Most expensive cheesesteak and blog post ever

It's a cliche, but ...

Two tickets: $56

Parking: $20

Toll: $5

Pre-game cheesesteak: $9.50

Two tickets for Sept. 15 for which we've already spent about $100: worthless

Holding tickets to Sunday's game, we dreaded the worst of the impending hurricane. We were relieved when the Phillies announced a proactive double-header for Saturday.

We knew we would get wet, but we figured they would be able to get the game in. And, we would have a good story about watching a game during a hurricane when in reality the weather could not compare with Game 5 (part 1) of the 2008 World Series.

The Phillies and Marlins would have been able to play today, especially if they had bumped the start time up from 1 p.m., but no. We stood around in the rain for nothing. And, to top it off, they announced the makeup game will be on a weekday afternoon. Thanks, Phils. That means another pair of our tickets will go to waste, and we spent $100 to eat a cold cheesesteak with half-melted provolone to fetch a story for the blog.

Fish'n'Phils: While waiting out the rain in the concourse, an old-school teal Marlins hat caught my eye. It was even better than I first thought. The dude was wearing a Dontrelle Willis jersey, and his mate was wearing a Phillies Jayson Werth jersey. Classic.

I may be forgetting other scenes from the ballpark, but I didn't have anything to take notes on. I did see a great jersey of a current Phil: bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer.

Oh, and Christine spotted a guy wearing a Dodgers hat with a Derrek Lee Orioles T-shirt. That was an odd one.

So, now we're back home taking advantage of Trent's afternoon nap to post this and clean the house while waiting for Hurricane Irene to blow over.

Stay safe and dry.

Yankees = wusses

Instead of just adding "Look back at 2008" at the bottom of today's post, I'm going to lead off with it.

A year ago tonight, Christine and I were scrambling to prepare the house for a small party the next day while getting ready to watch the Phillies first home World Series game in 15 years. I remember the night vividly because there was torrential rain as I went to the store to pick up some last-minute items.

It was kind of reminiscent of last night's rain, except last October was much colder than yesterday's humid 60+ degrees.

The Phillies and Rays waited out the rain and then played a truly memorable game. Jamie Moyer gutted out 6 1/3 innings. We later found out that he had a sleepless night with stomach ailments. The Phillies won in the wee hours of the morning in the bottom of the 9th when Carlos Ruiz hit a ball to third slow enough to score Eric Bruntlett. The Phillies showed championship grit with the weather and the Rays, and pretty much set themselves up for the series win.

The Yankees found themselves in a similar position before last night's scheduled Game 6 of the ALCS. Did they wait out the heavy rain and then play in what were better conditions than what the Phillies and Rays (and Philly fans) suffered through last year? Nope, the game was called off hours before it started.

At home, I couldn't believe it when I hard a host on the MLB Network say "awesome" when they showed a clip of Andy Pettitte having a catch in the drizzle.

If he wants to see a truly "awesome" pitching performance in the rain, he should skip ahead to Thursday's look back at 2008 to review our recap of the first half of Game 5 of the World Series.

I still can't believe we sat through that crap. Christine can't believe that no one understands how bad it was. The Yankees and their fans certainly never will.

I hope New York wins tonight ... against the Arizona Cardinals.

Go Angels!

Apple Pie, Mom and a Patriots' Day blowout

I like Patriots' Day. It's not like I get to see the game or anything, but there's just something appealing about checking the score on my lunch break and seeing the Red Sox are halfway to a win.

Today must have been cathartic for the Sox, who have now won five straight after stumbling a bit out of the gate. Justin Masterson, making his first start of the season, pitched into the 6th inning on 84 pitches - one earned, four hits, two walks and three strikeouts.

And the bats gave him plenty of support in the 12-1 win over the Orioles. Half the lineup had a multi-hit game, and every starter except Rocco Baldelli (who left with an injury) and Nick Green had a hit. Several Sox had big games: slumping David Ortiz (2-4 with a stand-up triple!), Jason Varitek (2-5 with a home run), and Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia set the table, going 7-13 with six runs. And there was even a little cherry on top: Hunter Jones, who took Daisuke Matsuzaka's spot on the roster, made his major league debut with an efficient 9th inning, allowing only one man to reach base via error.

Injuries: It wasn't all good news today. As I mentioned, Baldelli left the game with a mild hamstring sprain. Doesn't sound bad, but they're talking about the DL. And I've neglected to mention that we've been without our shortstop for more than a week, and now it's looking like Jed Lowrie is heading for surgery, but may be back midseason. I'm doubtful on that one.

The Phillies and Padres were rained out, and now it's really coming down here. Our movie was also postponed, but because of a scheduling mistake; we'll be attending tomorrow instead.

Opening Duds

This morning I checked into work, eagerly expecting Red Sox opening day.

My Red Sox Christmas tree lights draped my cubicle. I had my sharp blue Red Sox tie contrasting my bright red shirt. I was thinking of reasons why I needed to see my boss (he's a Red Sox fan with the only TV in the office).

But spirits, already a bit low because of the Phillies lackluster loss the night before, were dampened when I saw the Red Sox were rained out. Not a big deal, I guess, except for the fact I'll be in less of a position to monitor the score tomorrow.

Funny, reading Boston's weather prediction this morning reminded me of the type of weather predicted for a certain World Series game we recently attended:

"We're looking at heavy rain headed our way as we head toward the evening hours," (meteorologist Sarah) Wroblewski said during her Sunday morning weather report. "We are expecting to see lots of rain. So Opening Day forecast? It doesn't look too great. Unfortunately, rain will be nearby by the midday hours. It may be light to start but it's going to come down. And once it does in the afternoon, it will be raining pretty hard and it will also be very windy."

At least Bud Selig didn't make the fans sit through that.

So two days into the schedule, the Red Sox are 0-0 and the Phillies are 0-1, trailing three teams in the NL East. In Philadelphia, fans couldn't last one inning, let alone the five-year grace period after a championship, before letting out the boos:

"My goodness," Jimmy Rollins said last night. "I am so heartbroken that we lost a game."

Christine and I wondered how she would handle her champions' first game - would she grumble as usual or watch with a new calmness that a title brings? She was grumbling as soon as Brian McCann crushed the first home run off Brett Myers. In the post-game, Mitch Williams said the Phillies are proud of their 2008 accomplishment and are enjoying the pomp of Opening Day and Wednesday's ring ceremony, but are probably looking forward to settling in and just playing ball.

Similarly, Christine is looking forward to watching the ceremonies, but probably more eager for what the next 161 games bring as her Phillies knock the Mets out of first place for the third year in a row.

[Photo credit: Boston Globe]

Washout

On a day when just about every other game was rained out, the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 7-0 - and it was on ESPN because the scheduled game, Rays vs. some irrelevant New York team, was postponed.

Good game for Tim Wakefield - eight innings, three hits and four strikeouts. Those of us who follow the Soxand/orPhils should really appreciate getting to root for Wakefield and Jamie Moyer.

Kevin Cash's three-run homer in the 8th put it away, backing up big nights for Mike Lowell, Jed Lowrie and David Ortiz. We're now two games behind the Rays, and we'll be pulling hard for the Yankees to sweep them in a doubleheader. The Sox and Jays also have a twin bill, so it's possible for the race to be in a dead heat tomorrow night.

Phillies: They were rained out and will play a doubleheader Sunday. That means we'll see Joe Blanton on Sunday afternoon instead of Brett Myers on three days rest. After Sunday, we will have been to 15 Phillies games this year with one to go (unless they make the playoffs) and still have not seen young Brett live.

SoxandPhils mojo: Today's the day they tossed the coin to determine home field in case teams are tied for a playoff slot:

The big winners of the 12-flip event were the Phillies, who would host any of four possible playoff games, and the Red Sox, who would be in their Fenway Park bunker for both American League East and AL Wild Card deciders.

Personal note: The blogosphere lost a good one with the semi-retirement of one our favorites, Change is Good, which has been a model for us. We'll miss reading ya, Brian.

No more angry puppy

Because it isn't directly related to the Red Sox or Phillies, I wasn't going to mention the divorce of Mike and the Mad Dog. But the Red Sox are rained out, the Phillies are playing out West again, and I'm still bummed that my favorite radio show is no more.

When I first heard the rumors, I believed Chris Russo when he said it meant nothing that he wasn't talking to the vacationing Mike Francesa. I thought no big deal, it'll be another summer when they're barely on at the same time. I thought they would be back together by September, just in time to add another level of enjoyment to the impending Yankees and Mets collapses.

This morning, however, when I flipped on WFAN, I was jolted by callers blaming the station for getting rid of the Mad Dog. An institution for most of my life was gone.

I like Francesa. He's one of the few Yankee fans I can tolerate. I used to think he was the voice of reason, but recently I've grown more fond of Russo. His angry puppy shtick has toned down, and if you get past it, he usually makes a lot of sense. Plus, you have to love someone who started the Crack Committee to make sure the Empire was vanquished on a pro-Yankee station (this was back when the Yankees won championships).

I'll miss Fatso and Fruit Loops. I even already miss their cheesy jingle. Listening to Francesa on the way home mid-show, I kept hoping they would play it. Thankfully, we have You Tube if you want to hear them "going at it as hard as they can."



Games: The Rays, Twins and White Sox are winning. The Mets remain in first place with a win over the Pirates. The second-place Phillies are scoreless in the 4th inning in San Diego as two elder statesmen, Jamie Moyer and Greg Maddux, match wits.