After attending a couple of the Cubs-Phillies games at Wrigley in Chicago during the week, two friends and I headed up to Milwaukee for the Phillies-Brewers three-game stand over the weekend. Here are some random observations from Miller Park:

* Chase Utley was out shagging balls in the outfield and fielding balls at 2B during BP on Saturday... one-handed, of course.

* Kyle Lohse threw a bullpen session during pre-game on Sunday.

* Aaron Rowand's extra bacon-y catch on Sunday was payback for Cory "Sunglasses at Night" Hart's HR-robbing catch in RF on Saturday.

* Jose "Table" Mesa got a save! AMAZING! Also, he has really nice calves. Who knew?

* Shane Victorino was out throwing the ball around full-force during BP on Saturday- and didn't appear to be favoring his injured leg at all. He was also Cholly's dugout buddy during the game on Saturday, and stood next to him for most of the game.

* The "Free Tibet" people were also in Milwaukee on Saturday. It seems they invaded several ballparks around the country.

* Who knew that batting Pat Burrell in the 3-hole would be such a success? Pat looked great (for him) at the plate when I saw him in Wrigley, and continued his hot streak when we saw him in Miller.

* Wes Helms was booed every time he came up to bat Friday through Sunday. Loudly.

* If looks could kill, Jayson Werth would be awaiting his murder trial for the look he gave a Brewer fan sitting on top of the Phils' dugout who cussed him out on Saturday.

* Apparently, there are mini-sausages, too - because they joined the regular-sized versions for a Tag-Team Sausage Race on Sunday.

* My random assortment of Phillies bobbleheads I've received as gifts now have a Chris Capuano buddy bobble to hang with.

* Don't let their nice reputation fool you- the Brewers fans were nasty as any fans I've been around (or, let me say, certain of the Brewers fans were). The beer was great, the tailgating was kickass, and the Milwaukee nightlife was fun (Water Street was a blast)- but their fans in the stands were pretty danged rude. Don't actively (and loudly) cheer for RyHo to join Chase on the DL. Don't accuse me of stealing your bobblehead doll. Don't tell my friend that Philly schools don't teach math when it's YOU who doesn't know how many runs scored. Don't tell me to have a fun time on the way back to Philly when (a) I didn't talk to you the whole game, (b) I don't live in Philly, and (c) you're a bandwagon fan who didn't even know the name of your own starting pitcher. And most of all, don't laugh in my face in disbelief that a GIRL knows how to score a game- and then condescendingly ask if I know the difference between backwards and forward K's.

Baseball Boyfriend Of The Day honors have to go to Brandon Moss (a.k.a. "The Hot PawSox Outfield Prospect Not Named Jacoby Ellsbury") for jumping in on the spur of the moment to take LF for the Red Sox in his major league debut.

Yes, I confess- the tattoo, grin and forearms are hot.

Sure, he made a rookie fielding mistake on a throw in to 3rd (that should really have gone to 2nd). Sure, he struck out with 2 men on base in the 9th to end the game. But considering he just got called up to The Show, unexpectedly finding himself in the game after Eric Hinske left on bereavement leave and Manny Ramirez got tossed in the 4th (for arguing balls and strikes, natch) and was able to manage to draw a walk, and not make an actual E? I consider that a success.

Plus, who else was I gonna give it to? Curt Schilling?

You hit his teammate (even if said teammate is a punk and a crybaby and a cheater, but whatever), and he's going to pitch your team through six shut-out innings... and then peg your budding superstar in the back. Awesome.

"I just wanted to discuss something with him before I left."

Awesome-r. I love you, Rocket.

Josh Beckett is not shy about telling people how awesome he is. He never has been. Normally, that kind of arrogance would piss me off - but somehow, it makes me love him all the more.

Josh Beckett also is not shy about cussing up a storm. He is completely uncensored when he deals with the media, and we all know how I feel about that.

Thanks to Surviving Grady for unearthing Reason #473972 why I love Josh Beckett, in the form of a May 2004 article from the Broward Palm Beach New Times:

After pitching a gem at the age of 23 to win the World Series in Yankee Stadium, all Marlins' ace Josh Beckett seemed to talk about was his plan to kill deer the next day. He rarely smiled, his answers were gruff, and his demeanor said, "This is no big deal for a stud like me." And all we could think was, "What a spoiled little punk."

Maybe being a royal jackass is what he needs to make him great on the mound, but when he reaches the peak of the magical mountain of all of sport, could he at least show a touch of grace or gratitude? Nu-uh. And he's even more unbearable this year, as a March 21 interview session after a spring training game in Fort Myers showed. A reporter asked him about Fox Sports Network babe Leeann Tweeden, his new girlfriend. "Do I have to listen to the same fucking questions again?" he said to the reporter, a friend of ours. Then Beckett said, "I have a big dick." The jerk from Texas looked over at veteran outfielder Gerald Williams. "It's even bigger than Gerald Williams' dick."

That? Is hilarious. Stupid questions deserve stupid answers, I say. I also love how the author seems to hate Josh as much for the fact that he's from Texas and hunts deer as for the fact that he was rude. Actually, I'm not sure what's funnier: Josh telling some dorky small-time newspaper reporter how well endowed he is, or the fact that some dorky small-time newspaper reporter thought that ANYONE should be looking to A-Rod for lessons in classy behavior.

I didn't think it was possible for me to heart Josh Beckett any more than I already did. I was so very, very wrong.

A full week has passed since the trade deadline, and now that I've had a bit of distance, I can be fair and balanced in giving my thoughts on the transactions. Awww, hell- who am I kidding? I'm still biased as before... I just finally have a chance to sit down and sort through it. So let's play Upgrade/Downgrade: Trade Deadline Edition!

Kyle Lohse: UPGRADE I may have been more than a little wary about Kyle joining the rotation in Philly- and his first outing I witnessed last week at Wrigley didn't inspire much confidence. But he looked pretty good last night when I saw him at CBP-- and, really, our pitching can use any help it can get.

Kason Gabbard / Eric Gagne: DOWNGRADE As much as I love me some crazy-ass Gagne, I'm much more disappointed to see Kason leave. We already have the best set-up man in the business with Okey-Dokey, and considering Schill's last outing, it would have been nice to keep around a solid starter to close out the season.

	Jarrod Saltalamacchia: UPGRADE Finally, the two-way (1B/C) cutie is out of the hateful blue and red of the Braves and into the much less objectionable blue and red of the Rangers. And when he catches Kason? That's officially now must-watch TV. Next thing you know, I'll actually start to care about the Rangers- and that will be unacceptable.
	Rob Mackowiak: DOWNGRADE Why do all of the Chicago boys (of North and South side varieties) end up in San Diego? I don't like the Padres... but now that they have Maddux, Mikey B & Robby - plus Germano, Young and PeavyPeavyPeavy? I kind of sort of like them. Only a little bit. This is a horrific development, and I blame the Rob trade.
	Scott Proctor: UPGRADE Thank you, baseball gods- for moving my secret shame crush from the hated Yankee pinstripes into the classic Dodger blue. He's not enough to make me like the Dodgers, but now I can finally give into my crush without feeling dirty and evil.

Yeah, I said it. Getting drenched in a downpour while watching a ballgame is fun. All of y'all at Citizens Bank Park last night who couldn't hack it, and went up underneath the overhang... I laugh at you. That's right- I think you're all weenies. Just pull on a ballcap, get another beer and enjoy getting soaked and watching a bunch of grown men slip and slide around in the slick grass, run through puddles and mud, and try and keep a grip on a wet ball.

Bacon Pants cannot believe people can't stick it out through a little rain.

Seriously- kicking back with a beer, and getting soaking wet in a downpour- with rain dripping big ol' drops off the brim of my ballcap and onto my scorecard (which withstood 3 innings of rain before I officially declared it toast) - the stands emptying of all the lackluster fans, so that I was surrounded only by the craziest Phanatics... that was pretty much heaven.

(Until Brett "Bert Eyebrows" Myers blew the save- but that's another story...)

You know who you are. It is SO on, you don't even know how ON it is. It is so on it is OFF. You're already scared- and you should be. When my Red Sox crush your silly little White Sox (and they will- and I will be there to witness it), this is the fate that awaits you:

And just for that Jeter crack this morning, the bet is now officially FOUR days. Sorry, dude- you mess with the bull, you get the horns.

Hope you look good in Yankee blue. And A-Rod sends you smooches.

Minor freakout moment last night at Citizens Bank Park, when Chris Roberson came trotting out in the top of the 2nd inning to center field-- and my #1 Baseball Boyfriend Aaron Rowand was nowhere to be found (after he played in the 1st). That's the lone disadvantage of being at a game in the stands, instead of watching it on TV: you have no idea what's going on when guys leave the field. Despite frantic calls and texts from our seats in CF, we couldn't figure out the story.

Turns out, Bacon Pants had blurred vision in his right eye - a problem that had cropped up in BP, and caused him to swing and miss (wildly) at a Chuck James changeup pitch in the 1st.

This development is so very frightening, I don't want to think about it. Instead, I will post cute pictures I took of Bacon and uber hottie Jeff Francoeur last night. Maybe Francs and Bacon can help take my mind off the scary thought of losing yet another Phillie to the DL (and my favorite Phillie, at that).

The Cubs have put in a waiver claim for White Sox OF Scott Podsednik- he of the Texan drawl and beautiful body, you know, one of the only reasons I like the White Sox to begin with - and reports out of Chicago are that a potential deal is being worked on. Scott could be a great stop gap while Soriano is out on the DL- though I do love Matt Murton.

While it's far from certain that Scotty could be roaming the OF at Wrigley, just hearing the news of the possibility of that is enough to make me a happy girl for the rest of the day.*

* Note to Josh Beckett: you know what would make me an EXTRAORDINARILY happy girl? You getting win #15. Make it happen.