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But, according to the Mets closer, it's something to take pride in.
"They don't boo you if you're not a good player," Wagner said of New York sports fans. "They boo the hell out of me. Sometimes I think I'm great, the way they get on my [butt]."
Utley caused a minor stir in Philadelphia when his response to the booing - "Boo? [Bleep] you" - was inadvertently picked up by a live ESPN microphone on Monday night. A clip of the remark was posted on the Internet within an hour, and, by the end of the Derby, a couple of entrepreneurial Phillies fans had emblazoned T-shirts with the phrase.
But it remains to be seen whether Utley will garner any reaction from the crowd at Shea Stadium, where the Phillies face the Mets in a three-game series starting Tuesday.
Ambivalent might be the best word to describe Utley's reception when he was introduced before the All-Star Game last night, as the crowd saved most of its cheers for its hometown Yankees and most of its bile for the hated Red Sox.
How will Mets fans give it to him?
"The same way he'd get it normally," Wagner said. "But it would be unfair to sit here and say that none of us has thought about [saying] that. All of us have thought about [saying] that at times. You come to the All-Star Game and you get that reaction? Uncle. Seriously. I had a guy behind me telling me I suck. How bad can I suck? I'm an All-Star."
Jimmy Rollins, who infamously labeled the Phillies the team to beat in the NL East before last season, has been Public Enemy No. 1 in New York.
Will Utley get the same treatment?
"Probably not as bad as Jimmy Rollins," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "Mets fans are passionate, just like Phillies fans. It's tough for us to go into Philly and win.
"Just like it's tough for them to come to New York and win. Both teams create a tremendous homefield advantage. You definitely know you're going to get booed when you go to Philly, and you like that."
While the Great American League Closer Debate - Jonathan Papelbon? Mariano Rivera? - raged on for a second day, National League manager Clint Hurdle made his decision quickly and informed Brad Lidge he would be in charge of pitching the ninth inning of last night's game at Yankee Stadium. Lidge was one of four closers selected to the team, joining Wagner, the Cubs' Kerry Wood (since withdrawn because of injury) and the Giants' Brian Wilson. Lidge is the only one among them who has yet to blow a save.
"It's an honor," Lidge said beforehand.
Brett Myers will make what likely will be his final minor league start on Friday when Triple A Lehigh Valley faces Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Myers, who is 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA in three minor league starts, is expected to rejoin the Phillies' rotation next week, at which point he will attempt to shake the struggles that plagued him throughout his first 17 starts of the season.
Lefthander J.A. Happ will start tomorrow for Lehigh Valley, meaning he should be set up to start on Tuesday against the Mets if the Phillies decide to give him another big-league start instead of righthander Adam Eaton, who has struggled in his last two starts.
The 1939 warmup jacket worn by Lou Gehrig the day he removed himself from the Yankees lineup and ended his then-record streak of 2,130 consecutive games played was sold by an Exton-based auction company for $373,730 yesterday.
The jacket, which has belonged to the family of Delco resident Dave Ennis for more than 60 years, was purchased by Gary Cypres, of Cypres Sports Museum in Louisiana. The auction was held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York as part of baseball's All-Star Fan Fest. *
Paul Hagen contributed to this story.
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.
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