Fasano designated for assignment

It seems as if Chris Coste has finally earned a spot in the Major Leagues for the rest of the season. At least that’s the way it appears after the Phillies announced that catcher Sal Fasano had been designated for assignment prior to Saturday’s game against the Atlanta Braves at the Bank.

Though popular with a certain segment of the fan base and the media, Fasano’s batting average was .243 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 50 games. Though his strong arm was an asset when runners reached base, Fasano didn’t seem to be the answer for the Phillies when starting catcher Mike Lieberthal had an extended stay on the disabled list.

The Phillies now have 10 days to dispose of Fasano's contract. If he is not claimed by another team or traded during that period, Fasano can be sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or opt to become a free agent.

"I'm not very pleased with it, but it's a part of the game that you don't understand and you don't know if you'll ever understand," Fasano said. "Me coming off the DL really forced their hand. They basically said they needed to make a move, and they can't justify getting rid of anybody else, which I can understand. Catching-wise, you keep the guys that you had, but I was under the impression that we were going to keep three catchers."

Said assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr.: "We decided to stay with (Mike) Lieberthal and Coste as our catchers. We felt like they were doing a very good job in that role. Unfortunately for Sal, while he worked hard and was very professional for us, he got caught up in a numbers game. He did a pretty good job, but there are certain difficult decisions you have to make when these types of situations occur."

Coste, on the other hand, has performed pretty well for the Phillies since his call up from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. With a pair of homers and 12 RBIs to go with his .333 batting average in 20 games, the 33-year-old rookie has turned himself into a viable backup catcher. Plus, Coste can play both corner infield positions and probably the outfield if he can dig up the correct glove.

Nevertheless, Coste looks at the decision as yet another motivator in his quest to become a big-league mainstay. That’s especially the case with Fasano having spent parts of eight seasons in the Majors.

“Seeing a situation like that is motivation to work harder,” Coste said.

That’s definitely the case since Fasano was set to be activated from the disabled list on Saturday after spending time in the minors on a rehab assignment. Coste figured there was a good chance that he was going to be cast aside when Fasano was eligible to return despite his superior offensive numbers.

For instance, Coste has as many RBIs this month in limited action as cleanup hitter Pat Burrell. Both players have driven in 10 runs.

Still, Coste believed that he was a good option for the Phillies and manager Charlie Manuel because he can play other positions as well as catcher. Even though he started his big-league career on a 0-for-13 skid, Coste knew he gave Manuel some options.

“I wasn’t nervous [about being sent down to the minors] because I was still a third catcher and I gave them some flexibility,” Coste reasoned. “Even though I wasn’t producing I knew that I was providing flexibility just by sitting on the bench.”

But now that he is producing by going 18-for-41 (.439) after that initial 0-for-13, including a pair of homers in his last two games, Coste knows that the big-league experience on his resume will help him when he attempts to make a club next spring training. Even after a strong spring like he had by hitting .463 for the Phillies in March.

“I could have hit .700 in spring training, but it’s still just spring training,” Coste said. “Now I have some experience as a backup. That should help me.”

Or at least get him out of having to play winter ball this year.

Since you've been gone

I spent most of today playing catch up with what has been happening with the Phillies as well as on the East Coast and this is what I learned:

Humidity is an awful, awful thing. Yes, we were lucky enough to miss the horrible heat that tour through the area last week, but going from highs of 17 percent humidity -- with temperatures never going higher than 85 --to this is very difficult. It just makes everything feel so heavy and malodorous.Moreover, when people say it is much more difficult training for a marathon in humidity than at altitude, they are correct. Sure, today's 14-miler was performed nearly 2-minutes per mile faster than what I was able to do in Colorado where we were between 7,500 to 8,200 feet, but I felt like I was walking in a furnace here. Worse, now I'm paying for it with a case of heat cramps.

Fun.

You know how they say people on the East are in more of a hurry, aren't as friendly, and suffer fools less? It's true. Next to the humidity, the biggest difference I notice when I return to our coast is the vibe emanating from the people like the heat off the macadam. Sadly to say, I kind of enjoy the rush and rudeness.

No one is sure whether or not the Phillies are "buyers" or "sellers," using the popular parlance of the times. Needless to say, the results from this weekend's four-game series against the Braves should clear that up nicely for GM Pat Gillick and his minions.Along those lines, whether the Phils are adding or subtracting, Bobby Abreu and/or Pat Burrell appear likely to finish the season with another team. That's more so the case with Abreu than Burrell based on what the ballscribes are writing these days.

Like rumors and innuendo? Here's some fun stuff from ESPN's Rumor Central:

Shea Hillenbrand ESPN.com and Scouts Inc.'s Keith Law reports that the Angels have no interest in acquiring Hillenbrand, who was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Wednesday.

ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reports the Giants, however, are interested in Hillenbrand. The Toronto Sun, meanwhile, reports several other teams are in the mix to get Hillenbrand. Included in the list are the Brewers, Twins, Phillies, Dodgers and Padres.

"We're confident that we will be able to move him," Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi said in a report in the Sun. "We'll play it all out and try to get the best deal we can."

Bobby Abreu While the Mets are interested in acquiring Bobby Abreu, the New York Post reports outfield prospect Lastings Milledge will not be moved as part of any trade for the Phillies' right fielder.

The paper reports that people close to Mets GM Omar Minaya say the only player Milledge would be traded for right now is Marlins left-hander Dontrelle Willis, but he isn't currently available.

The Detroit News reports that the Tigers are no longer looking to acquire Abreu, and instead are keying in on making a trade for Alfonso Soriano.

Any teams interested in Abreu, meanwhile, must be prepared to pay a hefty price, reports ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick. Not only is Abreu owed $15 million in 2007, but he also has a complete no-trade clause. So any new team would likely need to pay for 2007, pay his $16M salary for 2008 and give him a contract extension in order for Abreu to waive his no-trade clause.

ESPN.com's Jayson Stark reports that the Phillies are also looking for an impact player and another player in exchange for Abreu.

Rodrigo Lopez The Orioles have discussed trading Lopez to the Phillies for one of their outfielders, either Bobby Abreu or Pat Burrell, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Sources told the Sun that the Phillies would be willing to take Lopez and a mid-level prospect if the O's would pay a large portion of the contract for Burrell or Abreu. One official, though, called the deal "unlikely."

Meanwhile, the Orioles are talking to other teams about Lopez, including Arizona, St. Louis, San Diego, Texas and the Yankees.

Buster Olney wrote that the future of the Phillies is contingent upon how Gillick's decisions of the next 10 days. Olney wrote:

Does Gillick, along with other Phillies executives, believe Abreu is worth one-sixth of the team's payroll?

Maybe they'll determine that Abreu, with his gaudy on-base percentage and his speed, is worth the cash. Or maybe they'll determine they'll be better off making sure they dump his contract now and ensure they can spend money currently allocated for Abreu on other players.

Whatever happens, the next 10 days should be pretty interesting.

He's from where?

At Foolish Craig’s, a restaurant and juice/coffee bar on the fashionable Pearl St. in Boulder, Colo., diners and imbibers halted their conversations mid sentence in order to catch the latest action from the Tour de France flickering from the TV hoisted above their heads. When American Floyd Landis was presented with the Yellow Jersey, signifying that he is the leader of the great race, there was an audible, “YESSSS!” to go along with a few happy fist pumps.

Actually, Foolish Craig’s is no different than any other establishment in Boulder. Instead of the Rockies-Reds matinee burning up the airwaves, it’s the bike race from France that has everyone’s attention during a busy lunchtime. If there were sports talk radio just for the hip and trendy folks in Boulder, all of the chatter would be about Landis, the latest on the summertime European running circuit, and the Denver Broncos.

Colorado still shuts down when the Broncos play and it’s still impossible to get a ticket for a game. Lets not kid ourselves and think that endurance sports have surpassed the NFL just yet.

Nevertheless, Boulder is crazy for Landis. So too is the establishment – the New York Times recently published a six-page feature detailing the 30-year-old cyclist’s plans for surgery to replace his broken hip following this month’s Tour de France. Imagine that – a guy is at the top of the Tour de France (the Tour de France!), riding all of those miles day after day with a broken hip. No wonder cycling crazy Boulder and the pages of the New York Times have dedicated some prime space for the guy.

Yet meanwhile, in Landis’ hometown of Lancaster, Pa. where he grew up and graduated from Conestoga Valley High in 1994 …

Crickets.

And in the Philadelphia area, where the budding superstar pedaled thousands of miles along the Schuylkill, through Valley Forge and the environs cranking out another routine century …

Ho-hum. Have two-a-days started at Lehigh yet?

This is where it gets tricky. Take away the altitude and the 300 sunny days a year and there really isn’t that much different from Boulder and Lancaster/Philadelphia areas. In fact, some in the know have suggested that the roads and trails in bucolic and wide open Lancaster County are better than the mountain cycling routes in Boulder County.

According to a story in USA Today, Philadelphia was rated as one of the best places for bike riding, though the ratings seem to have ignored smaller metropolitan areas like Lancaster and Boulder. Nevertheless, here’s what appeared in the Sept. 23, 2003 edition of the national paper:

Home to the USA's most prominent cycling race, the Pro Cycling Tour's Wachovia U.S. Pro Championship, which is run the first week of June. Need a personal challenge? "Try an out-and-back ride on the Schuylkill River Trail to Valley Forge starting at the Philadelphia Arts Institute and climbing the steep and infamous Manayunk Wall."

At the same time, stories have appeared in The New York Times and Kiplinger’s with throwaway sentences in which Lancaster is called “one of the best places in America for cycling” as if this was a given and common knowledge.

You know, bike riding in Lancaster. Of course.

Still, it’s hard to believe our region is rated so highly, especially when one considers what goes on outside of the actual athletics in both places. Though Boulder and the area surrounding Philadelphia are approximately the same size (for now… Boulder’s growth is ridiculous), running and riding are a way of life in the Colorado college town and participatory sports is serious business there. A common conversation heard in Boulder goes something like this:

“Well, I work for (Insert tech company here) by day, but really I’m getting ready to move from trail running to the triathlon.”

With 60 Olympians living in Boulder County, it’s easy to understand why playing instead of watching sports is a big deal. It’s also easy to see why the communities for sports like running and bicycling have transformed the area.

Perhaps Boulder is best summed up by Marc Peruzzi in the August issue of Outside magazine: “The Dunkin’ Donuts went out of business, but the oxygen bar next door to the gay-and-lesbian bookstore seems to be doing well.

“In most American towns, outdoor-sports aficionados are part of an elite counterculture minority. Mountain bikers and climbers have cachet. Not so in Boulder. Recreating outdoors in the norm here, and it’s in your face.”

Maybe it’s starting to get that way in our area, too. Yoga studios are springing up and are a much more mainstream style of exercise and cross-training than ever before. Actually, in my neighborhood in Lancaster, the question isn’t where you take your yoga class; it’s which discipline you practice.

Along with this come the restaurants with healthier foods, the supermarkets that cater to that set, as well as the chiropractors and physical therapists. Bottom line wise it all means higher property values and a better quality of life.

But there are still battles to be waged. Despite the 300 sunny days a year, it still snows quite a bit in Colorado. However, the first thing that gets plowed as soon as the trucks get rolling is the biking and running trails. Meanwhile, we still haven’t learned how to share the roads here.

Perhaps most telling is the way the locals react in Lancaster when the pro cycling tour rides into town every May. Instead of embracing it the way the Philadelphians have (OK, it’s another excuse to drink… who are we kidding?), Lancasterians view the top cyclists in the world coming to their little town as an inconvenience full of traffic jams and clogged streets, rather than something that makes the town special.

But personally, I’ll never forget watching the 1998 race where one rider made his return to the sport after battling cancer for the previous two years. After the race, in which he finished in second place but was clearly the strongest rider, I sat down next to the guy with our backs against the Hotel Brunswick on the corner of Queen and Chestnut streets for a little chat about the race, his comeback and his chances in France later that summer.

Who would have ever guessed that after that ride through Lancaster on a warm afternoon that Lance Armstrong would go on to win the Tour de France seven years in a row?

Maybe not Lancaster County’s Floyd Landis. He knows what pedaling on those roads can do.

Sports capital?
If Landis goes on to win the Tour de France, it will cap off a pretty interesting year in sports for Lancaster natives. On the PGA Tour, Manheim Township High grad and Lancaster native, Jim Furyk, just missed winning his second U.S. Open with his second-place finish. Furyk, the former basketball standout for the Blue Streaks (who can forget that jumper from the corner he hit to beat Lebanon in the 1988 Section 1 title game?), will finish this year rated in the top 10 again and will make another Ryder Cup team.

Must be something in the water there.

Riding (or running) in Lancaster
Looking for the best places to ride (or run) in Lancaster? Pick up Sil Simpson's Short Bike Rides in Eastern Pennsylvania. It's an excellent guidebook with all the inside info from a guy who is a riding and running junky.

As for the running routes, email me. I have a ton of them stashed away.

Greetings from Wyoming... yeah, Wyoming

That's right. I'm in Wyoming. Apparently it's a state in this here U.S.A. located just north of Colorado and south of Montana. And apparently, there is a state called Nebraska very near the Colorado and Wyoming border.

Weird, wild stuff.

Anyway, I learned quite a bit about the United States, Wyoming, and its capital, Cheyenne, which is where I spent today. Get this -- if you want to meet the governor of the state of Wyoming you can just walk into his office. He doesn't get pissed or anything like I usually do if I'm typing something and my wife is hovering around, trying to read over my shoulder or wanting me to turn around so she can tell me about something stupid some dumbassed fourth grader did to ruin her day. After about a minute or so of that crap, I finally lose patience and yell:

"What! Just say it! What! What!"

"Jesus, what the hell crawled up your ass, Mr. Patience?"

So when my two-year-old boy went rambling into the Governor's office and did a little soft shoe in his doorway, the honorable David D. Freudenthal was cool and didn't shout at his secretary: "For chrissakes, who let the freaking kid in here? Doris, are we letting everyone in here now? Geezus -- I'm the freaking governor. I run this place."

There was none of that. In fact, Mr. Freudenthal -- or Gov. Dave as he likes to be called -- got up from behind his desk, where it didn't really seem as if he was really all that busy, and stuck a Wyoming pin on the lapel of my boy's shirt. He couldn't have been more gracious, asking us where we were from, chatting about common aquaitances in Democratic politics in Pennsylvania, indulging my story about how I snapped at a college democrat panhandling for money in Boulder, Colorado a few days earlier ("No, you don't need money... you need better ideas and you need to stop running shitty candidates"), and what we could do for fun in his God forsaken state.

I don't know how many of you folks out there have ever been to Wyoming, but there is nothing there. And when I say "there is nothing there," I don't mean, "We went to Wyoming and all they had was a freaking Wal-Mart and a bunch of rednecks hanging out at the mall... " There was no mall. There was no Wal-Mart either. In fact, the reason we met the Governor was because we walked into the state house thinking there would be some sort of historical tour or something (there wasn't). Instead, we marched right up the front steps, entered the building without going through any security clearance, and then made a hard right into the Governor's office. Yeah, that's right -- the Governor of the entire state was sitting about 25 yards from where some sporadic midday traffic was kind of whizzing by.

Crazy, huh? Think Ed Rendell would get his ample ass up from behind his desk for anything less than a 6-foot hoagie? No, me either.

There was a lot I learned about Wyoming and Cheyenne that I'm saving for a more ambitious project and won't bore anyone with the details here. I'm sure no one wants to hear about the finer details of the drive from Estes Park, Colo. through Northern Colorado and into Wyoming. I have pages on that. Nor do I think anyone is too interested in how Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote -- they have a big statue for Esther Hobart Morris in front of the capitol. She led the sufferage movement.

Sure, Dick Cheney is from Wyoming, but so is Jackson Pollock and Nellie Tayloe Ross, the first woman governor of any state in the union.

Forget all of that, but remember this: according to the 2000 census, the population of Cheyenne is 52, 011. That makes it the largest city in the state. It also is quite a bit less than Lancaster, Pa., and Lancaster has a whole bunch of things Cheyenne doesn't -- a few Wal-Marts, Taco-Bells... you know, suburban sprawl. Wyoming has none of that. From my experience, the nine miles from the Wyoming state line to Cheyenne makes the Pennsylvania Dutch Country look like Manhattan.

Or how about this: Nobody in Cheyenne gives a shit about the Phillies, nor has anyone ever heard of Bill Conlin. Of course, we didn't get a chance to talk to everyone, but we got a good start in a walk up and down Capitol Street and into a Western clothier called "The Wrangler," where they have all the gear stocked up in anticipation for this weekend's Frontier Days, which, if my rudimentary knowledge of professional rodeo is on the money, is akin to the U.S. Open in golf.

Along with all the bucking broncos, cowboys, fightin', spittin', cussin' and all of that country crap, there's a pretty big sideshow, too. Just look at this lineup:

Steve Miller Band
Friday, July 21

Martina McBride/Mark Wills
Saturday, July 22

Keith Urban/Hot Apple Pie
Sunday, July 23

PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
Monday, July 24 and Tuesday, July 25

Dierks Bentley/Billy Currington
Wednesday, July 26

Phil Vassar/Josh Gracin
Thursday, July 27

Montgomery Gentry/Trace Adkins
Friday, July 28

Larry the Cable Guy
Saturday, July 29

According to my wife, who is a hardcore follower of the People/US magazine scene, that's some big-time talent. She says Keith Urban is about as big as it gets in country music right now. I don't know about that, because my idea of a big deal when it comes to music is the Aug. 15 version of Henry Rollins' radio show where he will play nothing but bands from Washington, D.C.. Finally, someone will play Trouble Funk on live radio.

So while I'll have to take her word on Keith Urban, I know all about the Steve Miller Band (who doesn't) and Larry the Cable Guy. Needless to say, The Wrangler was stuffed to the gills with "Git 'R Done" t-shirts in anticipation for Larry's arrival in town. That's his line, right? Perhaps I am not as well versed on the comic genius of Larry the Cable Guy as I should be.

Now I don't want to come off as an arrogant jackass or anything, but I doubt Larry or Keith will stop in at Phoenix Books & Music, just down the street from the capitol and The Wrangler on Capitol St.. Luckily, I did because it was there that I found a first edition copy (1953) of The Lewis & Clark diaries. I got it for $5 and I'm still downright giddy over the find. But if two overrated explorers aren't Larry and Keith's speed, the affable proprietor of the book shop had a copy of Ludacris' Chicken 'n Beer right up front.

On a final note, the Mountain time zone is the coolest one out there. Plus, I made it the entire way through a post without once mentioning Ken's penchant for gluing his balls to his leg. How about that?

Superstar

The cool thing about Ryan Howard isn’t that he hits the longest home runs that anyone has ever seen. After all, that’s his job and a guy doing his job almost as well as anyone on the planet isn’t really a big deal. Is it?

No, the cool thing about Ryan Howard is that he is on the doorstep from becoming one of the biggest stars in the game and he doesn’t know it. That isn’t to say Ryan is unaware, not interested or above such triviality and superficiality. Maybe he is. I don’t know – I don’t feel like getting into that deep. I’m sure I could, but that’s something for the people who write for Slate or Salon or some other navel-gazing type edifice of supposed intellectual discourse.

Ryan doesn’t seem to know it because he’s unaffected. Maybe he is or isn’t above such things, but the he’s still the same old guy who likes hanging out with his teammates and playing baseball. And again, not that I’m a psychiatrist or anything like that, but Ryan seems to be pretty grounded – based on talks with baseball writers far smarter than me and observations at a few award presentations, Ryan’s parents seem to still have an important influence on him. In a way – but totally different – Ryan reminds me a bit of Scott Rolen, another Midwestern guy who placed his priorities on family, roots, friends and education.

The rest was just what you did.

And judging from last night’s made-for-TV home run hitting contest, Ryan Howard is pretty good at what he does.

Etc. Here's Ryan's big homer to the third deck against the Yankees:

Two in a row OK, this could be a cheap shot, but whatever. When a team wins just one World Championship in 123 seasons, facts aren’t cheap shots. They’re facts

Anyway, two different Phillies have won the Home Run Derby in consecutive seasons… how come that’s the only thing they can win. Oh yes, it’s pretty cool and it’s good to see good guys and solid citizens like Bobby Abreu and Ryan Howard represent the Phillies and the city, but would it have really mattered if neither guy won? It’s the worst kept secret around that the balls used in the competition are a little “doctored.”

Then again, it was cool watching those long shots land in the Allegheny River.

And speaking of the Allegheny, how great does Pittsburgh’s downtown ballpark look? Wouldn’t it be great if the Phillies could build a ballpark along the banks of the Delaware or Schuylkill with the tall buildings in Center City hanging over the bowl?

Oh wait… never mind.

Home run Ramon For two years in a row, Phillies’ bullpen coach Ramon Henderson has been smacked around more than a cheap piñata.

No not literally.

Henderson, of course, pitched to both Bobby Abreu and Ryan Howard during their slugging runs in the Home Run Derby. Based on how well Abreu did in smacking a record 41 homers in Detroit in 2005, Red Sox David Ortiz asked Henderson to pitch to him, too.

Apparently Henderson is a juggernaut at serving up titanic blasts because not only did both Abreu and Howard win the competition, but also Ortiz launched the longest bombs of the contest, including one that almost left the Earth’s atmosphere before settling down in the muddy Allegheny.

Upon returning to Philadelphia after last season’s title run, Henderson was a bit of a celebrity in the Phils’ clubhouse. If he were able to parlay his home-run throwing talents into some sort of business, Henderson might be able to clean up.

Either way, it’s obvious that Henderson is having a blast with all of this. Two straight trips to the All-Star Game with his young son with the best seat in the house for the Home Run Derby… not bad. Not bad at all.

Note: Updates here will be even more sporadic than the past week. Currently I am in Estes Park, Colo. relaxing and trying to recharge my fried batteries for the rest of the year. There may be a chance of a post here or there, but nothing too significant… then again, here in Mountain Time and with the aid of MLB.tv; those west coast ballgames come on at a reasonable hour.

Then again, the only sports I’m going to be interested in for the next 10 days are running, golf and chasing a high-energy 2-year old around the Rocky Mountains.

Hey, Billy... Shhh!

Yeah, Billy Wagner is at it again. When asked about the Phillies by a reporter from Sports Illustrated, ol' Billy just couldn't resist. Here are some of the notable quotes: Comparing the Mets to the Phillies: "That team has as much talent as this one. But there's something lacking there... "

On the lack of team leadership: "Nobody ever gets upset. If somebody does, he's a big mouth and nobody likes him. They take it as, 'I did my best. I'm going home.' There's nobody screaming, "Hey, we're better than this!'"

On the potential of Bobby Abreu going to the Yankees: "I don't think he'd mind [going to the Yankees]. Bobby Abreu's a good guy, but he's not a vocal leader. The one thing you have to know here (in New York) is, you have to come every day. He's got a real laid-back attitude."

On Brett Myers: "As far as stuff, he's a No. 1. But mentally, he's a No. 4."

Much to the credit of the Phillies, they didn't take the bait. Quietly, they probably reacted the same way as everyone else when they were alerted to Big-mouth Billy's latest salvo, which is: "Yawn... hey, did you see what Billy said? Man, he really needs attention, huh? Do you want to get some lunch?

The Phillies are not a threat to the Mets. They are 12 1/2 games out of first place, a game-and-a-half away from falling into last place, and it isn't even the All-Star Break yet. The Phillies should be in Wagner's rearview mirror, especially since the Mets gave him the contract he wanted.

Nevertheless, Wagner certainly says a lot about the Phillies for a guy who only saved 59 games in two seasons and ranks behind Ricky Bottalico and just ahead of Al Holland on the team's all-time saves list.

Hey, he was no Jose Mesa.

Kidding aside, here's the link to the Sports Illustrated story. On another SI-related factoid, writer Gary Smith stopped by the press box during Thursday night's game against the Padres.

Boy, that's different

Here's the Phillies' lineup for Opening Day as compared to the one skipper Charlie Manuel used against the Padres on Wednesday night. April 3, 2006 vs. St. Louis ss - Rollins 3b - Nunez rf - Abreu 2b - Utley lf - Burrell 1b - Howard cf - Rowand c - Lieberthal p - Lieber

bench 3b - Bell of - Dellucci c - Fasano ss - Gonzalez of - Victorino

bullpen Cormier Franklin Fultz Geary Gordon Rhodes Santana

starters Myers Lidle Floyd Madson

July 5, 2006 vs. San Diego ss - Rollins 2b - Utley rf - Abreu 1b - Howard lf - Burrell cf - Rowand 3b - Bell c- Ruiz p - Mathieson

bench of - Dellucci 3b - Nunez of - Victorino c - Coste of - Roberson

bullpen Castro Cormier Franklin Fultz Geary Gordon Rhodes White

starters Hamels Lidle Madson

Here's an interesting factoid for all the stat heads out there from the always trenchant Baseball Reference blog. Meanwhile, here's a tracker for Ryan Howard's home runs this season.

Optimism: A novel concept

Let's try some optimism with the Phillies even though they aren't a very good team and fastball-throwing rookie Scott Mathieson will face Cy Young Award-winner-waiting-to-happen Jake Peavy on Wednesday night... in that regard, the July 4 victory over the Padres was one the Phillies would have lost a few days ago. The Phillies definitely would have figured out how to lose that lead in the late innings, but despite the blown save, Tom Gordon did a nice job wiggling out of that jam.

More optimism: though it isn't ideal, the Phillies are better off with Carlos Ruiz doing the brunt of the catching than Sal Fasano. Yes, Fasano is very popular in a kitschy way with a certain segment of the fans, but he isn't very good... and, no, we're not simply talking about his batting average. Surprisingly, his defense has been a bit sub par, though his arm is quite impressive. Besides, if Carlos Ruiz is supposed to have a bit of a future with the Phillies, they ought to find some playing time for him.

Meanwhile, back in reality, the Phillies have 80 games to make up 10 1/2 games in the NL East and five games in the wild-card race. The problem with the wild-card chase is that there are seven teams ahead of them.

According to AccuWeather and the great weather blog, Philadelphia Weather, it looks like we're in for some more rain tonight.

And you are?

It's definitely been too long since I updated this thing. Far too long, in fact. I guess the popular excuse is that I've been busy with going to Baltimore, the Myers/Phillies fiasco, regular old life as a parent of a wild 2-year-old boy, more marathon training, and all of those losing baseball games. But since we're all about debunking myths and not suffering fools, let's deconstruct those silly excuses: for starters, Baltimore is much closer to my house than Citizens Bank Park. Plus, the drive to Camden Yards is much more interesting, enjoyable, and smooth.

I have no more comments on the Schuylkill Expressway.

Better yet, the press box at Camden Yards is my favorite one of all the ballparks. Coors is pretty good, and there's something about that sky-high box at Fenway that I like, too. But as far as building ballparks go, they really did it right in Baltimore. Nevertheless, as soon as I empty out the contents of my camera onto this computer (more procrastination), I will definitely post my behind-the-scenes photos of Fenway Park.

As far as the other stuff goes, everyone is busy, lots of people have kids, tons of people run marathons, and I knew that Brett Myers was a ticking time bomb. No, no one expected this alleged crime, but most people who have been around him suspected something.

Here's a story written in my small, local paper about Myers... if the author only knew.

As far as the running stuff goes, I have come to a revelation that the Arthur Lydiard method of training should be embraced. I was kind of on board back when I was younger and faster, but in retrospect, I listened to the wrong people. Those people always told me to run fast, fast, fast, which is correct if you are a middle-distance runner. For the long distance guys, it should be long, long, long. That's where the Lydiard school of thought comes in.

Now I understand why all those guys I used to listen to were always injured.

Yep, like baseball, I could yap about running all day long.

As for the Phillies... oh my.

Yes, we all knew that the Phillies were not going to run away with the NL East and would probably have some difficulties with the pitching staff, but no one suspected that at the halfway point the team would be 37-44 and six games off the pace in the wild-card race. But aside from the 2-7 road trip and the three-week stretch where the Phils have gone just 5-17, there have been a handful of positives.

Really?

Of course. Ryan Howard is on pace to hit 56 home runs to shatter Mike Schmidt's single-season franchise record of 48 (1980). Howard should also threaten the 140-RBI plateau. The most RBIs Schmidt ever had in a season was the 121 he drove in during his MVP season in 1980.

As an aside, should Howard be talked about as an MVP candidate?

Meanwhile, Chase Utley has become a solid partner with Howard in the lineup. Should the powers that be decide to "blow up" the team, Howard and Utley will be the base (along with Cole Hamels) for the future. Then again, Utley and Howard are closer to being 30 than 20... is it possible that the Phillies waited too long before giving those two a shot?

Tom Gordon has pitched admirably, earning an All-Star bid with his 21 saves and 2.12 ERA. With 41 strikeouts in 34 innings, he has certainly made everyone forget about whatshisname.

As for the recent spate of games, David Dellucci has been a pleasant surprise. In the last five games, the lefty has three homers and is 9-for-20. While in his last 10 games he is 14-for-32. In June, Dellucci hit .388 with four homers and 1.047 OPS, but in just 47 at-bats.

Maybe it's time to showcase the veteran lefty before the trade deadline because it doesn't seem as if the Phillies will need Dellucci for the playoffs.

Myers departs

BALTIMORE – When longtime baseball player Wil Cordero was arrested for domestic violence in 1997, the Boston Red Sox immediately sent the ballplayer home. Cordero had more important things to worry about rather than playing baseball, the Red Sox reasoned. So for eight days the Red Sox went on with their business without Cordero. He wasn’t a distraction to the team because he wasn’t there nor was there any fodder for columnists or the talk shows about the Red Sox’s sensitivity toward women’s issues or domestic abuse, because the team jumped in and took care of the troubled employee immediately.

Ultimately, Cordero returned to the Red Sox for a little while and was eventually released. But not before the player did some work in Boston for abuse awareness and then plead guilty to the charges and received a 90-day sentence, suspended for two years.

Last weekend, the Phillies had a chance to be proactive in regard to one of their ballplayers up on charges of domestic abuse in Boston. Instead, the team allowed Brett Myers to pitch on national television against his idol, Curt Schilling, just a day after he was released on $200 bail. Additionally, the team issued a terse statement reading that the team was going to respect the privacy of Myers, and the alleged victim, his wife, Kim, and chose not to do anything.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. The Phillies chose to allow Myers to pitch.

Four days later, when Myers decided it might be the correct course of action to leave the team until after the All-Star Break, the Phillies finally did something. They allowed the pitcher to do what he wanted.

Again.

Perhaps this is the proper action. After all, unlike the Cordero case there are several witnesses that saw Myers’ alleged violence against a young mother of two small children. But the popular sentiment coming from Camden Yards on Tuesday afternoon was that the Phillies, once again, reacted instead of acted.

Not so say the Phillies. In team president David Montgomery’s statement issued through the club’s public relations staff on Tuesday, the club acted in the only way that it could:

“After last Friday, the Phillies did not comment further on the events surrounding the arrest of Brett Myers out of respect for the Myers’ privacy and because there is a criminal prosecution pending,” Montgomery wrote. “Likewise, the Phillies did not summarily suspend Brett Myers immediately upon his arrest, prior to any judicial determination of guilt or complete evaluation of the entire matter. Such a decision, unfortunately, has been portrayed or interpreted as the Phillies indifference to problems of spousal abuse. Nothing could be further from the truth. We abhor such violence and recognize that it is a very serious problem affecting a substantial number of victims, particularly women, across the country.

“If we have been guilty of delay in expressing these sentiments, we are sorry. We have been engaged in a difficult balancing of concerns for the rights of our employee, the presumption of innocence, the rights of his spouse, and the legitimate public concern about allegations of spousal abuse by a Phillies ballplayer. We believe that the present status, including a public apology by Brett Myers, time off from baseball, professional assistance for Brett and Kim Myers, and this statement achieves the appropriate balance for now.”

That’s all well and good, says Julie Cousler Emig of the Philadelphia Domestic Violence Collaborative, one of four organizations in Philadelphia that fights domestic violence and supports victims, but the Phillies are missing the ball once again. Cousler Emig wrote a letter to Montgomery indicating that she would like to see one of the large market Major League clubs like the Phillies take a bold stance on something as serious as domestic abuse.

“I think we'd like to see some further action taken by the Phillies,” said Cousler Emig. “It seems like Brett Myers offered a convenient out for the team to deal with this in a minimal way. We would like to see, in the meantime, the Phillies take us on our offer to join us in an anti-domestic violence complaint. This is really a chance for them to right some wrongs.”

The charges against Myers would be a good place to start. After all, it seems as if this recent arrest of a Phillies player is just the latest on a long list of some questionable behavior. For instance:

* Ugueth Urbina, the relief pitcher who spent most of 2005 with the Phillies, is currently in jail in Venezuela awaiting a trial for attempted murder. Urbina and three friends are accused of beating, hacking and torturing six workers in a dispute allegedly about the disappearance of a pistol from Urbina's ranch. The workers said Urbina told his friends to splash paint thinner and gasoline on them before setting them afire.At the time of his arrest, Urbina was technically a free agent.

* Jason Michaels was arrested around 3 a.m. on July 3, 2005, after allegedly punching Philadelphia police officer Timothy Taylor as he left the "32 Degrees" nightclub in the Olde City. “He punched a Philadelphia police officer and wrestled him to the ground, in the process ripping the police officer's shirt,” Philadelphia police spokesperson Jim Pauley said.It reportedly took four Philadelphia police officers to subdue Michaels, who spent nine hours in detention. However, Michaels reported on time and was in uniform for that night’s game against the Braves.

* Cole Hamels broke his pitching hand in a bar fight before the season began in 2005. The injury cost him most of the season and a potential chance to join the Phillies for the stretch drive. Hamels was not charged in the incident.

* Terry Adams was arrested during the 2003 season and charged with hitting his wife during a fight in his New York City hotel room before a game against the Mets. Adams was charged with an assault misdemeanor.

* Marlon Byrd was arrested in 2002 for an alleged assault on his girlfriend outside of the team bus when he was playing for Scranton-Wilkes-Barre. The charges eventually were dropped.

* Robert Person was arrested in Clearwater, Fla. before spring training in 2002 on charges of obstructing or opposing an officer without violence, and giving a false name, after failing to walk away from a fight when ordered. Person was hogtied by police after he smashed the back window of a police car.

The Phillies response after all of these incidents has been consistent – issue a statement through the PR staff and hope people get distracted by something else. No such luck in this case.

There is still time for the Phillies to be proactive this time. Perhaps the club can take Cousler Emig up on her offer and do something meaningful in combating the scourge of domestic abuse. Better yet, the Phillies and Myers could get involved in some behind-the-scenes work at a shelter without fanfare, press releases or TV cameras.

According to the Centers for Disease Control domestic violence is a serious, public health problem affecting more than 32 million Americans, that is more than 10 percent of the U.S. population, and three different Phillies have been in the legal system for alleged domestic abuse since 2002.

That’s three too many.

Manuel and Gillick on Myers

MANUELWhen I listened to him, it was something that comment they put out described it so there’s nota whole lot more I can add to it.

I didn’t say too much too him.

I think getting back on the mound will be good for him and I think he’s ready. I don’t think this is going to be a big distraction at all for him.

(matured) I don’t know what I want to say about that.

(Belle) Not to our players it wasn’t. We faced different problems in Cleveland. Usually when a guy played, he played good. A pitcher pitched god and a player played good.

This morning around 8 a.m.

Gotta be able to take it I guess and handle it.

(Team) I think they’ll definitely rally behind him. I think if they like him, they’ll get behind him and I think they have respect for him.

(Reaction) My first reaction was I wanted everything to be all right.

(25 stay with through career) I think these things have a way of working themselves out.

(Michaels) I think that we handled that pretty good.

(reflection) I want our team to be perceived to be what it is. Of the teams in the big leagues that I’ve been around, I think we have an outstanding group of guys. You have problems with every single one of them. Problems are a part of life. Problems are something you work through.

(on Manuel) Do I think it reflects on me? Absolutely not.

GILLICK How troubling is this for you and the team? At this point, it's a sensitive issue, and I certainly think that anything affects the players or our team, we take it very seriously.

Expect Myers to be mentally ready? I think he will be. I think he's the type of guy who, when he gets between the stripes on the field, I think he'll certainly be competitive. One of the things with Brett is sometimes he's a little too competitive and overthrows a little bit. I think he might be a little emotional tomorrow.

Support for Brett? Again, we offer whatever support for he and his wife. Whatever needs they might have, the Phillies are her to support not only Brett and Kim, but any of our players.

Skipping him tomorrow? You'd have to ask the manager about that. I don't make that.

As a longtime baseball man, do you think it's a good idea for him to pitch? I think he'll be fine and it's in the best interests of the club. He's been our best pitcher. I think it's in the best interests of the club that he pitches tomorrow.

Spoken to him? Yeah, I've had an opportunity to talk to him.

State his mind? I can't comment on that.

Did he tell you what happened? I can't comment on that, basically, because this is ongoing from a legal standpoint.

I found out early this morning.

My indication was that he wanted to pitch tomorrow. You'd have to talk to Charlie and Rich, but I don't think there was much thought about skipping him.

Significant distraction? I think our players are professional. When you go out on the field, you try to put any distraction behind you, whatever it might be. When you're on the field, there's intensity. I think that's what our players will do.

Reaction? It's an unfortunate situation. I wish whatever did occur didn't occur.

Embarrassment? I don't know that it's an embarrassment. It's certainly something that we're very sensitive to. We're going to be supportive of the players no matter what the situation is.

Discipline? There have been some charges made, and I think we have to wait until the outcome of whatever proceedings the commonwealth of Massachussetts brings forward. I think you have to wait until the outcome before you think about discipline.

Official press release from the Phillies

PHILLIES STATEMENT CONCERNING BRETT MYERS The Phillies are aware that Brett Myers was arrested in Boston at about 12:30 a.m. today on charges of assault and battery involving an alleged incident with his wife, Kim. He was released immediately after booking on $200.00 bail and ordered to appear this morning for preliminary arraignment, which he did. A further hearing date was set for August ­4, 2006, which does not require his appearance.

Out of respect for the privacy of both Kim and Brett Myers, the Phillies will not comment on this incident until the matter is resolved by the Court.

Myers will pitch, as scheduled, tomorrow afternoon against Boston.

Wolf update

Randy Wolf turned in his worst statistical outing in his three rehab starts for Double-A Reading tonight. His line: 3 2/3 IP 6 H 6 R 6 ER 2 BB 5 K 71 pitches 46 strikes

Until we get the chance to chat with Wolfie, it's unfair to call this a setback but the numbers don't look too good.

America's Past Time

As the World Cup of soccer heads in to its third week, the inevitable cry from the American press regarding the sports’ popularity in the states seems to have flaked out like spores from a dandelion in a wind tunnel. As always it was the same tired, old self-aggrandizing meant to do nothing more than belittle “the world’s most popular sport” ugly American style. But this time around, the questions about whether soccer can remain ingrained in the public eye after the World Cup passes on until four years from now flickered and faded. No, not because the sport is going to be mixed into the American sports gumbo with football, baseball, basketball and NASCAR. That’s just not going to happen.

Soccer in America doesn’t need the marketing arm of NBC, ABC/ESPN or FOX with weekly broadcast games of the week in order to be successful. That’s because American soccer has something much more important than anything that can be storyboarded into a flashy gimmick like the major four sports have…

Soccer has the kids.

Yes, the sport that is ignored by the American viewing public could very well be the most popular sport there is. Better yet, since the 1970s, when Pele, the great Brazilian soccer star came to America to play for the New York Cosmos in the old NASL, kids have been swarming to the fields only to leave the game behind for baseball, football and basketball when they reached adolescence.

But that’s not likely to be the case in the future. With fewer athletic scholarships trickling around, and the physical requirements that other sports carry to simply get a kid noticed, more and more specialization is the rage. Kids are finding their niche at an earlier age and painstakingly honing their craft.

Of course they burn out quicker, and the single-minded focus on one thing isn’t exactly mentally or physically healthy or even the best way to go about getting little Johnny that big scholarship to State U., but that’s a different argument for another day. The point is kids aren’t giving up on soccer for the glamour sports anymore.

Here’s a simple experiment to try out:

Drive by any suburban (and maybe even urban) playground, school athletic complex or grassy field. Once you get there, look for the kids and note what sport they’re playing. Nope, it isn’t hockey or football or even the great American Pastime. It’s soccer.

And it just isn’t at one school or the one little field around the corner. It’s everywhere. And they have sponsorships, too, from the giants like Nike and adidas as well as the local restaurants and car dealerships. Hey, that’s where the kids are. Get ‘em while they’re young.

Certainly, this isn’t anything new. Soccer has always been one of the first participatory sports that kids play just because it’s such a simple sport to learn. All you need is a ball, a net at both ends of a field and some kids to run around. That’s it. In fact, ask anyone from the age of 40 or younger what the first team sport they played as a child was and chances is it was soccer. If it wasn’t the first sport then it was definitely the second one.

Oh, but there’s more. Where I live, within spitting distance from Franklin & Marshall College’s athletic fields, soccer rules. Those fields, which are approximately a mile-and-a-half wide and a half-mile deep, and tucked between a residential neighborhood and a copse of woods, could be the most popular spot on campus. Or at least, the most well visited spot for the community-minded college.

A few years ago, those fields used to hold five soccer pitches, seven baseball diamonds, and a rugby field. There was always a flurry of activity on the weekends with kids and the parents filling up the neighborhood waiting for the chance that team after team could jump on one of the fields for soccer game.

But over time, it seemed as if the fields had become too quaint or maybe it was time to cut down a few trees to expand the grass back to the Conestoga Creek that winds its way through the neighborhood. There were just too many teams and too many kids standing around and not playing. Frustration grew and people started going elsewhere to play.

That is until Franklin & Marshall came up with a better plan.

It got rid of most of the baseball fields.

Now the kids play soccer all year round. Even in the summertime, camps of boys and girls teem from morning to dusk, tearing through the grass doing drill after drill while the summer days just wile away.

Somewhere else they’re playing baseball.

Twenty Years

Twenty years. Think about all that can happen in the space of twenty years. Friends come and go, and milestones are recognized and passed. Sometimes, even, lifetimes are lived, and always it seems like everything had happened in just a fleeting moment.

Time marches on. It always does.

In sports, 20 years is an Era. The number of players that every franchise in every sport has seen make through multiple decades of service can be counted on one hand.

For the Phillies, Mike Schmidt played 18 seasons. That was the most of any Philadelphia player. Think about it, in 20 years, the Phillies have made the playoffs once and the city’s major sports teams have brought home… well, there haven’t been any parades for championships. But you get the point; a lot can happen in 20 years.

Levity aside, it’s been exactly 20 years since Len Bias – the great college basketball player from the University of Maryland – died of a cocaine overdose (June 19, 1986) less than two days after he had been selected as the No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft. Billed as the next great Boston Celtics All-Star, Bias had the world by the tail.

Bias’ death was, according to Celtics great Larry Bird, “The cruelest thing ever.”

It certainly seemed that way at the time. With the aid of time and distance we learned that Bias and his university had a several other significant problems and the cocaine abuse was just the tip of the iceberg. Bias had been flunking out of school and was known to keep company with a few unsavory characters, including Brian Tribble, the convicted cocaine dealer who is said to have supplied the dose that killed him.

Ultimately, Tribble was cleared of any wrongdoing in Bias’ death, but Maryland coach Lefty Driesell’s reputation remains sullied in the aftermath of his star players’ death. Actually, in 20 years there has been a lot more damage and disgrace than growth, but that’s the way it goes when a star is extinguished long before his time.

And “star” is the best way to describe Bias. He was to be the next great star of the NBA – not like Karl Malone or Charles Barkley, his contemporaries – but instead like the guys who only needed one name.

Michael, Magic, Larry.

And Len.

Not in this lifetime.

For those who grew up in the ‘80s and lived for basketball the way the devout love the gospels, Len Bias was The Truth. Not privy to all of the scouting reports or the 24-hour inundation of sports and analysis, we only had one player to compare Bias to, and that was the guy from Carolina who was the ACC Player of the Year before him.

Comparisons are always odious, especially when everyone knows who Michael Jordan is and what he accomplished, and Bias, amongst today’s live-for-the-now sports mindset, is largely forgotten. Yet as collegiate players, Bias, Patrick Ewing and David Robinson remain the best I have ever seen. Like Jordan, Bias could play forward and guard, but at the same age, Lenny was a better shooter, stronger and meaner.

People always talked about Jordan and his competitiveness and how he forced his teammates to become better players. It’s all part of his legend. But Bias played with a nastiness that made Jordan seem meek. Then there was that devastating, baseline jumper that just carved an opponents’ heart out.

Sadly, no one remembers anything about the way Len Bias played. They just remember the end.

Long before Sept. 11, or the O.J. circus, and a handful of years before the Berlin Wall fell and the Soviet Union crumbled; Len Bias’ death was people of my age’s Kennedy Assassination. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I remember where I was standing when my mom and sister came running outside to tell me the news. I remember how the sky looked and how the sun felt. I remember the way the evergreen bush next to the driveway felt when I touched it and pulled a little red berry off of it.

I remember the local TV sportscaster delivering the news in his attempt at solemnity opposed to his typical wacky sports guy shtick. I remember mowing the grass in the backyard and wondering whether any one would ever wear No. 30 for the Celtics again.

I remember the drive home with my mom, sister and grandmother from Rehoboth Beach the day before and hearing the news in the Rehoboth Mall that he had been selected with the second pick in the NBA Draft. I remember Red Auerbach’s creepy laugh when his Celtics and the Sixers were the only two who hadn’t been called in that year’s draft lottery. Sure, the Celtics ended up with the No. 2 pick behind the Sixers, but Red knew Harold Katz would figure out a way to mess it up.

Who could have guessed that Jeff Ruland ended up more productive for the 76ers than Len Bias for the Celtics?

Twenty years later we wonder where the time went and how to make the news sting a little less. Twenty years can seem like an eternity or a blink of an eye. But make no mistake, 22 years is far too young to die.

Debuts for Phillies draft picks

Scott Mathieson vs. Devil Rays on June 17, 2006: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K for Loss Cole Hamels vs. Reds on May 12, 2006: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 7 K for ND

Gavin Floyd vs. Mets on Sept. 3, 2004: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K for Win

Brett Myers at Cubs on July 24, 2002: 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K for Win

Brandon Duckworth vs. Padres on Aug., 7, 2001: 6 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 4 K for Win

David Coggin at Expos on June 23, 2000: 6 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 4 K for Win

Randy Wolf vs. Blue Jays on June 11, 1999: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K for Win

Carlton Loewer vs. Cubs on June 14, 1998: 9 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 8 K for Win

Rotation for Yankees series set

Here it is:Monday, June 19 Randy Johnson (8-5, 5.32) vs. Brett Myers (4-3, 3.86)

Tuesday, June 20 Mike Mussina (8-3, 3.14) vs. Cory Lidle (4-6, 4.89)

Wednesday, June 21 Jaret Wright (3-4, 4.86) vs. Cole Hamels (1-2, 4.91)

After a day of on Thursday, the Phillies head to Boston for a weekend series where they will have to face Curt Schilling on either Friday night or Saturday afternoon.

Manuel safe... for now

One of the more popular questions I’m asked these days is whether or not Charlie Manuel’s job is in jeopardy. Say, for instance, the Phillies’ skid continues to the All-Star Break and the team falls deeper into the middle of the pack – does the plug get pulled on Manuel? People are always surprised by how quickly I answer.

"No," I say.

Of course, anything can happen. Who knows, if things continue on the current path, general manager Pat Gillick might have no choice but to make a change. And you can’t fire 25 guys who are playing without much passion, right?

Nevertheless, I don’t get any indication from anyone with the Phillies that Manuel is on the proverbial hot seat. Along those lines, I get the impression that Gillick had already chalked this season up as a “throwaway year” where he can gauge the organization, what he has and what he needs. Since the players all love Charlie so much, why rock the boat? Gillick is smart enough to realize that firing Charlie is a good way to start a mutiny which would make it very difficult for players to want to come play for the Phillies – or stay.

Besides, there is nothing in Gillick’s past that indicates that he will make a change in the middle of a season. In fact, just once during the venerable GM’s long career has he switched managers mid season and that was in 1989 with the Blue Jays when he removed Jimy Williams and replaced him with Cito Gaston.

That team won the AL East, too.

So, fans, get used to Manuel in the dugout for the rest of this season (and maybe next year, too).

Playoffs? More important than whether or not Manuel remains on as the Phillies manager is whether or not the team has a shot at the playoffs. Well, yeah… of course they do.

There are still 95 games left in the season and though the Phillies really have no shot at winning the NL East – at least realistically they don’t – the team made a run at the playoffs last year when they were done and buried at the All-Star Break.

That’s where the Phillies checked in at 45-44, struggling to barely play .500 ball. Actually, at game 102, Roger Clemens beat the Phillies in Houston to send them to 52-50, yet the team still played for a playoff spot on the last day of the season.

Then again, it took a 43-30 record in the second half – 36-24 from game 102 on – just to get back into contention.

Is that the way it’s going to be again this season?

Here come the Devil Rays! Hey! It's the Devil Rays!

There are a few interesting elements to this weekend's series against the Devil Rays at the Bank. For starters, there are the starters. Cole Hamels pitches on Friday night in his first ever game in Philadelphia. That's somewhat significant. Then, on Saturday, Scott Mathieson -- the so-called closer of the future -- makes his Major League debut. Mathieson's start could be a one-and-done thing, but crazier things have happened. Who knows, maybe the kid comes up, pitches well and makes it so thy can't take him out of the rotation? You never know.

On the flip side, the Devil Rays send a pair of their up-and-comers out to the mound against the Phillies. James Shields, a 24-year-old righthander, goes up against Hamels on Friday night, while the Scott Kazmir pitches on Saturday night.

Anyone who read Moneyball knows all about Kazmir. Of course, anyone who follows baseball closely knows about Kazmir, too. When the schedule first came out and I saw that Tampa Bay was coming to Philadelphia, I thought to my self, "Well, self, perhaps you'll get a chance to see Kazmir pitch. After all, you had a chance to see Clemens pitch in '86 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore and you missed that by a day (although you caught him doing a bullpen session at Fenway in '96 from inches away... how cool was that?) and it wasn't for nearly 20 years later when you got to see him pitch in person."

So, as fate would have it, I'll get to see Kazmir as a 21-year-old in person. We'll see if he turns out to be half as good as Clemens. Nevertheless, it would have been neat to see him matched up against Hamels -- the pair of 21-year-olds drafted the same year a few slots away from each other -- but I'm sure the lefties will have plenty of chances to go at each other.

Either way, it seems as if there will be plenty of good seats available for this weekend's series.

Then the Yankees come to town. I think we've seen their third-base coach around these parts before.

Wolf back On another note, Randy Wolf showed up at the ballpark on Friday. The lefty is finished with his rehab work in Clearwater and should be pitching in Reading or Scranton for his next four outings before rejoining the Phillies for good.