Crikey

Last week, when we were in Disney World, we noticed these Mickey Mouse Crocs at all the souvenir stands but didn't see anyone wearing them.

Actually, we saw very few people wearing any variety of these ugly rubber shoes.

I couldn't decide whether that was because of the cool (for Florida) weather or because these stupid shoes are finally going out of style.

I'm still trying to figure out why they ever became trendy in the first place.

If they are out of style, no one has told Clay Buchholz.

Not a good look for young Clay. His new wife should do a better job of making sure he doesn't look so geeky.

But if he continues to develop this year into the front-line starter we have all been waiting for, then he can wear Crocs 24 hours a day - just not when he's pitching.

[Photo credits: surfanddirt.com (Mickey Mouse) and Gordon Edes' Twitter (Clay Buchholz)]

How long were we gone?

If you couldn't tell by the stale reports and not-so-subtle hints, Christine and I took off for a couple days to visit Mickey Mouse.

We needed a break from this cold and snowy winter, and although it wasn't as warm as we had hoped (and the Warm Valrhona Chocolate Cake wasn't on Narcoossee's menu for Christine's birthday), it was still a nice getaway.

It looks like we missed a lot of SoxandPhils stuff, but it also looks like it's mostly generic opening-of-camp fare. Except for all the buzz surrounding the new look on Jayson Werth that he's not talking about, according to Scott Lauber:

And while the right fielder declined to speak about his runaway beard -- "I'm not going to ask you to explain that thing on your neck," he said to a reporter with a pimple -- he discussed his contract situation, expressing a desire to remain with the Phillies but stopping short of saying he would forego a larger payday to play elsewhere.

Todd Zolecki, who may have a thing for beards, got a little more out of Grizzly Adams:

Q: You want to steal more bases. Speed is a big part of your game. Do you worry the hair piece is going to slow you down?
A: I'm not wearing a hair piece.

Q: No, the beard.
A: No, I'm not worried about it.

Q: Will you taper down for the season?
A: I'm not sure.

Q: It's attractive.
A: Thank you.

Werth's new look inspired me ... to shave off my winter beard this morning. Bring on spring.

[Photo credit: MLB.com]

No place like home

Greg and I just returned from a cruise to Mexico - great to be on vacation but tough for baseball fans like ourselves because the only sports updates we've seen over the past week have come from ESPN Deportes. [They seem to like Albert Pujols and Alfonso Soriano.] We're lucky if we can catch any baseball scores on the ticker in between all the soccer news.

So, we have no idea what's been happening in SoxandPhils world. I see from tonight's game that Shane Victorino was activated from the disabled list [Mike Lowell was too]. Other than that, I got nuthin'.

I do, however, have a quick book review. I saved The 33-Year-Old Rookie so I would have a breezy, fun read for vacation. I pretty much agree with all the other reviews. Nothing groundbreaking, a little bit cliched, but an interesting story and a good look at life in the minors and independent leagues. In some interviews, Greg and I think that Chris Coste can sound a bit too cocky, but this book makes it clear that he needed that extra confidence to make it through all of those years in low-level ball. The book is a quick read, and I recommend it.

Oh, one former Red Sox note: Before we left Philadelphia on Monday morning, I ducked into a newsstand and saw the headline blazing across the New York Daily News regarding Roger Clemens and Mindy McCready. I bought the paper and ran it back to Greg - can't wait to catch up on the details of that story.