he forgot to clarify that it was actually only 93 pitches. Not even Dusty Baker would leave a young ace out there for 193 pitches. ... In the dugout, Brett Myers put on a catchers mask (hmm, with the way he's pitching, maybe not such a terrible idea). He then gave it to So Taguchi, who also put it on. We'd love to hear the conversation between those two.

Stinky Sox: Ugly, ugly, ugly game for what may be the second-place Red Sox. Jon Lester entered with 11 straight starts of three earned runs or less - the longest for a Sox starter since Pedro Martinez in 2002-03. Lester gave up six in five innings tonight in a wild back and forth 11-10 loss to the Astros.

The offense, paced by four hits each by Dustin Pedroia and Mike Lowell, more than did its job. Lester gets a pass - he's entitled to a bad start every couple of months. But the bullpen? Two runs, one earned, for David Aardsma in the 7th, and three for Manny Delcarmen in the 8th.

The Rays are tied with the Pirates in the 13th inning. If they win, the Red Sox are once again the hunters.

A night to miss

We had a party to attend this evening, so we missed the Red Sox playing the Cardinals on Fox. We didn't miss much. Daisuke Matsuzaka, returning from the DL, lost for the first time this year, 9-3. He didn't make it out of the 2nd, giving up seven runs in 1+ inning.

The lead over the Rays is now a half game, which is amazing because the Sox have been on a tear despite a rash of injuries. Today's loss snaps a streak in which the Sox have won six straight series - in the last four, they've lost the first game and then won the next two. Also making a move is the Yankees - just 4.5 games behind the Rays for the Wild Card.

The slumping Phillies (three wins in their last 11 games and four straight series losses) still lead the division by one game. Although the disastrous Mets, who I'm sure would love revenge for last year, lurk only four games out.

So in case you couldn't guess it already, the Phils lost again. Brett Myers wasn't awful, but why send a pitcher struggling with his psyche out in the 8th inning of a tie game? Did you expect different results?

After the 8th inning ended, I was hoping the Phillies would make a comeback in the 9th against Francisco Rodriguez, which would be a double treat for us. First, a Phillies win. Second, good news for my suddenly beleaguered fantasy team, which is playing a team with K-Rod on it. But So Taguichi blew it with an error in the top of the inning, and the Angels took a 6-2 lead. After the Phillies pretended to pose a threat against Jose Arredondo, K-Rod came in and ended the game on four pitches.

Cole Hamels goes tomorrow. We're confident they'll win, but the next four...