Last Place Phillies Host Last Place Red Sox In Inter-League Play

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Perhaps it's the fact that the Sixers are playing an important Game 4 playoff across the street against the Celtics, or perhaps it's the fact that the weather is so nice outside today that it's challenging to sit in front of a computer and pound out words, but I'm just not as amped for the Red Sox-Phillies inter-league series going down this weekend in South Philly as I have been in years past.

Or, more precisely, it's probably because the two powerhouses are both living as the cellar dwellers in their respective divisions.

These teams are living proof that money can't buy you love or an assurance of being a kick ass baseball team.

I can't speak for Boston fans, but I'm not overly fretting about our Phils residing in last place on May 18th. Five-straight wins helps the fan confidence level a whole lot, especially when a guy like Carlos Ruiz is swinging the bat so damn well. It's not like sitting four games back from the division leader in the middle of May is the end of the season either.

Cole Hamels (5-1, 2.28) tosses for the Phillies tonight and will face right-hander Daniel Bard (3-4, 4.30) for the BoSox.

I'll be across Pattison Avenue for the other Boston-Philly contest going on, so perhaps that has diminished my excitement for typically hyped Sox-Phils. One thing is for sure though, if you want to get into a wicked pissah of an argument with a Boston fan, Xfinity Live should be the place for that all weekend long.

Then, of course, there's the Papelbon angle which we wrote about yesterday. Looking forward to seeing a blood-thirsty killer this weekend.

If you're looking for more on inter-league play, Bob Brookover has a nice look at the Sox and Phils rivalry losing its luster a bit. And Jayson Stark writes about this being the final year of the current inter-league format. You're going to see a more "NFL-like" structure next year where every team in one division plays every team in another division with a few extra kinks thrown in. Lotta ins, lotta outs. Should be an interesting change. You know how people feel about change. They love it!

7:05 from the Bank. Should be a fantastic evening for a ball game if you're heading down to the yard. The bee-ah for the (game day tailgate) pahty is in the cah.

Today's Polanco-less Lineup:

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