A pretty good decade

After painting the bathroom yesterday and an unpleasant appointment this morning, Christine and I are quietly taking in the end of the year and decade at home.

Besides scheming of ways to steal back the trophy from the Empire in 2010, we will look back on what may likely be the greatest decade ever for SoxandPhils fans. Our teams won 30 percent of the World Series this decade and lost a fourth.

Leaving the 1990s, our teams were underachievers that each faced their own problems. The Red Sox couldn't beat the Yankees and the Phillies couldn't get to the playoffs. Now, the Red Sox have a true rivalry with the Yankees that for a change includes the Red Sox with the upper hand in "biggest collapse ever." And the Phillies are now seen as prohibitive favorites to extend their three-year run of winning the NL East, if not their two consecutive NL pennants.

Neither of our teams is quite the Yankees: They don't buy a big name to fill every roster spot. Yes, they'll get a Roy Halladay, but they have to sacrifice a Cliff Lee to get him. Yes, they'll sign a John Lackey, but that means they won't retain a Jason Bay. Our teams have become well-run organizations that make smart decisions to perennially keep our teams among baseball's elite.

It's a transformation that occurred in the 2000s, but you get the feeling that it's set up to last throughout the 2010s.

Survivors: Instead of going position by position for the SoxandPhils team of the decade, I thought I would just give a special honor to the two players who most resemble the ideals of the SoxandPhils over the last decade: Jimmy Rollins and Tim Wakefield. A team full of those guys may not be the most dominant, but it would win more than it loses and it would never quit and ooze class.

Look back: Opening day lineups for the 2000 Red Sox and Phillies:

2000 Red Sox: Jose Offerman 2B, John Valentin 3B, Carl Everett CF, Nomar Garciaparra SS, Mike Stanley 1B, Troy O'Leary LF, Gary Gaetti DH, Jason Varitek C, Darren Lewis RF, Pedro Martinez P. (They beat Jamie Moyer and the Mariners.)

2000 Phillies: Doug Glanville CF, Ron Gant LF, Scott Rolen 3B, Mike Lieberthal C, Kevin Jordan 2B, Rico Brogna 1B, Kevin Sefcik RF, Desi Relaford SS, Andy Ashby P.

How do you think those lineups would fare against their counterparts of the latter part of the decade?

Happy New Year!

Random thoughts halfway through Christmas vacation

While I'm waiting for paint to dry (we decided at the last minute to paint the bathroom), I figured I would take the opportunity to catch up on some of the tidbits I've been meaning to mention during our week off. Besides, there are only so many times that I can write about some random program I've had lying around for decades or the fact that Jason Bay will be playing for the Siberia Mets.

--Eric Bruntlett, who went from a throw-in to the Brad Lidge trade, to a defensive specialist, to World Series hero, to author of an unassisted triple play, has signed a minor-league contract with the Washington Nationals. How does someone go from being the utility guy on the league's best team to hanging around with the Pete Orrs, Eddie Guardados and Jamie Burkes of the world just trying to make the roster of the league's worst team?

--Big jeers to Sports Illustrated. I know everyone tends to overrate the things we're most familiar with, but didn't Harry Kalas deserve more than one line when Sports Illustrated recapped the sports figures who died in 2009? At least Paul Hagen did him justice.

--A year or two ago, when I finished saving all my childhood sports memories from my parents' attic, Christine and I agreed to condense them all into a couple of plastic bins in the crawl space. Even though we have never had a drop of water in that area, we've been hesitant to store anything there.

This weekend, we learned that even our basement has its breaking point: two feet of snow washed away by a day's worth of pouring rain. It was a large puddle, but not a big deal. It touched one of the bins, but my extensive baseball card collection is safe. Christine is very relieved we didn't have to throw it out. {No, just disappointed. The water was so close and almost finished off the thousands of cards that Greg insists he must keep for no good reason.}

--Christine and I went to the art museum on Monday. We saw the Rocky statue from the car. We didn't run the steps because it was too cold.

--Speaking of which, it has been frickin' cold this week. Yesterday, the wind chill was 11 degrees. Today, I took down the Christmas lights, but wanted to come in after 15 minutes because my hands - even with gloves - were going numb. It's a perfect day to drive to Boston and watch an outdoor hockey game or football game or rock concert. Brrr. Somehow this story made me colder.

[Photo credit: MSNBC.com]

I pity the fool

I'm really not sad or bitter that Jason Bay will be a Met next year.

I just feel sorry for him.

Yes, I'm in no position to feel bad for a guy who will be getting $66 million, but I can't understand this one.

Bay toiled in the organizations of the Expos, Mets, Padres and Pirates before unexpectedly being traded to the Red Sox to replace Manny Ramirez in 2008.

He seemed to thrive in his first winning environment. You'd think he'd want to win more, but instead, he signed with the Mets, a team that I guess could be competitive by the time his four-year deal expires.

The sad part here - for Bay, not the Red Sox - is that he could have stayed for a reasonable deal, but the Red Sox weren't going to wait around forever and simply changed plans. I think John Lackey and Mike Cameron will be do more to help the Red Sox run differential than Bay will do for the Mets.

So, J-Bay, thanks for the last year and a half. You were a true gamer and professional. I wish you the best (despite that doing so will get a poke in the ribs from Christine), but I know you're on a team that has as much of a chance as winning as the one you were on before you were traded to the Red Sox.

Oh, and don't worry about your next trip to Philadelphia. I'm sure the fans in left field will give you a nice warm welcome.

My farewell to Mickey Mantle

It was a spur-of-the moment thing. Someone invited me to a Yankees game, and I went.

It was Aug. 13, 1995 - the day Mickey Mantle died. The Mick gave me one of my favorite baseball stories, so I put aside my partisan bias and paid my respects.

I don't remember much from the game, other than it was emotional. It was probably overdone in typical Yankee fashion, but I don't remember being too annoyed by it.

David Cone, who had been recently stolen from the Blue Jays, pitched a gem against a really good Indians team. He gave up a run on six hits and three walks with nine strikeouts in a complete game.

According to Wikipedia, they played Somewhere Over the Rainbow at the stadium because it was Mantle's favorite song.

Other Sox or Phils in the game: Kenny Lofton, Jim Thome, Manny Ramirez, Alan Embree, Wade Boggs and Jim Leyrtiz.

Another Yankee I once met, Pat Kelly, better known now as Casey Kelly's dad, also participated. Charlie Manuel was the Indians hitting coach.

I have no real reason why I'm writing about this now. The program (scorecard pictured above) was part of the latest batch of stuff I salvaged from my parents' attic and has been sitting in a pile waiting for me to write it up.

Least relevant retrospective you'll read this week

This week, which ends the first decade of the 21st century, there are all kinds of best-of lists, look-backs and assessments of what the last 10 years actually meant.

This post is similar in that it takes a look back, but it really has little connection with the '00s. It's a look at the 1996 Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. Why? Because their yearbook somehow made it into the latest batch of stuff I salvaged from my parents' attic. I don't know who gave me this book, but I thought it would be worth a write-up before I send it to the recycling bin.

As you can see from the pictures (replete with period hair styles), the big future stars were Mike Lieberthal and Scott Rolen. They were managed by former Red Sox Butch Hobson, until he was arrested on cocaine charges. Funny, there's no mention of his extracurricular activities in a yearbook story that paints him as an All-American winner.

Other notable players on the team included Ruben Amaro Jr., Mike Benjamin, Rob Butler, Bobby Estalella, J.R. Phillips, Kevin Sefcik, Bob Zupcic, Desi Relaford, Kevin Stocker and Gregg Jefferies.

Some of the pitchers included Mitch Williams, David West, Curt Schilling, Tommy Greene, Bobby Munoz and Mike Mimbs.

There wasn't a lot of talent on this team. Most of the notable players were veterans on rehab assignments.

The back page kind of proves how weak the Phillies system was back then - besides Rolen. Following Scott on the list of the organization's top 10 prospects were: Dave Coggin (a pitcher out of the Curt Schilling mold), Marlon Anderson, Reggie Taylor, Mike Grace, Estalella (The Phillies see their catcher of the future as Estalella, not former first-rounder Mike Lieberthal, who was eligible for this list but hasn't show (sic) enough with the bat to project as a big leaguer starter), Carlton Loewer, Wayne Gomes, Larry Wimberly and Wendell Magee.

Highlighted as a prospect on the Montreal Expos was SoxandPhil Ugueth Urbina. He was recently mentioned in a traditional decade retrospective with a slot on the "aught-not" team because of his legal troubles.

The Pawtucket Red Sox also had a page, which was highlighted by Clyde "Pork Chop" Pough, a slugging prospect who never panned out. He played for the Trenton Thunder when we were in college. I was convinced that with a name like Pork Chop he couldn't miss. Christine would have loved him.

Even in some random 13-year-old minor league program, you can find some SoxandPhils connections to reminisce about.

Christine got Chooch!

Last year, Ken Ryan found himself under the official SoxandPhils Christmas tree. This year, it was Carlos Ruiz's turn to be a gift.

Christine normally doesn't like Phillies garb specific to a certain player. But she has developed an affinity for Chooch, and I figured she would get a kick out of a Ruiz shirt.

Unfortunately, the only official Ruiz shirts for women come in red, and Christine doesn't wear red. So I did some searching and found some customizable Carlos Ruiz shirts.

Before discovering CafePress (yes, I was the last person on Earth to have heard of it), I came across a Phillies canvas chair while looking in a sporting goods store. I picked up one because we recently got a canvas chair as a prize from a charity walk. Christine had mentioned that it seems wrong to have just one chair, so now we have a pair: one that's bright orange and one that's Phillies. We won't stick out at all at the next parade.

I also got Christine a transistor radio (yup, they still sell them) so that next summer she won't have to choose between taking a walk in the neighborhood or watching the beginning of a Phillies game. We can stroll around the neighborhood while listening to the start of the game.

In my pile from Christine was The Bill James Handbook. It's been awhile since I've had a copy. So long, in fact, that Christine thinks the last one I had was used to try to settle our debates over who was better, Scott Rolen or Nomar Garciaparra, who both seemed destined for the Hall of Fame way back then.

At my parents' house, I got a Red Sox vs. Yankees checkers set. It's nice, but who is going to want to play as the Empire? Christine and I joked that we will buy Phillies vs. Mets so we can put together a SoxandPhils game.

I also got Boston Red Sox Yesterday & Today. It's rare for a new Red Sox book to come out without my knowledge, let alone one authored by one of my favorite columnists, Nick Cafardo. I was very surprised.

Actually, Christine got me a non-baseball book that I was also unaware of. It's not actually out yet, so Christine had to print out a picture of it to put under the tree. At first, I thought it was going to another baseball-reference sponsorship, just like Ken Ryan last year.

Hope you all had a nice holiday and that next year we all get our Christmas present in October: Sox vs. Phils.

It's probably too late but ...

Yesterday, I suggested Athlete Promotions as a last-minute gift idea for a sports fan and compiled a roster chock full of Phillies.

If you still need a gift, at this point it's probably either an IOU on someone such as Vince Coleman or whatever gift card is left at Wawa.

If you're going with the IOU, here's a roster of Red Sox available for booking:

C: Carlton Fisk
1B: Billy Buckner
2B: Bobby Doerr
3B: Wade Boggs
SS: Jerry Remy (There are no pure shortstops. He did play two innings at the position.)
LF: Carl Yastrzemski
CF: Fred Lynn
RF: Dwight Evans
DH: Jim Rice
Bench: Rickey Henderson, Johnny Damon, Don Baylor, Mo Vaughn, Tony Armas
SP: Curt Schilling, Dave Cone, Roger Clemens, Ferguson Jenkins, Frank Viola
RP: Billy Wagner, Dennis Eckersley, David Wells, Sparky Lyle, Tom Seaver
Manager/Coach: Terry Francona, Grady Little, Kevin Kennedy

Hopefully, you won't need this list and it will just provide a nice diversion as you unwind from another Christmas come and gone. I hope you had a good one and that our travels aren't too painful today.

From the staff at SoxandPhils.blogspot.com: Merry Christmas!