Zo needs to know Mo'

Christine and I have always liked Todd Zolecki. He lives baseball, is sarcastic and knows his pop culture.

Well, that last part isn't so true anymore.

He started off tonight's blog post with such a strong theme, linking Pat Burrell's compliment of the Phillies - "To be the best you've got to beat the best" - to Charlie Manuel's reaction to the line with a Ric Flair reference.

Then, it went downhill:

Does this make the Giants the Iron Sheik?

Update: I'm told Flair and Sheik were in two different wrestling leagues. So I guess that makes the Giants "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes?

So I guess Zo isn't so good with the pop culture after all. {Zolecki's pop culture knowledge is just fine. Greg's the one who regularly doesn't know basic pop culture references.}

But that reminds me of my Iron Sheik story. I knew a guy in high school who did some low-grade professional wrestling. One night the Sheik was on his card, and afterward when we hooked up at our usual watering hole, we were told the Sheik had been there, ran up a huge tab and left, apparently thinking it was still 1983 and that he was World Champ and that wrestling was real.

Sorry for the tangent, it's been a long week.

We are getting greedy, but have to say goodbye

A week ago, I thought SoxandPhils fans were going to be disappointed with their All-Star representatives.

I was wrong. Both our teams have starters at second base and left field and the backup first baseman. Plus, the Red Sox have three pitchers on the staff. There have plenty of feel-good stories - Tim Wakefield and Raul Ibanez making their All-Star debuts at advanced ages and Ryan Howard getting to play in his hometown.

Since then, the SoxandPhils contingency has grown: Shane Victorino won the final spot vote, and today, Charlie Manuel put another one of his outfielders, Jayson Werth, on the team as Carlos Beltran's replacement.

I'm surprised. Werth is probably having a better year than Victorino, but I didn't think Cholly could get away with putting another Phillie on the roster. As Todd Zolecki reported, this will be the first time since 1995 the Phillies have sent five to the midsummer classic (Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, Tyler Green, Mickey Morandini and Heathcliff Slocumb). That's also the last time one team sent three outfielders (the Indians' Manny Ramirez, Kenny Lofton and Albert Belle). To quote Zolecki, and Larry Andersen, "Wow."

Before Werth was named to the team, I planned to get greedy for Tim Wakefield. The other day I heard Tim Kurkjian mention that it's possible Wake gets the nod to start the game. The Herald's Steve Buckley also endorsed him. Why not? Despite Bud Selig's protests, it still is a meaningless exhibition. Despite my indifference to wins, Wakefield does lead the league in them. It would be a fantastic story. And, hey, it's shaping up to be a SoxandPhils All-Star game anyway.

Chapter closed: Last night, when Paul Bako pinch hit and replaced the injured Carlos Ruiz, Christine said, "Where's Chris Coste? It's like he's not even on the team anymore."

Coste was still on the team last night. He's not tonight. He was released to make room for Ibanez. He's now an Astro.

Coincidentally, I finally started reading his book this week. He's been reminding me of one of my inspirations, wrestler Mick Foley. They both fought their way to the top, had to squeeze every ounce out of their semi-limited abilities and had to keep pushing down doors that were slammed in their face. Even better, they never lost their resolve:

"When I first got to the big leagues in 2006, I told myself, 'I just want to get one day in the big leagues,'" Coste said. "Once I got that day, I wanted a full year. Once I got that full year, I wanted 10 years. That's my approach. I want to stay in the big leagues and I'll do whatever I can to help the Astros win at this time."

The Phillies play the Astros eight times in the final weeks of the season. They better have the division in hand because I bet Chris Coste will do some damage against his former team - possibly knocking them out of the playoffs.

I'm a sucker for a good underdog story, and Chris Coste's was just about as good as it gets. I've rooted for him from the start and enjoyed watching him play. But it was clear that he had fallen out of favor with Cholly; I'm just glad management placed him on waivers instead of sending him to the minors so he gets to keep playing in the majors. Just don't play too well for eight games in September/October, please.

Tonight's games: Two words - pitching duels.

The Red Sox, with Jon Lester making his first start against the Royals since he no-hit them last year, and the Royals, with Brian Bannister matching him, were scoreless into the 8th inning. The Red Sox ended up winning 1-0.

Joe Blanton pitched into the 8th against the Pirates tonight, leaving with a 3-1 lead. Zack Duke pitched an eight-inning complete game. In the 9th, Brad Lidge came in with one out. Christine said, "He's got his ERA under 7.00." After Lidge got his first batter out, former Red Sox Brandon Moss crushed one.

Lidge's ERA took a hit, but he managed to get the final out, preserving the 3-2 win.

Spring training circus

Four years ago, the aftermath of the 2004 World Championship brought us Fever Pitch, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and a bevy of books from the likes of the acclaimed (Stephen King) to the barely literate (Johnny Damon).

This year, the Phillies are experiencing a little of the media crush that comes with a championship afterglow.

It's only a few days into spring training, and there have already been more guests in Clearwater than usual, highlighted by Big Sexy Kevin Nash. Um, yeah, I can't decide which is worse, this or Carson Kressley.

HBO is also in camp, doing its much-anticipated feature on Charlie Manuel.

The Phillies are talking a good game:

"Everyone's the same," Jimmy Rollins said. "Nobody's walking around with their chest out or a ballooned head. Everybody's still working. ... Like I said, we're still trying to win respect. We know we're winners and people know we have a good team, but we're fighting for respect as a champion."

"I'm actually proud of the guys, how they've come into camp," Chase Utley said. "It would be very easy to look back on last season and say, 'We're the world champions,' and sit on it. Brett looks like a new person. Ryan looks
extremely strong - and scary."

Fonzie quotes aside, I'm sure the 2005 Red Sox expressed similar sentiments, but we all know how that season went - followed by an even worse 2006.

I do think the way the Phillies have won the past two seasons that they will be able to block out these distractions. They may get off to their usual slow start, but I think they'll turn it on once they've given the Mets (aka the Coyote) false hope that this will be the year.

While things are tamer than the 2005 Red Sox, the 2009 Phillies camp is raucous compared with this year's Red Sox, who are playing with children, challenging each other to ping-pong games and playing golf to raise money for charity.

It's sort of nice that they are flying under the radar a bit this year. It's very nice that they're not wasting their time doing this:


[Photo credits: Slam Wrestling, Star-Ledger]

Coco goes bye-bye

It seems like Coco Crisp has been on the trading block for years, but somehow today's trade to the Kansas City Royals for Ramon Ramirez took everyone by surprise.

Coco came to Boston with high hopes, and although his defense was a valued component of the 2007 World Championship, his bat never produced as expected.

My first reaction to the deal was, "Who the hell is Ramon Ramirez?" I think I'm going to call him Razor Ramon, who apparently doesn't like jokes about the late Owen Hart.

Looking at the numbers, I'm quite pleased with the trade - pretty odd given the fact that I had never heard of the guy until this morning. He will be 27 next year and has had two real good years under his belt. He was probably the best reliever you never heard of in 2008, posting a 2.64 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 8.78 strikeouts per nine innings in 70 2/3 innings.

Those numbers will look really good in front of Jonathan Papelbon next year. "You can never have too many good relievers," I said. "I know, Greg," Christine replied. "Relief pitching is why the Phillies won the World Series."

Two things of concern with the new guy, according to the Boston Globe's research: Jose Mesa took him under his wing in Colorado. And, he may be a bit of a hothead who'll engage in bean ball wars.

Christine was more concerned about the latter. I dismissed it, figuring Papelbon will be a calming influence on him. Ha!

Time for an ace

Last fall, when the Red Sox were down 3-1 in Cleveland, Josh Beckett took them back to Boston. Tomorrow it's time for the ace to right the ship after two bad losses to the Blue Jays have left us at .500. Hopefully, he can pretend it's the playoffs.

I'm not happy, however, to learn that it wasn't just Beckett's back that was hurting him - it was his hip, too. There's been no overt concern that Beckett's injuries will be a problem, but I'm a worrier.

With Beckett's return comes Kyle Snyder's farewell. Oh well. Get that waiver claim ready, Pat Gillick. Maybe he can replace Adam Eaton. I know, he actually pitched well today. I'm aghast.

{Eaton started out shaky but definitely pitched well. Without a doubt one of his best outings as a Phillie. After all of our recent bashing, I would be most pleased if he proved us wrong this year. It's only one start, but let's hope he can keep the momentum going next week.}

Highlight of the day when both our teams lost? Broadcaster Chris Wheeler said of the Reds pitching coach: "I like that Dick Pole."

{How have we not mentioned Wheels yet on here? We share the same thoughts as everyone else on him. Greg says: He's the Alex Rodriguez of broadcasters but without the talent. I'm not quite sure what that means, but we don't like him.}

Chat: Todd Zolecki had a fan chat with Ryan Howard. Not very interesting, except for the first question:

Question: Given the choice, would you prefer to remain a Phillie for your entire career? - Mike C., Gary, Ind.

Answer: That's not up to me.

Truthful and probably prophetic. And should give ammo to those who believe the constant contract struggles will stay in the big guy's head.

Congrats: To WrestleCrap, probably the first blog-type Web site I ever read, on its 8th anniversary. Check it out, if you're interested in a recap of a 7-foot, 450-pounder in a thong.

Another roider!?!

I can't take it anymore.

Another day, another report of someone else taking the juice. This time there's an admission.

OK, it's not a real admission, and Booker T isn't the name of the day in the world of steriod scandal. The latest revelation is that Debbie Clemens did the juice to prepare for a bikini shot in the 2003 SI swimsuit edition.

This week we've seen bloody gauze, syringes, beer cans and now this. The worst part is we probably won't ever get a straight answer. Who can you really trust: the egomaniac who's been full of it for his 20-year career or the guy who saves other people's medical-type waste for years?

I also keep going back to an idea Bill Simmons proposed recently: What if Clemens started juicing when he was still a Red Sox?

With all the craziness swirling around this story, it seems more likely that Clemens' Boston finish was tainted by more than just being out-of-shape and unmotivated.

Here's my memory of his ending:

On Sept. 18, 1996, I was in my dorm room doing whatever a college sophomore does on a random weekday night, when across the ticker comes news that Roger Clemens is pitching a great game.

Being the ancient times when the Internet was still dawning, I waited for ESPN to interrupt its regularly scheduled programming to see if Clemens could match the 20 K game he had 10 years earlier. He did.

I took it as a sign that Clemens - who besides the strike-shortened 1994 hadn't had a good year since 1992 - was back and would have a respectable ending to his career. It was such a deep moment I popped my favorite mix tape in my Walkman (remember, ancient times of 1996) and headed for a courtyard where I could think alone.

Also fresh in my mind was one of my best in-park experiences a month earlier when Clemens shut out the Angels in what proved to be his last home shutout in Boston.

On Aug. 1, after a drubbing by the Royals, Clemens stood at 4-11 with a 4.36 ERA, 9.16 K/9 and a 1.42 WHIP, averaging 6.8 innings per start. In his last 10 Red Sox starts, he averaged 7.7 innings and went 6-2 with a 2.08 ERA, striking out 11.24 per 9 and a posting a 1.12 WHIP.

Was Aug. 1 the end of the Rocket and the start of the Roider? Could be, but thankfully, even if it were, it didn't affect championships.

Shane-O's a Mac

He can shag flies. He can create Hawaiian drama. He can drag a tarp over the Colorado infield during a monsoon.

But did you know he can sing and get a pop in the wrestling ring? Yup, the Phils' Shane Victorino delighted the locals at Monday Night Raw this week. (I've always thought he looks a little like the Rock.) Cover your ears and listen to it.