The Phillies were not waiting for anything against Josh Beckett yesterday, certainly not me. By the time I tuned in, in the car on the way to the driving range after listening to Harry Shearer's "Le Show", the Phils were ahead 5-0. Bobby Abreu, who we'll discuss later, hit a three-run shot before Beckett had retired a batter, and super subs Tomas Perez and Todd Pratt added RBI singles. The Marlins made a game of it while I was warming up with my second-hand "Senior" Calloway driver (if the driver fits...) at the Ed "Porky" Oliver Golf Course. Now, if a guy raises to the level of having a golf course named after him, wouldn't his family insist that the "Porky" part be left off? This once again illustrates that Delaware is a southern state, or at least something "other" than Pennsylvania or New Jersey. Oh yeah, baseball. The Fish drew to within 5-3 in the third on an Alex Gonzalez homer (he now has one more than Bobby again) and a Carlos Delgado sac fly of the D Train, who had gone into pinch hit for Beckett and singled.
Two was as close as Florida would get today, though. Lidle was fairly sharp, not overpowering but generally in command, with no walks and 5 K's. Ryan Madson bailed him out of a sixth inning jam and pitched a prefect seventh before giving way to the rapidly declining Tim Worrell. Those two may be flip-flopping roles very soon, or at least should be. Worrell only managed to get one out while leaving the tying runs on for Daddy Wags, who was once again forced to try for a save of more than three outs due to Timmy's ineffectiveness. Not to worry, at least not yet. Wags arrived to the usual strains of "Enter Sandman", and immediately induced Mike Lowell to bounce into an inning-ending DP. Billy mowed 'em down 1-2-3 in the ninth for an 8-6 final and his sixth save, and has yet to allow an earned run. We'd be in deep shit without him, to put it bluntly.
Meanwhile, this morning, I read a possible explanation for Bobby's horrid (only 1 HR) April: his former Miss Universe fiance was caught fooling around with some guy on a Venezuelan reality TV show. He's managed to avoid the press in Philly, where the fans couldn't find Venezuela on a map if you spotted them the continent, but he's expecting a crush of media when the Phils head to New York today. Apparently, it's huge news in Latin America, where Abreu is something of a superstar. He should be a superstar here, but he has doggedly refused to improve his English, and his easy-going style translates to lackadaisicalness with the overheated knuckleheads who have WIP on speed dial. Bobby is a great, great player, and I hope he manages to put this behind him. Plus, I need him to get hot for my Strat team next year.
Two aces go tonight at Shea: Lieber vs. Pedro. The weather looks good for golf, too. Not bad for a Monday.
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