wrong end of a comeback

The Phillies took a 3-0 lead in the fourth this afternoon, on a three-run homer by back-up catcher Dane Sardinha but the Reds, the team with the most comeback wins in the majors, chipped away at Roy Halladay, getting one in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two in the eighth. The Phillies had men on but did nothing. Halladay struck out 10 while surrendering a career-high 13 hits. Oh, my. In the end the Reds won 4-3 to take two of three in what has been so far a major bummer of a road trip.

Word should come down tomorrow on the extent of the Utley and Polanco injuries. Meanwhile, it's on to beautiful PNC Park in Pittsburgh, where the Phillies always struggle.

a big win in cincinnati

The Phillie Phanatic was also on hand at Coca-Cola Park last night. Between innings he and fan-favorite Andy Tracy did a very funny, very good musical skit.

When I left the 'Pigs game, the Phillies were leading the Reds in Cincinnati 6-1, thanks to three-run homers first from Brian Schneider, then from Wilson Valdez. By the time I got to the car, it was 6-3. I got home in time for the inexplicable ninth. Brad Lidge got two outs, then ended up giving up a three-run homer to Joey Votto, which tied the game. Oi vey. Ryan Howard, however, led off the 10th with a double, Charlie Manuel got ejected by C.B. Bucknor, and everybody else hit as the Phillies quickly put three on the board to retake the lead at 9-6. J.C. Romero then came in for a mercifully quick save. Lidge apologized afterwards for falling in love with his slider. Whatever, at least for last night. The Phillies very much needed this game and they got it.

Word is that the Phillies had someone from the front office scouting the Mariners' game in NY last night. Lee was pitching (a complete game) but dream on if you think he was the draw. More likely the team is already looking into some infield help. Chase Utley is likely out long-term and Placido Polanco is a question.

domonic brown sparkles in home debut

Domonic Brown coasts home on a sac fly in the third inning last night.

J.A. Happ tosses some warm-up pitches between innings last night.

Domonic Brown stole the show in his home debut last night with Lehigh Valley. In the third inning he legged out a single, almost immediately stole second, then advanced to third on the catcher's throwing error, and cruised home on a sac fly by Neil Sellers. Textbook perfect. In the seventh he initiated a 9-5 double play. With two outs in the ninth, he singled, then scored the winning run on a single by Neil Sellers. I left after the first game of a doubleheader and missed seeing the two-run homer Brown hit in game two. All in all, Brown made the transition from Reading to Lehigh Valley look ridiculous.

J.A. Happ pitched his first Triple-A rehab assignment last night, looking a bit sharper than he had in his Double-A stints but still lacking velocity and throwing an awful lot of balls. Happ threw for four+ innings, allowing two runs on six hits, walking four and striking out four. With all the bad news on the injury front, some good news would be welcome.

Because of the injuries to the big club, there were several changes below. One of note was the release of Willy Taveras. (That was quick.) His speed thrilled but little else about his game did. Give Rich Thompson the chance, willya!

double whammy: utley and polanco to dl

Chase Utley and Placido Polanco were both placed on the DL today. Utley reportedly has a thumb sprain, but the extent of the injury is yet unknown. Polanco has had recurring elbow problems since being drilled in the elbow by Tim Hudson in an April game with the Braves. Greg Dobbs, an adventure at third, has been recalled from Lehigh Valley. So has Brian Bocock, a defensive dazzler at short who cannot hit a lick.

It's going to be some kind of scary line-up for at least the next two weeks. Not to mention the defense. Time for Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez to step it up big time. I suppose that Victorino will go back to lead-off, where he has struggled, and Rollins to the third spot, followed by Howard, Werth, and Ibanez. Then Dobbs? Schneider in the eighth spot, then the pitcher. That leaves Valdez batting second. Or flip-flop Dobbs and Valdez? It looks ugly no matter how you do it. I'd rather have Rollins batting lead-off, every other regular more or less in place, and just let the bottom of the order be the black hole that it indefensibly is.

Utley and Polanco join Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Madson, J.A. Happ, Chad Durbin, and Antonio Bastardo on the DL. Just one of those things.

utley injures thumb

Just to season the prevailing heat and humidity with some doom and gloom, Chase Utley injured his right thumb in the fourth inning while sliding into second last night in Cincinnati. Juan Castro pinch-hit for him in the ninth, the first ominous sign that something was amiss. As Utley recently said, It's not an injury if you can play through it. Utley is the ultimate play-through-it kind of guy. That he took himself out of the game does not bode well. He will have an MRI today.

Worse, the injury happened in a 7-3 loss. The Phillies never quite looked in this one. Schneider was playing for the injured Ruiz and Valdez for the injured Polance, which left the bottom third of the order looking bereft. Even listening to the game, it was too hot and sticky here to get too worked up about it. Until, that is, the ninth inning.

The Phillies have had their real line-up intact and functioning for only a handful of games this season. All I know is that anytime Utley is out of the line-up it's a scary thing for Phillies' fans. The injury list just keeps getting longer.

For the winning Reds, Scott Rolen hit the 300th home run of his career. Half of those came while he was a Phillie. (Why, oh why, did Rolen have to be so sour?) The Reds were looking last night like the Phillies of recent times, with lots of energetic offense and sturdy defense.

more boys at the ballpark

On Thursday it was hoagies at the park. On Saturday it was cheesesteaks. Gotta love how boys enjoy their food. These two were chowing down just in front of where I was sitting to watch batting practice. Citizens Bank Park gets lots of awards for the variety and quality of its food. Cheesesteaks and hoagies no doubt top the popularity list.

cheers for the union

The Philadelphia Union, an MLS expansion team, yesterday opened its sparkling new park, located at the foot of the Commodore Perry Bridge in Camden, New Jersey. The Union treated the sell-out crowd to a 3-1 win. Not even the World Cup can turn me into an avid soccer fan, but I did look for the game on TV after the Phillies had finished up theirs. When I didn't find it on any of the Philadelphia channels, I turned the TV off. Who knew it would be on ESPN? Hours later, I happened on the final six minutes of the match. It was a good showing all round, by the team and by its Sons of Ben fans.

'swonderful, 'smarvelous

Fans got a rare chance to watch the Phillies, as the visiting team, at batting practice. I noticed that the former IronPigs guys hung together. Yesterday, J.A. Happ, Kyle Kendrick, and Mike Zagurski, in the clump of players on the left, were joined by (non-'Pig) Joe Blanton when Nelson Figueroa opted to shag balls in center field. Thanks to all of the injuries, the IronPigs call-ups have been in the middle of everything this past week.

What's there to say? Jamie Moyer is having a remarkable year. Take out the one game in Boston and he's having a stupendous season. On a very hot and humid afternoon today, he pitched seven innings, throwing 104 pitches, 70 of them for strikes. He got the win, too, in an 11-2 drubbing of the Blue Jays, who scored their two on a home run by Vernon Wells. That homer gave Moyer the lead for most home runs, at 506, ever surrendered in the Majors. Jim Jackson on the radio postgame show recounted a conversation that the late Robin Roberts, the previous record holder, had with Moyer last year. The Hall of Fame pitcher told Moyer that when he broke the record to do it in a win.

The Blue Jays did not help their cause when a botched call (oh, Joe West) in the seventh put Ryan Howard on with one out. The Jays went on to make three errors, leading to four Phillies' runs and upping the score to 11-2. The Phillies again scored a heap of runs without benefit of the long ball, instead getting a diet of hits from just about everyone, including a key double by IronPig call-up Dane Sardinha and three hits from Ben Francisco, who was stinging the ball. But Moyer was just terrific. At the end of the second inning, he became the 40th pitcher in Major League history to throw 4,000 innings. It's remarkable.

more from yesterday's game

It was odd to see #32 but lots of Jays' fans were wearing it.

The flag was waving for the singing of the Canadian national anthem but not many people were singing.

The Blue Jays take the field at the top of the first inning.

These guys, who seemed to be Jays' fans, were catching every moment.

Jimmy Rollins leads off the ball game in a road gray uni.

outta here on a steamy afternoon

The Blue Jays were out of the park early and often (they did all their scoring on three home runs), while Cole Hamels was out of sorts and the Phillies were out of the game. From his first pitch, Cole Hamels looked out of sync and never did appear to be relaxed or in rhythm. The power-happy Jays were happy to take advantage. Jays' starter Shaun Marcum, on the other hand, had Phillies' batters looking silly with his change-up. Marcum, now his team's ace, is 7-1 when pitching after a Jays' loss.

Ryan Howard scored the only Phillies' run, on a mammoth solo shot to deep center. It came on the heels of the knee-jerk fans behind me whining about his contract. "Since he got his money, he hasn't done a thing." They also got agitated when Jimmy Rollins did not blaze his way to first on a routine ground-out. The guy next to me had the same reaction to that that I did, which made us both laugh. He was there with his girlfriend and another couple. The girlfriend had earlier asked me about my scorebook because she had been wanting to do the same. It turned out they frequently came to games, usually on standing-room-only tickets. I liked that. It gives you a chance to hang out all over the park.

It was awfully hot and humid yesterday, even where we were, on the shadier third base side. The section over had a nest of loud and happy Jays' fans. It was cute to see that so many had made the trip. Toronto is, after all, the only Canadian team left. It's sort of how I felt about yesterday's US loss to Ghana. Ghana is carrying the flag for the continent.

doc 'goes home'

In what should have been Roy Halladay's first return to Toronto, the Doc was domintant in a 9-0 win over the Blue Jays. Thanks to security concerns connected with the G20 Summit in Toronto, the weekend series was shifted to Philadelphia, albeit played as a road game for the Phillies. The Phillies batted first and wore their road gray unis; the DH was in effect. In all ways possible the game was played as a road game in an American League park. Except for attendance figures, stats, however, will hold true to location. That means that the game counts as a sell-out of sorts for Toronto and the win as a home win for Halladay.

The Phillies broke the game open with a six-run fifth that put them up 8-0. Ross Gload, playing first for the DH'ing Howard, had a bases-clearing triple in the fifth. A day after his four-hit game, Placido Polanco was very unPolly-like, grounding into three (!) double plays. Shane Victorino's eighth-inning solo home run was the cherry on top. It was also the only home run of the game. Jimmy Rollins, meanwhile, had a career-high four walks.

Blue Jay fans will have to wait till next year to see fan-favorite Halladay pitch again in front of his former hometown team. Halladay allowed six hits in seven innings: Jose Contreras and David Herndon finished the shutout.

Evan Turner, the #2 pick in this year's NBA draft, threw out the first pitch. On Thursday that honor went to former-Sixer great Moses Malone, who was greeted with cheers and hollers.

The game ended in time for TV viewers to catch the final two innings of a wild no-hitter thrown by Edwin Jackson of the Diamondbacks against his former team, the Tampa Bat Rays. Jackson threw 149 pitches, walked eight, and hit a man but finally got the no-hitter. Including two perfect games, it was the fourth no-hitter this season. It was also the third time that the Rays have been no-hit since last July. Bizarre.

domonic brown to lehigh valley

At last, something to 'laugh, oink, cheer' about with Lehigh Valley. Prospect Domonic Brown, who has had a scorching June, was promoted today to Double-A Reading to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The move is one of a host of others, including the return of Tyson Glilles to the DL, Luis Maza's being shipped off to Houston, and, alas, speedy outfielder Rich Thompson''s being sent to Reading, no doubt to make some playing time for Greg Dobbs.

it's not the heat, it's the stupidity

As I was stuck in weather yesterday getting out of Philadelphia, I listened to the rain-delay show hosted by Jim Jackson. Most of the callers made me want to beat my head against the steering wheel.

It started with the guy who was very, very, very angry that Juan Castro was still on the team. Now that Jimmy Rollins was back (for all of three games and he didn't even play in one of them), the Phillies, he said, had to cut Castro immediately and get some bench players who could hit. He heatedly shouted for Cody Ransom and John Mayberry, Jr. Enough with the calls for Ransom, folks. Please watch these guys play before crying for them to come up.

Another guy was furious about the middle relief. Why was David Herndon on the team? When Jackson asked him how Herndon had ever cost the Phillies a game, the guy spluttered. If your problem with the bullpen is David Herndon, you've got bigger issues.

One guy was full of doom about Jimmy Rollins, sure that his walk-off homer the night before would propel him into a spate of popping up. Sheesh. Forget that Rollins was two games off the DL. Forget about the drama of that hit or the moment or the win, let's grouse about popping up.

Then there was the guy who called from Illinois to wonder what had happened with Greg Dobbs and Greg Jeffries? Jackson was flabbergasted but graciously explained that the long-retired Jeffries was probably now in his 40's.

There were, of course, the old-dog-chewing-on-old-bone calls. Why were the Phillies too cheap to do x, y, or z? I guess $140 million is just not enough for some folks. Why didn't they bring back Pedro Martinez (yawn) or, dare I mention his name, Cliff Lee?

Only one woman called, to ask why Halladay and Hamels had been flip-flopped for the Toronto series, which was a good question. One man called with a good question, too, about purpose pitches, or rather the lack thereof. Otherwise, it was just plain dumb, goofy, or embarrassing comments and questions one after another for almost an hour and a half. Entertaining in its way, but golly.

wipe-out

It was hoagie time before the game yesterday afternoon.

Game time temperature was 96F but that isn't why I left after the seventh-inning stretch. Yes, the Phillies had a comfortable lead but that's not why either. It was the sky and the distant flickering of lightning. If I had been really smart, though, I would not have left the parking lot. Instead, I was just turning onto the I-76 ramp when the storm broke and visibility dropped almost to zero. Winds were rocking the car, hail was bouncing off it, and rain lashing it. I could barely make see the car in front of me. All this unfolded to a colorful description of the equally dramatic scene taking place in the ballpark. Eventually it all went away and after a rain delay that lasted an hour and 37 minutes, the show went on. By then I was just about making it out of Philadelphia and onto the turnpike.

It was some storm but happily it all ended with a 12-3 rout of the Indians. Joe Blanton sailed through his outing. When I left in the seventh, he had thrown just 80 pitches and his strike/walk ratio was ridiculous. The Phillies had scored 12 runs, almost all on singles and Indian ineptitude. Placido Polanco had four hits, including a double. Call-up Dane Sardinha, who caught the game, hit the first homer of his career, a solo shot deep into left. Otherwise it was all singles.

The Indians scored two on a homer by former-Phillie farmhand Jason Donald, who had three hits. When play resumed, with two outs in the top of the eighth, Nelson Figueroa was on the mound. Figgy was called up to take the place of Chad Durbin, now on the DL.

jimmy picks his spot

Jimmy Rollins had the first walk-off homer of his career last night and the timing could not have been better. Trailing in the ninth 6-5 to the Indians, Rollins hit a two-run shot to the right field corner. Game over. The Phillies won 7-6. That despite another bad start from Kyle Kendrick, good when he is on, terrible when he is not. Call-up Mike Zagurski pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings in his long-awaited return to the bigs. Chad Durbin popped his hamstring in the ninth and was put on the DL, another bit of bad news.

It was Rollins, though, front and center, with his first hit since being activated from the DL. He called it "one of those moments you try to do all year. Your brain just stops working. You stop thinking about what you need to do. You just set your hands." As someone once said, An empty mind is a full bat.

J.A. Happ was better in last night's rehab start with Reading and the Reading bats stayed hotter than hot, with homers from Bozied, Galvis, Spidale, and Rizzotti, in an 8-3 win over Bowie.

dobbs to lehigh valley

Gregg Dobbs cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he will work on regaining his swing. The 'Pigs are on the road through Monday. No word yet on when Dobbs will join the team.

making history

Just about every time Jamie Moyer takes the mound, he's making history of some kind. Last night he got the 266th win of his career, tying Eppa Rixey and Bob Feller (both in the Hall of Fame) on the all-time wins list. In eight innings vs. the Cleveland Indians, Moyer gave up just one run, a homer to Russell Branyan, which tied Moyer at 505 with Robin Roberts for the most homers allowed. More history looms.

J.C. Romero came in to close in the 9th but put two men on. With one out, Brad Lidge came in to finish the job, striking out both men he faced. The Phillies scored their two runs in the first, then pretty much rested. Jimmy Rollins went 0-4 in his return. Sweet to see him back.

I was flipping between the Phillies and the R-Phils, who are on a run of late. Starter Drew Naylor was stifling and the offense was clicking. Domonic Brown hit two bombs, both deep beyond the right center wall. He also had a potentially bad misadventure in the field, colliding with center fielder Quinten Berry. Other than that, the kid looks ready for just about anything.

Domonic Brown and Jarred Cosart, RHP with the low-A Lakewood BlueClaws, have been selected to represent the Phillies in the All-Star Futures game next month in Anaheim. Great picks! Congrats to both.

dobbs dfa'd; rollins activated....

Gee, and I thought that the big news of the afternoon would come from FIFA. The Phillies have activated Jimmy Rollins, who is in tonight's line-up. In something of a surprise, they have designated pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs for assignment. Dobbs, who was super off the bench in 2007 and 2008, has been weaker than weak this season, at the plate and in the field. If he clears waivers, chances are we will see him with Lehigh Valley, working on his swing. On the more-bad-news front, Carlos Ruiz has been put on the DL. Reliever Mike Zagurski has been called up from Triple-A and Scott Mathieson has been optioned back down. All of these moves leave the Phillies' bench looking as anemic as it has been all season. Good luck to Dobbs and get well soon, Carlos.

mr. lee, mr. lee

I tuned into the Reds-Mariners game Friday night driving back from Williamsport because I knew Cliff Lee was pitching. He was up to his usual tricks, throwing a complete-game shutout. It brought back memories, but most of all it made me feel sad that Lee is now a mercenary. He's a pawn, going to the contender with the best package of prospects, till he reaches free agency. I have the feeling, though, that he'll never be as loved as he was in Philadelphia. Damn the Mariners for being so crappy.

It would be great if Lee were traded to another AL team, a disaster if he were to come back to the NL. The Twins come immediately to mind. A nice team, there's something Lite about them. And their starting pitching, that game Pavano threw notwithstanding, does not impress. Lee would give them presence.

a riches of names

Already the NY-Penn league has yielded a couple of great names. On Friday it was Gift Ngoepe, the speedy second baseman of the State College Spikes. Last night it came courtesy of the Jamestown Jammers, outfielder Sequoyah Stonecipher. It gets better: His full name is Sequoyah Trueblood Stonecipher. That's almost in haiku territory.

cheers of sorts for the ironpigs

The IronPigs can be summed up by this one melancholic fact: On Sunday they won their first series of the season by taking three of four from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Yep, the first series they've won all season. That series win, though, pulled them out of the cellar in the International League North, by one game over Rochester.

All of the prospects who could have been lighting up the nights at Coca-Cola Park this year were traded last summer or during the off-season. So fans make do with the team that is. The starting pitching, except for Joe Savery, is surprisingly sturdy for a team with such an unprepossessing record. Nelson Figueroa, who seems to be a genuinely good guy, has been a welcome recent addition to the rotation. Brandon Duckworth, once with the Phillies, is also an easy guy to cheer for. In truth, it's easy to cheer for lots of these guys, such as Scott Mathieson and Mike Zagurski, both trying to make comebacks from surgeries.

Willy Taveras, another recent addition, immediately changed the flavor of the team. He joined Rich Thompson--he of the career 81% stolen-base rate, as another energetic speedster at the top of the order. But my favorite player this year, called up from Reading in mid-April, is Melvin Dorta. Dorta is not a prospect of any kind. At Double-A Reading, the 28-year-old was an extra infielder who was not likely to see much playing time. But the Rollins' injury caused a roster shift and Dorta came up to fill a spot. In 47 games, he is hitting .317 and almost from the start demonstrated a flair for getting timely hits. He has also pretty much taken over as starter at 2B.

A Venezuelan of Italian descent, Dorta also provided one of the sweetest quotes I've heard in a long time: "When we win, I'm happy and I eat a lot. When we lose, I'm sad and I eat a lot. When a game is postponed, I'm disappointed and I eat a lot." A very Italian sentiment. Come to think of it, though, that's what lots of fans at IronPigs game do, too.

now warming

A photo taken some years ago at the Oakland Coliseum, or whatever it was calling itself at the time. The Yankees were in town and that's Mariano Rivera warming up way down there in the bullpen on the 1st base side. We were up in a sky box, not my way to watch a ballgame.

yay, blueclaws

Way to go, BlueClaws! With their win yesterday over Kannapolis, they clinched the first-half title in the Northern Division of the South Atlantic League. That means the team will again be in the play-offs this September. I've only seen the 'Claws once this year but, like last year's team, they are fun to follow. I was interested to see that Brody Colvin, a promising talent whom I saw pitch on Tuesday, was yesterday's winning pitcher. Big Jonathan Singleton powered the offense, with a three-run homer in the first, then a solo shot in the fifth. Keep it rolling, 'Claws!

The Williamsport Crosscutters, meanwhile, finished off a three-game sweep of the State College Spikes. The 3-0 start is a first in Crosscutter history, which would be since 1999. Domingo Santana is the guy to watch.

another listless afternoon

Roy Halladay had an 8-1 record against the Twins coming into today's game. His only loss came in the last game he pitched against them, in September 2009, when Carl Pavano beat him 4-1. Today, too, Pavano beat Halladay 4-1. Enough with the perfect symmetry. Halladay labored, for sure, but got little help from his mates. The lone Phillies' run came in the most unlikely way, via another homer by Wilson Valdez. He hit his first home run in six years yesterday, then clubbed another today. (Maybe the return of Jimmy Rollins is on his mind.) It was an otherwise listless day for the Phillies. The Twins did all the little things to win; the Phillies did nothing. They now trail the Braves by 5.5 games.

But for a lack of offensive support, both Halladay and Hamels should have much better records. Jimmy Rollins may return to the team on Tuesday, which would slot everyone back in his normal role. But what's to say that Rollins is fully recovered from his injury or will be able to stay in the line-up? Ruiz may also be back, though he was reportedly still dazed today from being hit yesterday. Madson is throwing bullpen sessions; Happ is still rehabbing. How much can any of these guys be counted on? Are Kendrick and Moyer likely to keep up their good performances? And which Joe Blanton is going to show up for the rest of the season?

Last year the Phillies got a tremendous mid-season boost from Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez. This season Ruben Amaro, Jr. says no such move is in the works. If that's so, it's going to be more than a bit of downer come late July.

no thanks to jose, brad, chad, or danys

A long phone call from a Vancouver friend derailed my departure for the IronPigs game and I ended up at home. That's why I got to experience every excruciating moment of the epic bullpen meltdown in Philadelphia yesterday. Cole Hamels did his job and deserved a win. The offense did their job and made us all feel like old times. J.C. Romero did too with his 8th-inning stint. Then came the 9th, with the Twins trailing 9-4. By the time Contreras and Lidge were done, the score was tied. Durbin gave up the go-ahead run in the 10th, but Ross Gload came off the bench and tied it. In the 11th, it was the Danys-oh, no!-Baez show. Please send this guy away! The Twins won it 13-10.

The only thing to do with a game like this is forget about it. If the Phillies falter down the line, let it haunt you then.

Carlos Ruiz got off to a good start this year but has been a human voodoo doll of late, with injuries to ankle, shoulder, wrist, etc. Friday night he was hit in the head by an exploding bat and taken to the hospital for tests. They were negative but Ruiz will miss several days. That forced the Phillies to call up Dane Sardinha from Triple-A (Hoover was on the DL), which forced the weird roster move of designating Scott Mathieson for assignment. It's supposed to be a procedural move that in no way indicates that Mathieson will be released or traded. He did not impress in his debut Friday night but yikes.

To lighten the mood, take a look at the fabulously funny Halladay song posted on Zoo with Roy. Written and performed by Blue Jays' fan Kathy Anderson, it is witty and sharp. You can also find it on YouTube. It's called The Doc Halladay Song (so sad we'll miss him...).

pictures from bowman field

Bleacher creatures late in the game.

Domingo Santana crosses home plate after his resounding seventh-inning shot.

Santana homered in the fourth and was plunked in the ribs in the fifth.

crosscutters beat spikes in debut

The Williamsport Crosscutters opened their 2010 NY-Penn League season last night, hosting the State College Spikes. The all-Pennsylvania match-up featured the respective short-season teams of the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates. The Crosscutters won the game 5-3 pretty much on the strength of two home runs by outfielder Domingo Santana. His first homer, in the fourth, was a two-run shot to deep right center that put the 'Cutters up 4-2. That was an impressive hit, but his second one, in the seventh, was electrifying. The sound of the bat told the story. The only question was how far the ball would go. Whatever its final distance, it was over the left field wall and gone in an instant. Wow! Santana went three for three on the night, with two homers and a double. He also took a pitch in the ribs. He was a bit of an adventure in right field but the guy can hit. On the Spikes' side, the wonderfully-named Gift Ngoepe showed some dazzling moves at second and a likable propensity to steal.

Historic Bowman Field was a sweet place to be last night. All kinds of people were out at the park, enjoying the good weather and the hometown team. The opening series continues tonight in State College, then resumes tomorrow back in Williamsport. Road work turned what should have been a 2.5-hour drive to Williamsport into four hours. If not for that, I might think about driving out to State College for part two.

it's a numbers game

This mural is painted on corrugated siding on an outer wall of the Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, PA. I have never had a Coke at any ballpark, but I dig the sign.

Something happened on the way to see the IronPigs last night and I ended up at home, watching both them and the Phillies on TV. That's how I happened to hear these numbers. The IronPigs, with the worst record in the International League, were playing the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, now second in their division. The Yankees are not a heavy-hitting team and their pitching ranks 10th in the league. The IronPigs too do not hit that much, but their pitching is 2nd. So why are the Yankees that much better? Their record in one-run games is far superior; they have won the majority of such games, while the 'Pigs have not. Going into last night's game, both teams had 47 errors. The Yankees had given up 13 runs on those errors, while the 'Pigs had give up 39. The difference is staggering. Last night, however, Brian Mazone and two relievers combined on a 2-0 shutout of the S/W-B Yankees. The offense came courtesy of a two-run homer by Andy Tracy.

As for the Phillies game, it just went to show why baseball is the most amazing sport. After the Yankees spanked Roy Halladay on Tuesday, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick held the Bombers to a combined nine hits on Wednesday and Thursday. Kendrick went seven strong; Shane Victorino had a two-run homer to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the fifth. The Yankees eventually scored a run but Kendrick and some great Phillies' defense (is it back?) kept the Yankees off the bases, off the board for the rest of the night. Placido Polanco made a super catch diving over the tarp down the third base line and Jose Contreras made a nifty grab, shades of Cliff Lee, on a ball behind his back. The Phillies beat up the Yankee bullpen in the ninth, tacking on four in the 7-1 win. Go figure.

The number here is this: When Kyle Kendrick pitches six or more innings, he is 23-3 in his career. Pretty amazing stat.

mathieson called up; bastardo to dl

Scott Mathieson, one of the top reasons to watch the IronPigs, has been called up to Philadelphia. Lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo has been put on the DL with ulnar neuritis in his left elbow. Mathieson, once a starting pitching prospect, appeared with the Phillies in 2006 but suffered elbow problems that led to Tommy John surgery. He returned to pitching in 2007 but had to have a second Tommy John surgery. Despite daunting odds, he overcame the two surgeries and made his way back to pitching. Except for his most recent outing, a misadventure in Buffalo, the righty dominated in the closer role. Good luck, Scott, and get well, Antonio!

moyer stifles yanks

This is my favorite scorebook. On Tuesday at Lakewood I used the last page in my old scorebook. Two new ones arrived yesterday from What's the Score, just in time for tonight's game.

On the 24th anniversary of his major league debut, Jamie Moyer celebrated with the 265th win of his career, a stellar outing versus the NY Yankees. He threw eight innings, allowing just two runs on three hits. The Phillies' offense came briefly to life against starter A.J. Burnett, with six runs in total, including a bases-clearing triple by Shane Victorino and back-to-back homers, the first of this year, from Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth. Raul Ibanez also stole his first base since May 2009. After Burnett left in the fourth, however, the Phillies did not get another hit. It was enough for Moyer, who was superb in the 6-3 win. Take out last week's nine-run shredding in Boston and Jamie Moyer has been having a remarkable year. Yankee fans may not have liked it but they saw something special last night in the Bronx.

Before the game, a curious offering of sorts was discovered in the Phillies' clubhouse, right in front of Chase Utley's locker, involving an arcane geometric arrangement of bats, a batting glove, and some fruit. All very tongue-in-cheek.

Just think about it: 24 years in the majors, working in the slow lane but still more effective than not. Moyer came back from the worst game of his career on Friday in Boston to pitch one of his best.

from last night's game

The grounds crew finishes its pregame prep.

It was military appreciation night and a lot went on during the pregame ceremoniesm including a Piper Cub flyby. The BlueClaws wore camouflage unis, as well.

Jonathan Singleton, who has been drawing a lot of attention of late, waits on deck as Leandro Castro bats.

'clawing their way to the top

It's the Lakewood BlueClaws I'm talking about here. On Monday night they used two homers in the ninth, by Anthony Hewitt to tie the game, then by Jiwan James to win it, in a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Lexington Legends. Last night the Legends finally broke through in the eighth against starter Brody Colvin to take a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, however, the 'Claws hit two doubles to tie it up. After the Legends failed to score in the tenth, the 'Claws capitalized, loading the bases on a single and two walks, then bringing in the winning run on a walk to slugger Jonathan Singleton. Exciting? Yes! With the win, the BlueClaws maintain their one-game advantage over the Hickory Crawdads for first in the SAL Northern Division. Only five games left to go in the first half of the season.

As usual, two players were signing autographs before the game. Both were drafted last year. Kyle Lafrenze is a reliever; Jeremy Barnes, drafted as a shortstop, plays second. He was recently picked to go to the South Atlantic League All-Star game.

It was a lovely night in Lakewood. The only downer was hearing the Phillies' score on the way home.

saigon vietnamese deli

Friday afternoon in New York, I stopped at a banh mi place at 367 Broome Street, named Saigon Vietnamese Deli. At least, that's what the sign said, though the shop also seems to go by the name VietNam Banh Mi So 1. Who knows? In any case, it was the perfect hole-in-the-wall, with one entrance to the banh mi deli and another next door to its juice bar. The people working there were wonderful. I ordered a sardine sandwich and staked out a stool (there are just four) at the window counter, watching customers come and go as the vuvuzelas droned at the Uruguay-France match playing on the corner TV. The woman staffing the juice bar came through offering free cups of flavored ice to waiting customers. Mine was mango topped with something crunchy and piquant, maybe basil. I wanted to save it for dessert but it was too good to resist on a suddenly warm afternoon. The sandwich, when it came, was delicious. I had ordered it hot, and the 'heat' turned out to be undertated, melding subtly with the pickled carrots and daikon, giant stalks of fresh cukes, and cilantro. The sandwiches here are not cut in half, which means that the taste unfolds slowly as you get past the heel of the crisp baguette. It was a perfect late lunch that carried me through the day. I loved this place.

muggy morning in reading

Reading held its annual morning game, the one that takes place at 9:35, which is definitely not prime time for baseball players. I got tickets for the game because all fans were allowed to walk around the warning track before the start. Best laid plans and all that. I ran late this morning, ran into construction along the way, then spent about 10 minutes circling fruitlessly for a parking spot, finally ending up in the back of a mall parking lot that was a hike from the ballpark. No walk around the warning track.

I didn't even get to my seat until the bottom of the second inning. By then the Flying Squirrels had already homered (lead-off guy). The R-Phils tied it briefly but the Squirrels quickly made it 5-1 against a lusterless Josh Fogg. For the R-Phils it was a lot of atem balls and grounding into double plays. I left in the seventh to hike back to the car. It was by then a muggy, muggy morning. The Flying Squirrels salvaged game four of the series, winning 7-2.

What I heard on the broadcast (yawn) driving home: Quintin Berry was named Eastern League Player of the Week and Cody Overbeck was promoted from Clearwater to Reading. He debuted at third in the eighth.

It's a pity that Freddy Galvis just does not hit. He is a real treat at shortstop.

this time hamels gets support

Cole Hamels again sparkled, as he has been doing for much of the season. Today, however, he got some run support. The only mistake Hamels made, on an 0-2 pitch to Adrian Beltre, resulted in a 1-0 Red Sox lead in the second. In the fourth, though, the Phillies tied it, then added three more, aided by a two-run homer by Raul Ibanez. They tacked on another run in the ninth for a 5-1 lead. J.C. Romero started the ninth and gave up a double to Ortiz. The Red Sox got two runs to make it 5-3 and things were starting to look dicey. Brad Lidge, however, got Marco Scutaro on a pop-up and the Phillies salvaged one from Tim Wakefield. It was also the first time they have won a game at Fenway since 2004 (I was there for that dismal series.) They are now 5-16 against the Red Sox. Hamels, however, is 3-0.

J.A. Happ started this afternoon on a rehab assignment and did not look sharp. His velocity was in the mid-80's and he allowed four runs. The two TV commentators were hard to listen to, obvious and 'over easy'. One of them does the IronPigs on TV and I've already heard too much of him. The other, a local coach, has a voice that grates. The two kept nattering about how Ruben Amaro, Jr. should not start Happ in Philadelphia on Friday. Duh. First of all, anyone could see that Happ was not sharp and did not have velocity. Second, he is coming off an injury and I would guess that everyone is waiting to see how he feels tomorrow.

Reading has fallen on hard times. Brian Seltzer, the new radio guy, seems to have a Vin Scully fixation, but he's too young to be so boringly sonorous. Someone should tell him that 'start' is a good way to say 'commence', which he uses all the time, as in, "The inning will commence." Shriek! I've heard Reading broadcasts streaming live and during the breaks Seltzer talks normally and sounds a lot better doing it. When he goes on mike, though, he falls into rocking-chair mode.

Oh dear, where did all that come from on a hot and humid afternoon? While I'm at it, though, one of the worst is the P.A. guy at Coca-Cola Park. He was an amateur when he started three years ago and remains an amateur.

down, down, down

A 2004 spring training game at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, between the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies.

The downward spiral continues. The Phillies took the early lead only for Joe Blanton to give up a run, then a grand slam to some call-up from the minors named Nava. He hit the slam on the first pitch he saw. Is Joe Blanton serious? In any case, he was gone after four. Final score: 10-2, Red Sox.

Yesterday's line-up: Victorino, Werth, Utley, Howard, Francisco, Ibanez, Dobbs, Schneider, Valdez. My first thought was spring training. Victorino is not good leading off. Werth and Utley are in massive slumps. Howard is tepid. Francisco seems to need to hit into two double plays before he can get a real hit. Ibanez has still not found his swing. Dobbs is a cipher, Schneider, a question, and Valdez, another GDIP guy. What do you expect to do with a line-up like that? If the big guys aren't carrying it, it's going nowhere. They aren't and it isn't.

Yesterday, however, it was Brian Schneider who did the work, going three for four and bringing in both Phillies' runs. Dobbs predictably made an error that led to the first Red Sox run.

Rollins: injured. Polanco: in and out with nagging injuries. Utley: mysteriously, massively slumping. Howard: getting his singles' groove on. Werth: went from short, compact, powerful to long, loose, and ugly. Ibanez: still getting back from last year's injury. Victorino: not a lead-off hitter but forced now to be one. Ruiz: hitting surge sidetracked by nagging injuries. It's looking to be all over sometime soon.

Today, Cole Hamels against Tim Wakefield. At the best of times, Hamels gets little run support. Against Wakefield, he's got no chance.

After today it's three against the Yankees, then three with the Twins at home. Could be six straight losses there, even if Roy Halladay is pitching twice and Hamels once. If you're looking for good news, of sorts, the Williamsport Crosscutters open their season on Friday. We've always got the minors.

peter korniss and cyrilla mozenter

I went to New York yesterday to see two shows. The first, Attachment, was an exhibition of photos by renowned Hungarian photographer Peter Korniss, at the Hungarian Cultural Center. In breathtaking black and white photos, Korniss has documented the demise of traditional peasant life in Hungary and Transylvania. When he started taking these photos, in the late 1960's, he sometimes felt transported back 100 years. He was stunned to discover that in parts of Hungary and Transylvania peasant culture was alive and intact. That has now, of course, all changed. Korniss has, however, left a profound interpretation of that culture.

The photo shown in the announcement card above is of a tired shepherd, taking a rest in the field. The Hungarian Cultural Center is open only on weekdays. The show ends on June 15.

Uptown at the Adam Baumgold gallery it was a solo show by Cyrilla Mozenter, a contemporary artist who works in industrial felt. Called warm snow, the show includes new sculptures, hangings, and drawings, as well as some earlier sculptural works. It's a small show and simply wonderful. The polar bear piece shown above is of stitched industrial felt. Mozenter uses no armature in her sculptures, nothing but felt and thread. The show ends on June 26.

moyer clobbered

The Phillies are in Boston for the weekend.

I got off the bus yesterday evening from New York in time to hear that the Red Sox had scored five times in the first. Before I got much farther, Jamie Moyer was out of the game. He lasted an inning and a bit, giving up nine runs in all. Brutal. The game was over, as the offense did little this time against John Lackey. Final score: 12-2. This weekend at Fenway features the three pitchers the Phillies faced last month at the 'Zen: Lackey, Matsuzaka, and Wakefield. The other two are the ones who pretty much sent the offense into its prolonged tailpsin. The last time, however, the Phillies beat Lackey. What happened last night at Fenway was brutal. I know this outing was not typical for Moyer and that it was as much as anything a bad match-up but, much as I like Jamie Moyer, please let there be no new contract for 2011.

johnson takes the rematch

What happened Thursday night, in the rematch of Josh Johnson v. Roy Halladay, was an almost predictable bit of tit for tat. This time Johnson won. Halladay gave up just one run, on a first-inning sacrifice fly that probably should not even have happened. The Phillies got stray hits against Johnson but that was it. Danys Baez (oh, no) took over in the ninth and gave up a home run to Dan Uggla. Leo Nunez closed the door for the Marlins in a 2-0 win. It was the seventh time the Phillies have been shut out this year. They were shut out seven times in all last season.

grand while it lasted

The Flyers went down last night in overtime to the Blackhawks. I gather it happened on a fluky goal by Patrick Kane, the one who got away. I confess that by then I was drifting off to sleep. I wish there had been a game seven but only regret that I did not get to see the two teams shake hands at the end of the game, a ritual unlike any other in sports. It was too bad that the series had to end but the first period of game five indicated that the Blackhawks had stopped playing Amstel-Lite hockey. It was an improbably great run for the Flyers. Congratulations to all.

cold and wet

I like Brad Lidge. He's this big, steady, even-keeled person with no b.s. to him.

It's been chilly and wet all day long and tonight's games (Phillies, IronPigs) are likely to be postponed. If so, Roy Halladay will pitch tomorrow. That means that instead of catching Halladay three more times before the All-Star break, I'll see him in person not at all. Boo!

One game does not make a trend but it was great to see Chase Utley yesterday looking more like himself. In the fifth, he even made a terrific take-out slide on Hanley Ramirez at second, ending up safe thanks to an Uggla error. The psychobabble about Utley was reaching sheer stupidity. Among the loonier, at least to me, theories being touted: that he had simply lost his fire, that he had lost his fire because Rollins is gone, that he had lost it because of Howard's big contract, or that his wife is pregnant (not public if the case) and he is stressed out, that he has mono, that his hip is crumbling, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. That's what's wrong with the blogosphere, sports talk radio, etc. It's pretty much amateurs floating lame ideas and intoxicating themselves and others with them.

Anytime Ryan Howard has an oppo-boppo, as he did last night, things are looking up.

Driving to Philadelphia yesterday, I heard Jesse Biddle, the Phillies' first-round draft pick, being interviewed by Mike Missanelli on radio. What a refreshing kid! Asked if he might pass on the Phillies to attend the University of Oregon, he gave an emphatic no. He was ready to sign that minute but has to wait for his high school graduation this Friday. Asked about contract negotiations, he said he was going for slot and that he and his reps had already made that clear to the team. His dream is to play pro ball and to do it with his hometown team. The kid sounded poised and grounded and very much ready to grab his chance and run with it.

almost like old times

A come-from-behind win, lots of two-out offense, and a tension-filled ninth all went to make the 10-8 slugfest over the Marlins last night seem like old times. Both starters, Kendrick and Volstead, pitched themselves out of the game by the fifth. As he did 10 days ago in Florida, Kendrick had trouble throwing the ball to first. Howard made the second of the Phillies' two errors, both of which led to Marlins' runs. Howard then atoned with a two-run homer in the third, to make it 4-2 Fish, and later added an RBI groundout. The Marlins too had two errors, but only one cost them.

The Fish took an 8-7 lead in the eighth only to see the Phillies put three on the board. Neither bullpen could hold a lead, until Brad Lidge came in for the ninth, and even that was iffy. He gave up a single to Hanley Ramirez, got Cantu and Uggla swinging, walked Ross, then gave up an infield hit to prospect Mike Stanton, who made his MLB debut last night. Lidge finally got Ronnie "Phillie-Killer" Paulino to pop out to second to end the game. Oh, my.

Just about everybody hit--or at least reached base. Victorino and Howard both homered; each now has 10. (Welcome to the new world order, where Victorino ties Howard for home runs.) Chase Utley had two hits and a sac fly; he was also hit by a pitch. Raul Ibanez had four hits, for his first four-hit game of the season. Ben Francisco, filling in for the struggling Jayson Werth, hit into two double plays and had a couple of misadventures in the field, but rebounded to single in two, and put the Phillies ahead, in the eighth. Long in hiding, the team's trademark resilience last night was back. Stick around, willya?

Speaking on the radio postgame show, Raul Ibanez quoted his college coach about baseball, It's a tough game for tough people. Ibanez said that he and his teammates didn't understand what the guy was talking about. Surely, football was the tough game for tough guys. But in time they came to realize that their coach was saying that baseball is a tough game mentally. Ibanez has talked about this before, but it obviously bears repeating.

Maybe fans were snapping last night in the eighth, when they started doing the wave. The wave is so over and why anyone does it is beyond me. Especially when the game is still in doubt. Are you kidding me? But that's pretty much what happened in the eighth, with two outs, two men on and Wilson Valdez at the plate. The Phillies had already plated two to go up by one run. And the bloody wave gets going around the park. When Valdez hit his RBI dribbler up the third-base line, my section was on its feet and I was unable to see a thing. Now, that is embarrassing fan behavior.

Meanwhile, down in Washington, Steven Stasburg was exceeding the hype, throwing 14 strikeouts in seven innings. The Pirates scored two in a 5-2 loss. They never really had a chance.

3-4-5 and jesse biddle

Clouds over the grandstand at Coca-Cola Park.

Utley, Howard, and Werth tonight went one for eleven, which is pretty much what they have been doing during this 16-game-and-heading-for-infinity slump. Howard had the lone hit, which kept the Phillies from being shut-out for the sixth time during this stretch. Utley continues to look lost and unlike himself. Werth is swinging at anything low and away or high and inside. And looking ugly doing it. The Phillies will continue to sink while these three flounder. Plain and simple.

With the 27th pick in tonight's MLB draft, the Phillies took Jesse Biddle, a lefthanded pitcher from Germantown Friends School.

Just to round things off, Jimmy Rollins is basically no closer to a return. He is heading for Clearwater and more rehab when his mates go on the road this weekend.

a crisp, cool night at lehigh valley

Chris Duffy heads back to the dugout after scoring on an RBI single by catcher Paul Hoover for the only run of tonight's game.

It was a good night to see the IronPigs, a most hapless team. Nelson Figueroa was making his debut and he pitched a good game, paired against Matt Zaleski of the Charlotte Knights. Hits were at a minimum and the pace was quick. The only run scored in the fifth. With two outs, Hoover singled to bring in Duffy, who had stolen second, then advanced to third on a throwing error. Both starters went six innings. The 'Pigs threatened a couple of times but were unable to tack on. Willy Taveras has definitely added some more speed to the line-up. He also made a spectacular full-out diving catch in center field.

Hard-throwing Scott Mathieson came in for the final out of the eighth, then pitched a scoreless ninth to preserve the 1-0 win for Figueroa. Mathieson, a big kid, throws around 97 or 98. When I heard Jim Salisbury of CSN talking earlier today about a hard-throwing acquisition at the trade deadline, I thought for sure he meant Mathieson. But no, he was talking about the return of Ryan Madson. Oh, yes, Ryan Madson.

Which brings me to the Phillies. I heard the end of the game driving home. Cole Hamels had had a no-hitter going into the seventh, then gave up two solo homers. But what did it matter? The Phillies had stopped hitting in the third. They got a run off of Padres' closer Heath Bell in the 9th, courtesy of a Howard RBI, but Jayson Werth ended the game as he did yesterday, swinging at a high fastball, way out of the zone.

The best thing that happened on the way home? A fox ran across the street in front of me somewhere on the south side of town.

blame it on danys? maybe not

It's easy to blame today's 10-inning loss on Danys Baez, who gave up the go-ahead run, but in truth the Phillies took a 5-3 lead, largely because of shoddy Padres' defense, in the second inning, then went into a cocoon while the Padres came back to tie it and eventually edge ahead for a 6-5 win in extras. Did I say yesterday that 3-4-5 were showing signs of life? Today I'd say, pull the covers up to their chins and let them slumber. A numbing 15 men were stranded on base today, just by the Phillies. Since coming back from the DL, Joe Blanton has usually been effective for five, then blows up in the sixth. Today, he stunk it up from the get-go. He's handing home runs out like lollipops and letting base runners run wild. Chase Utley looks so bad (his average is now below .260) that one can only think he is hurt.

Struggling righty Philippe Aumont has been demoted to high-A Clearwater. Nelson Figueroa cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Lehigh Valley.

shut up and pitch

I love it when visiting pitchers and managers (John Smoltz and Bobby Cox spring to mind) complain about the 'Zen. Last night John Garland was beat by 47-year-old Jamie Moyer in a game that took two hours and two minutes to play. All Garland could do afterwards was to whine about the park. Two pitchers, two teams, the same park. Deal with it.

moyer goes the distance--again

Jamie Moyer needed just 98 pitches to finish his second complete game of the year, a 6-2 win over the Padres. The win made Moyer the third pitcher in major league history to win 100 games after the age of 40. He allowed two runs on five hits in the second, then only two hits the rest of the way. He had only one three-ball count, which came in the ninth. It was a complete game win, with lots of crisp, even sparkling, defense and lots of timely hitting. The long-missing 3-4-5 guys showed signs of return, while Shane Victorino is suddenly looking hot.

Go, Phillies! Go, Flyers!

some halladay, some hits, some hockey

Roy Halladay got lots of standing O's last night---walking out to the bullpen, coming in from the bullpen, when the lineups were announced, and taking the field. Fresh off his perfect game, Halladay was effective, if not efficient, for seven innings. Despite giving up 10 hits, he held the Padres to two runs and got the win. That was also despite a shaky bullpen eighth, when Jose Contreras hit the first batter, got an out, then walked the next. Enter J.C. Romero, who promptly walked the first man he faced before getting a crisp 5-3 double play to keep the score 3-2 Phils. The Phillies scored when Halladay singled, then Victoino homered him in. The Pads came back to tie it up, but the Phillies, who twice had the bases loaded, inched ahead on a bases-loaded walk by Jayson Werth. A walk is indeed as good as a hit. The Phillies managed only six of the latter but gave hope of more to come.

It was great to see Brad Lidge warming up in the bullpen in the 8th. By the time he came into the game, I was circling the concourse and only caught glimpses of his sparkling 1-2-3 performance, a ground-out and two strike outs.

The background story was game four of the Stanley Cup, playing out across the street. When I left the park, the Flyers were up 4-1 and things were looking rosy until a dumb penalty gave the Blackhawks life. Not a good time for dumb Flyer penalties to rear their ugly heads. The 'Hawks got it to 4-3 but an empty-netter by Jeff Carter sealed the 5-3 win late. Time now for the Flyers to win one on Chicago ice.

the secret in their eyes and what i missed

Last night I went to see The Secret in Their Eyes, a dark Argentinian thriller shot through with romantic and comic threads. The movie unfolds as a series of flashbacks and imaginings about the rape-homicide 25 years earlier of a young schoolteacher married to a bank clerk. Benjiman, a retired court investigator, decides to write a novel about the case, which puts him again in touch with a judge from the time, the much younger Irene, the object of his undeclared affection. The courthouse is a profane world; most of the judges and officers are bureaucratic hacks, opportunistic sleazeballs, or worse. Irene, with Benjiman and his Pancho Sanchez sidekick, Pablo Sandoval, are among the exceptions.

There's an electrifying scene that starts with a long overhead view of a soccer stadium, where Benjamin and Sandoval are searching for the suspected rapist Gomez. When Benjamin later gets nowhere during his interrogation of Gomez, Irene steps in. In an incredible bit of drama, she takes the hostility toward women which is at the heart of machismo and relentlessly twists it against Gomez to bring him to confession. And that's just the beginning. Ricardo Darin as Benjamin, Soledad Villamil as Irene, and Guillermo Francella as Sandoval, are outstanding and the supporting cast is terrific. Director and writer Juan Jose Campanella, who has also directed episodes of Law and Order, has crafted a richly-wrought suspense story.

I got home before 11, with the Flyers and Blackhawks tied 3-3 and poised to go into overtime. I also heard on the way home that in Detroit Armando Galarraga, with two out in the ninth, had lost a perfect game because of a blown call by first base umpire Jim Joyce. Jason Donald (former Phillie farmhand) had grounded to Cabrera, who tossed the ball to Galarraga covering first. Donald was clearly out but Joyce called him safe. Galarrago knew that Joyce had blown it, but responded merely with a sweetly wry smile, then went to get the next batter on another ground-out.

The umpire later apologized after seeing the replay, but really what else could he do. The proof was incontrovertible, and Jim Joyce will forever be known as that guy. So for that matter will Galarraga, who will forever be the guy who threw the perfect game that was but wasn't. I am really moved more by how gracious Galarraga was than by anything else. By the time I got done watching the coverage of that (baseball after all rules), the Flyers had scored a goal that was disallowed, then shortly after that Claude Giroux put the winning puck in the net. The Flyers now trail the series 2-1 but could easily be leading it 3-0. So could the Blackhawks. Only Chicago, however, has not seemed to recognize how evenly matched these two teams are.

All but forgotten in all this is the news that Ken Griffey, Jr. yesterday announced his retirement, 22 years to the day from when he made his debut in the majors. June 2 is also the day that Babe Ruth retired from baseball. On any other day, the Griffey news would have been the story. Yesterday, however, not.

And today the Phillies signed erratic outfielder Willie Taveras to a minor league contract. He will, presumably, take the spot of Dewayne Wise on the IronPigs' roster. Wise exercised his June 1 option to become a free agent. For the 'Pigs this is a sideways move.

mojo for milt

A little mojo for hitting coach Milt Thompson. It's not his fault that the Phillies aren't hitting.

Kyle Kendrick was again pretty good but in the end Derek Lowe was the winning pitcher as the Phillies lost 2-1 in Atlanta. Credit Jose Contreras, who till today had surrendered just one earned run, with the loss. And that's how it goes when things are going bad. The Phillies are now 2.5 games out of first. Polanco may be back on Friday but Rollins is still "jogging" in Clearwater. June, always the worst month, promises to be a killer.

Get the mojo working!

the girl who kicked the hornet's nest

Yesterday around noon I picked up the final book in the Stieg Larsson trilogy and was deep into when the Phillies game started last night. I finished the book around 10 and immediately fell asleep. This morning I read the dispiriting accounts of the game in Atlanta and Hamels' wasted start. But the worst news to me is that Jimmy Rollins will not be ready to return on Saturday when his current stint on the DL expires. Both Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez have already seen too much playing time. The offensive drought has carried into the field and onto the base paths. Where is the mojo?

The Hornet's Nest, by the bye, was totally gripping. The Larsson books are the only books I have read this year that are worth 500+ pages. (Five hundred seems to be the magic number these days for publishers but many books do not justify being that long.) I now understand the rumors about an unfinished manuscript for a book four in the series, as the third one leaves the door open. The Hornet's Nest galloped to its conclusion, sweeping this reader along. Amazingly, each book is better than the last. Stieg Larsson, you are missed.

help!

News flash: The Phillies' bats have been eaten by sharks. This 'theory' may make as much sense as any being floated. I still hold though to what Soup (did I really just call him that) Campbell called it the other night on ESPN: the Madame Butterfly effect, a consequence of facing two Japanese pitchers sandwiched around two knuckleballers.