welcome to philadelphia

As the heroine in this still from the movie Riders of the Night says, "I can't remember what I did to deserve this."

By the time Brad Lidge gave up a three-run home run to Ryan Zimmerman in the 9th, Joe Blanton's rocky 1st (he gave up three runs) was barely a memory. The Phillies battled back to tie it at four, then in the top of the 9th took a 5-4 lead. Time for Lidge and sure enough he quickly had put two on, then served a ball right down the middle to Zimmerman, who sent it high off the grassy berm in deep center. There is no relief here. There is no other closer here.

The Phillies finished July 15-13; on the road they were 3-11. Not exactly a hot start to the second half. Last year they were 20-7 in July and were sterling on the road.

roy vey

Melvin Dorta's cute son takes some hacks before a recent game up in Moosic between the 'Pigs and Yanks.

I was at a stultifying game at Coca-Cola Park last night (talk about contrasts: IronPigs and Durham Bulls) while Roy Oswalt was getting knocked around by the Nationals in D.C. When I left my game, stifling yawns, Chad Durbin was busy totally blowing the game. I got home in time to see the postgame highlights. Ouch. Oswalt was not sharp but was not helped by sloppy play behind him or by--surprise, surprise--a lack of offensive support. The Phillies mustered just one run, a Jayson Werth solo homer, in the 8-1 loss. Oi vey. Welcome to Philadelphia, Roy, where aces get little run support. See: Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels.

If the Phillies continue to play losing ball on the road and against the NL East, they are going nowhere. Oswalt's awful record against the NL East continues to be worrisome. When I mentioned it to a fellow fan this morning, he said, but I thought he pitched really well at CBP. Indeed he did. Let's hope it was the park not the team!

For someone said to be media-wary, Oswalt was good in his postgame presser, flashing charm and candor in dealing with questions about his performance and his emotions on being traded. Watching it, I atarted to feel that his start should have been put off a day or two to get that sort of thing out of the way. Besides looking like a sexy old-time ballplayer, Oswalt impressed with his reiterated statement, "The true baseball is in the postseason." That, he said, is why he is in Philadelphia. To get to the postseason, though, the Phillies are going to have to zone in on consistency.

And Ruben Amaro, Jr., has got to do something about the bullpen. It's almost August and we're still waiting for these guys to round into shape.

Down in Houston, meanwhile, J.A. Happ threw six scoreless innings, helping his new team to a 5-0 win over the Brewers. I hope he keeps it up.

baseball doesn't wait for anyone

Both pitchers in yesterday's trade start tonight for their respective new teams. For both it is the first time they will be in a uni not that of the team that drafted them.

Roy Oswalt faces the Nationals in Washington for the Phillies. For me, his debut is not quite like Lee's last July in San Francisco, especially as I will be at an IronPigs' game and not in D.C. But it is still pretty unreal.

J.A. Happ, meanwhile, will make his first start tonight for the Astros. Happ was fighting tears as he faced reporters yesterday. He has always seemed to be a thoughtful, intelligent, and highly competitive guy, who did everything that he was asked to do and was an integral part of both the 2008 and 2009 teams. I think, I hope, that he has the guts and guile to to make it work in Houston. What I shall miss the most is his oddly balletic grace, for one so tall, on the mound. Really, he was a treat to watch.

When asked yesterday about having to fly to Houston this morning and start this evening, Happ replied, "Baseball doesn't wait for anyone, and now I have to turn the page."

In other news, Jamie Moyer will not require surgery on his injured elbow. He will instead start a rehab program and is already talking about a return next season. I wish him well but sometimes it is all about the writing on the wall.

valdez clutch in the 11th

Both starters, Kyle Kendrick and Joe Saunders, pitched well enough to win but neither figured in the decision. The Phillies took a 2-1 lead into the 9th but Ryan Madson gave up a double to lead-off hitter Justin Upton, then J.C. Romero allowed a run to tie the game. It wasn't until the 11th that Wilson Valdez singled Cody Ransom in and gave the Phillies the 3-2 win. Valdez and Polanco turned a couple of awesome double plays. Raul Ibanez's 6th-inning homer put the Phillies up 2-1. The Rauuuuuul chants are again gaining volume.

it's a deal: oswalt for happ, gose, and villar

The Oswalt deal is done. That means that, within the space of just a year, the Phillies acquired three of the top pitchers in baseball: Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay, and Roy Oswalt. Only two are with the team but it is still simply amazing--and no doubt noted by many.

Going to Houston are lefty starter J.A. Happ, who has featured in trade talks for a couple of years, outfield speedster Anthony Gose, from High Single-A Clearwater, and shortstop prospect Jonathan Villar, from Low Single-A Lakewood. Gose is reportedly being flipped to the Blue Jays, who were hot for him last winter in the Halladay deal. The Phillies also receive an undisclosed amount of cash from the Astros and do not have to pick up the 2012 option of Oswalt. This all sounds too good to be true. Hats off to Ruben Amaro, Jr. He keeps getting it done. Really, pinch-yourself amazing.

I've just seen most of Amaro's presser on CSN Philly. Reporter: So you have three #1's for next year? Ruben: Yes, we do.
Priceless.

Oswalt is scheduled to start tomorrow night in Washington. Incredible. I had tix to last night's game in Philadelphia but deadlines made me sell them. I had plans to go to D.C. this weekend but the same deadlines did that trip in.

halladay and brown deliver big-time

Roy Halladay pitched a complete game and Domonic Brown went 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored in his major league debut. On any other night, the story would have been all Halladay, who was as masterful as ever in a 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks. Last night, though, the prize prospect was center stage, and he delivered, doubling in his first at-bat to knock in the first run of the game. His only miscue was an ill-advised attempt at a diving catch in the 9th, which ended up costing Halladay a shut-out. All in all, it was a sweet debut. Sweet, too, to see how the other players responded to Brown.

Asked about Brown's performance in the postgame presser, manager Charlie Manuel quipped, "I think he's got a bobblehead coming out tomorrow."

Rumors are now flying that the Phillies and Astros have a deal in place for Roy Oswalt. It all depends on the long-time Houston ace waiving his no-trade clause. Word is that J.A. Happ and Jon Singleton, the single-A slugging phenom, are among the players going to the Astros in return.

vic to dl, brown to philadelphia

Shane Victorino was put on the 15-day DL with an oblique strain and Domonic Brown, rated the top prospect in baseball, was promoted to Philadelphia to take his spot on the roster. That's one reason to skip tonight's 'Pigs' game and stay at home to watch the Phillies on TV. (Deadlines and smothering humidity are others.) You would have to think that one way or another Brown will get into the game.

worley solid in debut; victorino injured

An immense orange moon rose late over the rim of the park.

The 9th inning looked good at the start.

Vance Worley threw six innings in his Triple-A debut last night at Coca-Cola park, giving up just five hits, striking out seven and walking one. Much of the time he was throwing in the low 90's and working quickly and efficiently against the high-powered Durham Bulls. With last night's outing, Worley has now thrown 24 scoreless innings, including his last two games in Double-A and an inning in relief on Saturday in Philadelphia. It was sweet to see Michael Stutes coming in for the 7th in relief of his draft mate.

The Bulls scored the first run of the game in the 8th, but the 'Pigs answered immediately with three of their own. Looking good, right? But for the second night in a row the bullpen blew the game. Monday night against the Tides, it was Michael Schwimer giving up three in the 15th. Last night it was Scott Mathieson, who imploded for four in the 9th. The Bulls took the first game of the series 5-3. Otherwise, it was another mellow night at the ballpark, which was packed.

When I was walking out of the park, the Phillies were up 7-5. I caught the end of the game in the car going home, including Cody Ransom's two-run homer, which put the Phils up 9-5 over the D'backs. Ryan Howard earlier had a two-run homer to put the Phillies up 7-5. Jayson Werth also had one, his first home run since June.

On the down side, Shane Victorino left the game with an oblique injury. Bummer. Rollins, day-to-day, is out of the line-up because of a foot contusion. Now Victorino is likely out. But the speculation was immediate that Domonic Brown would be called up to take a spot on the short-handed bench. Brown last night went 2-4.

once again down to the wire

The Diamondbacks are in town for a three-game set that starts tonight. Tonight's match-up: Rodrigo Lopez v. Cole Hamels.

Once again Brad Lidge took it down to the wire, giving up a two-run homer, then loading the bases, before getting Ryan Spilbourghs on a ground-out for the 5-4 win. Cardiac Brad is pushing it. Joe Blanton gave up two in the first, then was solid through six. The middle relievers did their job in the 7th and 8th. Lidge came into the 9th with 5-2 lead but had to go all dramatic on us.

The Phillies scored three in the second courtesy of some Keystone Kop play in the Rockies outfield and two errors by Jason Giambi, whose defense only gets worse and worse with age. The Fightin's added two more later. The Rockies were swept in four to end their terrible 2-9 road trip. They are playing like the Phillies were.

Jimmy Rollins fouled a ball off his left foot, went down splat, and limped and hobbled throughout the game. X-rays after the game were negative. He has a bad contusion and will be re-evaluated today. This team obviously cannot do without Jimmy Rollins.

Yesterday's win gave Charlie Manuel his 500th as a Phillie manager. Congratulations, Chuck!

rollins makes it happen

Credit Jimmy Rollins with manufacturing the go-ahead run in the 7th. Just out of a 99-minute rain delay on what was another sticky, sticky day in eastern Pennsylvania, Wilson Valdez led off with a pinch-hit double. Rollins singled him in to tie the game at 3-3 and took second on a fielding error by Carlos Gonzalez. Rollins then stole third and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by reliever Rafael Betancourt, who appeared to be more concerned with Ryan Howard at first than Rollins at third. It was a sweet sequence and gave hope that the Phillies are coming out of their funk.

Till his double yesterday, Valdez had not hit in 15 at-bats and not had an extra-base hit in weeks. All three pinch-hitters yesterday (Valdez, Ibanez, and Gload) doubled. Both starting pitchers--Jeff Francis for the Rox and J.A. Happ, in his first return from injury,--had command issues but both were OK. Situational hitting was a black hole for both teams. Brad Lidge started the 9th inning with a quick out, then went into slow motion, loading the bases at what seemed an unbelievably, for such a hot day, glacial rate. In the end he struck out the side in the 4-3 win. Hard to watch? For sure. Yet Lidge maintained a calm on the mound no matter the incipient chaos he was courting.

Pair of Custian Homers

Got tickets behind home plate at the Coliseum today and enjoyed a different view from usual. The White Sox had won masterfully last night with Buehrle pitching for them and the radio was full of talk about how Cahill could take some lessons from him. The first inning in today's game moved at a glacial pace, with Vin Mazzero needing 29 pitches to retire the side and sweaty Freddy Garcia needing even more: 44 pitches. The second didn't get any better for Garcia, whose pitch count rose to over 60, with only two outs. He was dismissed and reliever Pena wobbled through 3 more players before the A's were retired. This game seemed to go on forever under the blinding sunshine, but for a change, lots were going A's way. What appeared to be a double for Suzuki, turned out to be an HR, and right after that, Cust hit his first HR. In the 8th, he blasted a second homer, way back into the right bleacher section. Despite these HRs, the A's won playing small ball. Lots got on base, lots were moved forward by teammies.
On a bummer note, we have more injuries: Ben Sheets with elbow issues that might shelve him the rest of the year and Rajai Davis has a hamstring.

phillies punish jimenez, kendrick stars

Like I said, it was a match-up made in heaven. Ubaldo Jimenez never recorded an out in the 3rd. The hard-throwing Jimenez came into the game with a 15-1 record. He threw hard today, too, but not for strikes. The Phillies took advantage and punished him for six runs in the 3rd. The scoring started with a bases-clearing triple by Ryan Howard, his fifth of the season. (Wrap your head around that stat.) He then scored on a bizarre wild pitch. Later in the game Raul Ibanez chipped in with a two-run homer that bounced off the second-deck facing; Jimmy Rollins went 3-5, with three RBI, and Jayson Werth, 2-4 with two walks. Shane Victorino made a spectacular defensive play.

Kyle Kendrick, demoted after his dreadful game in St. Louis on Monday, then recalled after the Moyer injury, pitched seven innings of sturdy baseball, allowing just one run, a solo homer to Ian Stewart, on six hits. His lone walk came in the 7th on a brutally hot day with temps around 100, when he loaded the bases but got out of the jam. When throwing six or more innings in a game, Kendrick is now 25-4 for his career. He is also the recipient of outstanding run support. Final score today: 10-2.

Jose Contreras pitched the 8th and allowed a run. Double-A call-up Vance Worley pitched the 9th for his major league debut. He had a 1-2-3 inning. After the game he was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Good news all round.

FOX had the broadcast, with Tim McCarver and Dick Stockton in the booth. It was like old-timers week with the two of them and much funnier and looser than when McCarver is with Buck, when he seems to be trying too hard. Stockton was a much better foil for him. Or maybe it was that they sounded like two old guys gassing about things. At one point McCarver brought up the t-shirt that a Phillie fan had sent Jim Tracy after the silliness with the binoculars out in Colorado in May. Tracy had it in his office at the park today and told McCarver he takes it with him all over the league. It was of course the Zoo With Roy shirt: "We have *84 home game *tasers *Roy Halladay *your signs". Classic.

halladay pitches, phillies hit: way to win

Roy Halladay pitched and the Philles hit. That was how it was supposed to be and how it was last night in 6-0 win over the visiting Colorado Rockies. On a hot, sticky night, Halladay even made it look easy. The Phillies scored five in the 5th, on a timely hit by Raul Ibanez and two-run homer deep into the Phillies bullpen by Ross Gload. Ibanez was hitting third, where ha has been pretty good, and Gload started at right, with Jayson Werth in center in place of Shane Victorino. Jimmy Rollins went 2-4 and scored twice. He hit the ball hard each time. Jayson Werth looked more like his old self, at the plate and on the basepaths. Even Ryan Howard swiped a bag.

Greg Gross was in the dugout in place of Milt Thompson, but that obviously had nothing to do with the hitting. In all interviews and comments since his firing, Thompson has been his usual classy self. He should get a roaring reception on Alumni Weekend. Charlie Manuel said that he alone had made the decision to relieve Thompson of his duties. He called it the hardest baseball decision he has made but he felt that some kind of change was needed.

Before the game an emotional Jamie Moyer talked with reporters about his future in baseball. for Moyer, who has had an amazing career, it ain't over till it's over but facing that final curtain looks difficult.

historic bowman field

This double card (front and back) shows two views of Bowman Field, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and includes actual dirt from the field. The card was issued on the 80th anniversary of the park, which is the oldest minor league park in the state and second-oldest in the country. It is now home to the Williamsport Crosscutters in the New York-Penn League. The Crosscutters are the short-season single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. I picked up the card when I went to the season opener last month, though it was issued several years ago for the 80th anniversary of the historic park, which is very much worth a visit. I would go more often but it is about two and a half hours away. Roadwork, a summer sport here in Pennsylvania, often stretches the trip to four hours.

phillies fire milt thompson

Hitting coach Milt Thompson was fired after today's game. My immediate reaction is too bad for Milt and too boring for the Phillies. They have a roster of guys who, with the exception of Ryan Howard and Placido Polanco, are pretty much not hitting but suddenly Milt Thompson takes the fall for their lack of situational-hitting savvy. On the other hand, he has been the hitting coach since 2002.

It's one of those things that happens in baseball. Can't fire the players, so a coach gets the axe. Not fair but much in life is not. Gregg Gross of the IronPigs will take Thompson's place. That's Gregg Gross of the offensively-challenged IronPigs. All in all, this move seems like another gloomy sign of the season. Why did Chase Utley have to go and mess up his thumb!

Jamie Moyer will go on the 15-day DL but it sounds as if he may be done for the season.

Kyle Kendrick will pitch on Saturday against Ubaldo Jimenez, one of those match-ups made in heaven. J.A. Happ will return to the rotation on Sunday. Ruben Amaro, Jr. is getting skewered.

hamels is brilliant but does not get the win

What else is new? Cole Hamels was again brilliant and again came away with a no-decision. Hamels pitched eight scoreless innings against the Cardinals this afternoon, allowing just one run and one walk. He struck out the first five batters he faced. Adam Wainwright was good but left after after the sixth, having given up six hits and no runs. The pitching match was thrilling until Wainwright left and we we forced onto the LaRussa reliever merry-go-round.

The Phillies finally won it in the 11th. Polanco led off with solo home run. Ibanez walked and was eventually doubled in by Werth, who had his first hit with runners in scoring position since June 24. The Phillies then left the bases loaded. With a 2-0 lead, Brad Lidge managed to make things antsy by walking Jon Jay. I mean, why bother? But he got the next three outs and the Phillies left St. Louis having put one game in the win column. Ryan Howard had three hits in the game. The Cardinals had just a single by Matt Holliday.

Cole Hamels has thrown several gems this season and has pretty much nothing to show for them--except a lot of yapping, whining comments from no-nothing fans. Why ever would Roy Oswalt consider coming to Philadelphia? He is already getting no run support in Houston. Why travel for more?

down and just about out in st. louis

These deer are having a good time. Maybe the Phillies need a frolic because whatever it is they're doing now is not working.

Joe Blanton was quite good through six innings but the game sort of turned in the 7th, when he came up to bat with two outs and the bases loaded. Blanton struck out on three pitches. Could Charlie Manuel have pinch-hit for him? Yes, but it was pretty much a lose-lose situation, given the state of the offense. And the bullpen. The Phillies had another chance in the 8th but Werth grounded out to end the inning. Contreras came in and poured oil on the flames. So went another loss, this time 5-1, to the Cards. The sole run was a Ryan Howard homer. This season is not slipping away; it's becoming a rout.

Manuel's starting lineup (Polanco, Victorino, Francisco...) last night was like a crazy quilt. One day these guys will start hitting again. Meanwhile, they should be embarrassed.

If the Phillies are going to trade Werth, I wish they'd do it before the team gets home on Friday. The reputed Oswalt deal sounds dead. For all that Oswalt reportedly demanded a trade this spring, he wants his option year ($16 million in 2012) picked up first. It does not sound as if this Roy really wants to be traded, at least not to Philadelphia. Hey, Roy, we have tractors and hunting and fishing here, too!

this time moyer gets injured

The Phillies lost again last night to the Cardinals, in a 7-1 game marked by long balls. The bigger news was that Jamie Moyer injured his left elbow in the first inning. The injury is said to be like the one J.A. Happ suffered in April. If so, Moyer is possibly out for the rest of the season and may have thrown his last pitch as a Phillie. A bum way to go out, if that is the case.

In interviews before and during the game GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. was candid about the Phillies' chances of making the post-season: Not happening unless the team starts to play as they are capable of doing. He was also coy about who would start this weekend in place of Kendrick. Then J.A. Happ, pitching last night for the IronPigs in Indianapolis, was pulled from the game after three innings. Was he being recalled to Philadelphia or was he part of a trade?

By the end of the Phillies' game, rumors were rampant about a deal for Roy Oswalt which would somehow involve sending Werth to Tampa Bay. Since then the idea has been talked to death. As I recall, most mid-season trade rumors floated by ESPN, as this one was, turn to vapor. We shall see.

Meanwhile, J.A. Happ is still in Indianapolis, and Andrew Carpenter, who took the loss in last night's St. Louis game, has been sent back down to Lehigh Valley. His surprise replacement is 22-year-old Vance Worley from Reading. In 19 starts this year, Worley is 9-4, with a 3.20 ERA. Worley, who pitched on Sunday, is coming off 17 scoreless innings. But I cannot imagine that he will be the starter on Saturday against the Rockies.

Amaro, Jr. yesterday said, "We've got a lot of balls up in the air." I guess he was not kidding. He was also looking pretty confident. Still, the Worley call-up is a total surprise.

In other news, 23-year-old Mike Cisco, called up from Reading, started today for Lehigh Valley and did pretty well. The game is now tied in the 8th. Nelson Figueroa has been claimed off waivers by the Astros. Sad to see Figgy go.

In the 9th of that game today in Indianapolis, the 'Pigs first took a three-run lead in the 9th, then added four more on a Brian Bocock grand slam. Bocock, now owner of a nine-game hitting streak, is having a most improbable road trip. Pigs do fly!

kendrick to lehigh valley

Jim Salisbury, just on with Tony Bruno, reports that Kyle Kendrick has been optioned to Lehigh Valley and Andrew Carpenter recalled in his place. Kendrick has pitched very well at times but balanced those games with clunkers. This is another chance for him to work things out in Triple-A. (Just do it, will you!) Drew Carpenter to me is a sidewise move and only goes to show that J.A. Happ is not ready.

Enough with the clueless media and fan demands to bring Domonic Brown up. They are no doubt the same people who would turn on Brown in a minute the first couple of times he takes dubious routes to a ball or is caught looking on a fastball. Let the kid continue to hone his skills in Triple-A. As he himself has said in countless interviews, the Phillies' way worked really well for Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. They came into the league ready to compete and succeed.

Enough, too, of the stupid rumors about Jayson Werth's activities off the field. Most are baseless Internet crap and the others are his own business.

Speaking of the IronPigs, last night they overcame an 8-1 deficit to win 10-8. Down to the last strike in the 9th, Brian Bocock, on something of a most unfamiliar offensive tear, lashed a bases-clearing triple that plated three and put the 'Pigs up 10-8. Antonio Bastardo then came in to nail the save. It was about time that the 'Pigs were on the winning side of one of these games.

pummeled again

The Phillies were pummeled again last night, this time by the Cardinals. The NL Central is exacting revenge big time. It used to be that the Phillies could not win in Pittsburgh. They now no longer win in Cincinnati, Chicago, or St. Louis. Last night was only the first game of a four-game set but am I jumping to conclusions? Probably not.

The Phils took a three-run lead in the first last night, but starter Kyle Kendrick was like a dripping faucet, letting the Cards creep back at first, then gushing, to the tune of three homers and five runs, in the fifth. Yes, it was the Cardinals who made the plays, gave it their all, and showed a gritty comeback ability. The Phillies had plenty of hits in the game but the first was the only inning where they were able to string anything together. Final score: 8-4, Cards.

Kyle Kendrick had for me a defining game. He was a tentative fifth starter on one of his bad days. Enough. He should have been yanked after giving up the first home run but going to the bullpen that early is iffy at best.

I get it: This year everyone else plays like the Phillies, while the Phillies play like the Mets. Who'd a thought that would ever happen?

half-done: another loss to the cubs

I happened to see this old mural last month when I took a wrong turn on the way back from Jim Thorpe.

Last night's game with the Cubs reminded me of a postcard I recently sent to a cinema buff, of a scene from a silent film called Riders of the Night. The scene is a prison yard. Prisoners look through the barred windows at the heroine, standing on the scaffold and about to have a noose fitted around her neck. According to the caption, she is saying, "I can't remember what I did to deserve this."

The Phillies continue to play mind-boggling baseball. It is not just the lack of offense, which I'm starting to take for granted, but the plain bad ball: defensive lapses, erratic baserunning, and sloppy all-round play. Roy Halladay had a dreadful game but the Phillies still had a chance, until the Cubs put the game away in the 7th. The final was 11-6 but, as in the other games in the series, the Phillies posted most of their runs in the 9th. In only one game did the runs matter. Ryan Howard did have another home run, always good to see, but where was the offense when it still counted? Say hey, Jayson Werth had a walk.

I watched only the first inning on TV and got to hear Joe Morgan say that before the game Charlie Manuel had said to him, "We had it, Joe, we had it." But not this season, at least not so far.

The Cubs won this series and won the season series, the first time they have done that since 2001. The Phillies are 7-8 this July. Last July they went 20-5. The month is half gone, guys.

minor matters

The IronPigs last night finally beat the Louisville Bats down in Louisville. The 5-1 victory came on the unlikely strength of two home runs by very light-hitting shortstop Brian Bocock and a pinch-hit homer by pitcher Joe Savery. Surprise, surprise.

Vance Worley of the Reading Phillies today pitched eight scoreless innings in a 4-0 shutout in Trenton of the Thunder. It is good to see Worley, now 9-4 on the season, again in a groove. His previous game was a complete game shutout against the Harrisburg Senators. Last year Worley looked good early in his double-A career, then hit a wall. One of his draft mates, Michael Stutes, has already been converted to reliever and is now with the 'Pigs.

phils get one in the 9th

The best thing about today's 4-1 win over the Cubs, other than that it was a win, is that it took Cole Hamels off the hook. Hamels had again pitched a gem, going seven strong innings, but the Cubs had scored the only run of the game (till the 9th) on a suicide squeeze that maybe should not have been. Once again the Phillies were conspicuous by their lack of offense, not to mention some peculiar base-running decisions. But in the 9th, things worked against the Cubs and for the Phillies, who took advantage of a Marmol closing meltdown, a misplay at home, and a couple of other dubious plays to put four on the board---all with two outs. Brad Lidge made it hold up. The win went to Chad Durbin, who pitched the 8th. A win is a win. On to tomorrow.

Placido Polanco, who singled in the tying run in the 9th, was activated before the game. To make room for him on the roster, utility man Juan Castro was released. Well, he'll always have that perfect game in May. Cody Ransom is, for now, staying with the big club.

all-star coca-cola park

All fans leaving Coca-Cola Park after the All-Star game Wednesday night were given a letter-size print of this photo, taken at the game. The prints were literally hot off the press. Like the prints handed out after the inaugural game at the park three years ago, this is a wonderful bit of memorabilia.

are these the phillies? or the pirates?

The Phillies are playing like the Pirates. Worse really because they have more talent. Again they coughed up a lead, this one 3-1, in a 4-3 loss to the Cubs. Thanks, Joe Blanton. Thanks, Ryan Madson. Why is Juan Castro ever a pinch-hitter? Who are these guys? They are just awful to watch. Happily, I was busy with work for most of the game. Blanton has been terrible all season and does not seem to get it. As for J.A. Happ, one gets the feeling he could well be another Blanton in waiting. Give them all the rest of the year off to recover from their injuries. They are not showing up to the park ready to play. Bah, humbug.

Each time someone opines that Jayson Werth has been the Phillies' best hitter this season, I roll my eyes. Really? When did Werth last take the bat off his shoulder?

cubs hammer phillies 12-6

An old postcard, an old photo from a Yankees-A's game in Oakland, some languishing stickers, and prevailing heat and humidity went into making this postcard collage.

Well, that was not the way you wanted to start the rest of the season, with sketchy pitching by Jamie Moyer and the bullpen and an offense that showed up only in the 1st and the 9th. Much of that offense was courtesy of a pair of mammoth two-run homers by Ryan Howard. Otherwise, it was pretty much a stink job.

The IronPigs, meanwhile, took a 7-0 lead in the 2nd down in Louisville, got barely another hit after that, and lost 8-7 on a two-run walk-off homer given up by Scott Mathieson. Gosh.

chicago quartet

Here's another postcard from the cache of vintage cards sent recently by a friend. It commemorates the All-Star game held in Chicago in 1990.

The card had a message, from an ever-hopeful Cubs' fan, on the back and was addressed, but it was not stamped.

The Phillies are in Chicago tonight for the start of a four-game set with the Cubs. Tonight it's Jamie Moyer v. Ryan Dempster.

Chad Durbin was activated from the DL today. To make room for him on the roster, Nelson Figueroa was designated for assignment. That is a shame. If he happens again to clear waivers, I hope he decides to go back to the IronPigs. Antonio Bastardo was also activated from the DL today. He was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Durbin's return marks the first time all season that the bullpen will be at full strength, though I am not sure that any bullpen with Danys Baez in it can be called "at full strength". Go ahead, Danys, show me!

Quintin Berry, center fielder with the Reading Phillies, was outrighted last week. He has been claimed by the San Diego Padres. The shifting continues.

triple-a all-star game a clear winner

Two West Point parachutists came floating down onto the center field grass as part of last night's opening ceremonies. Both did on-point landings. One declared himself 'safe' as he touched down.

Monday night it was Larry Holmes of Easton throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Last night it was the turn for former-NFL great Chuck Bednarik (back to camera), a Bethlehem native. He is the silver-haired gent clowning with the mascot Ferrous.

There were lots of pleas for autographs before the game. Here Chase Lambin of the Syracuse Chiefs (Washington Nationals' affiliate) signs for some fans. Lambin had a game-tying double in the 6th, then scored the go-ahead run.

At long last the Lehigh Valley skies cleared and the Triple-A All-Star game was played before a sell-out crowd (what else) at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. Pitching dominated the game. The Pacific Coast League scratched out a 1-0 lead in the 2nd, while the International League was held hitless till the 5th, when hometown favorite Andy Tracy lashed a single to center. The IL had to wait till the 6th, however, to score on consecutive doubles and a single. Each team had five hits apiece; no player had more than one hit. The International League won 2-1. Pigs were flying after the game.

Four players were called up to their respective parent club before or during the game, including starting IL catcher Eric Kratz, a 30-year-old minor-league lifer from nearby Bucks County. What a night for him! Congratulations to all!

And congratulations to the IronPigs' front office and staff members. They did a tremendous job and the weather finally gave them a chance to shine. It was a great night at the ballpark and again underscored just how wonderful it is to have minor league baseball in the Lehigh Valley.

all-star valley

All fans attending the Home Run Derby Monday night at Coca-Cola Park were given commemorative lanyards and ticket holders. The design pays clever tribute to the All-Star game, the Lehigh Valley region, and the host team, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. It also incorporates a version of the Moravian star, a symbol of the city of Bethlehem.

Well, the National League finally defeated the American League in the All-Star game. The AL scored its only run on an error by Dodgers reliever Hong-chi Kuo in the 5th. The NL scored its runs on a bases-clearing double by Braves' catcher Brian McCann in the 7th. Charlie Manuel out-managed Joe Girardi, who made some questionable moves and non-moves. Manuel was happy havng McCann go against the AL's Matt Thornton because he knew McCann, a familiar nemesis in the NL East, could hit Thornton's low-riding fastball. Before the at-bat, Manuel supposedly told McCann just to pretend Thornton was wearing a Phillies' uniform. I fell asleep just after McCann doubled in the three runs.

In a little bit of good news, back-up catcher Dane Sardinha has cleared waivers and will report to the IronPigs tomorrow.

It's now pouring in the Lehigh Valley, putting tonight's Triple-A All-Star game in jeopardy. More rain is forecast throughout the day. Get out of our way, clouds!

soggy home run derby delivers sizzle

Rain fell pretty much throughout the entire home run derby, but fans gutted it out in a variety of ways. Once soaked, some simply ignored the soggy conditions.
Boxing great Larry Holmes, who lives in nearby Easton, Pennsylvania, threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Beforehand he was most genial about signing autographs for all and sundry. He even had some cool, glossy postcards of himself that he signed for little kids.

The IronPigs cannot catch a break. Saturday's Pigapalooza, an all-day fan fest to kick off the All-Star festivities, was rained out. Last night's Triple-A Home Run Derby was to start at 7:00. On cue, the sky turned black, the wind started to gust, and rain pelted down, driving most fans to the concourse for shelter. About an hour and 45 minutes later, they started trickling back to their seats and the derby finally started. The rain never really did stop, at times falling hard enough again to chase many out of their seats.

Despite the conditions, the eight participants did their best. Though the Pacific Coast League is the 'hitter's' league, two guys from the International League took center stage: Dan Johnson of the Durham Bulls and hometown hero Andy Tracy of the IronPigs. Both advanced to the third and final round. When they tied with 10 homers each in that round, they went on to a 'hit-off'. Tracy went first and made five quick outs. Johnson connected on the first pitch and won the title. Once he got going in the first round, Johnson was obviously in a groove. He and Tracy, both lefty hitters, smacked ball after ball over the high right field wall, but Johnson made it look routine. By the time the derby was underway, the wind had died down completely and the balls went soaring high and deep into the night. If conditions has been better, who knows where they would have landed.

Before the contest, I stopped at the Philly Pretzel Factory stand. located at the back of the right field concourse. As I was paying, a ball sailed over the right field wall and over the beer stand, bounced on the concourse almost right next to me and went over the openwork fence. I could see a guy walking in from the parking lot go scrambling wildly after it.

Of the total 58 home runs hit in the contest, Johnson hit 24 (coincidentally his season total to date) and Tracy, 18. The two local high school kids, Westyn Baylor and D.J. King, mustered one apiece, to the delight of the crowd.

Illusionist David Caserta performed between the first and second rounds. He was entertaining but the Silver Birds Steelband Orchestra, which performed between the second and third rounds, stole the show. The group hails from Jamaica and they are simply fantastic. The music is great and their dancing is mind-boggling. They ended their act with an incredible pantomimed tableau, which I thought for a moment was about baseball but in the end what it meant just did not matter. They were spectacular.

It was past 11 when I got home but it was all great fun.

home run derby

Do people really believe that Ryan Howard has become a singles hitter? I'm stunned by some of the sabermetric, and other, theories being floated. Some writers clearly have agenda, stemming from Howard's contract. But do they really believe Howard has lost his power? Yo, Ryan, you'll always be my slugger of choice. Meanwhile, kudos for putting in a great deal of work to round out your game.

Tonight is the Home Run Derby. I confess that I only watch it when a Phillie is involved. So I saw Bobby Abreu win in Detroit and Ryan Howard (#6 at left)in Pittsburgh. Otherwise, not my thing. Tonight though I'm going to the Home Run Derby, the Triple-A one that is, which is being held at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown and is one of the events leading up to the Triple-A All-Star game on Wednesday. What makes this derby cool is that it includes not only sluggers from the International and Pacific Coast Leagues, but also two local high school kids, who won qualifying competitions held last month at the park to take part. What a thrill that must be for the two kids involved.

Good to hear that Domonic Brown is OK. He was lifted in the first inning of the Futures Game yesterday while standing on third. The reason was a slight strain in his right hamstring. Word is that he is OK. Righty pitcher Jarred Cosart, the other Phillie farmhand tabbed for the game, did not even go because he is nursing a tired something or other. He's a pitcher; I don't want to know the details. Word on that though is that he too is OK.

(s)weeping reds

Cole Hamels went 7.2 innings of six-hit shut-out ball. The bullpen--mirabile dictu--made it stand up and the Phillies took another 1-0 game from the Cincinnati Reds. The sole run in the game scored in the third, when Carlos Ruiz doubled to left center and Jimmy Rollins singled him home. Ruiz was held to a double because of fan interference. In the following inning Jayson Werth, too, was held to a double owing to fan interference. Philadelphia fans would seem to be getting dumber by the minute. I can't believe the number of times I have seen the wave break out at games. The frontrunners are with us for sure.

With today's win, the Phillies finished off a four-game sweep of the Reds. The last two games of the series were the first time the Phillies has won back-to-back 1-0 games in almost 100 years. I wonder how common (or not) it is. Whatever, the series provided a dramatic end to the 'first half' of the season. It gave reason to hope that the boys were indeed back in town, even if the DL is still packed.

I was too drained after this series to focus on the Futures Game. Also it was on ESPN and I cannot take listening to their coverage.

mellow in moosic, almost perfect in philly

J.A. Happ on the mound before the first game last night of a doubleheader at PNC Park in Moosic, Pennsylvania.

Melvin Dorta at bat.

J.A. Happ, assigned to the Lehigh Valley to get his act together, pitched last night for the IronPigs up at the old Red Barons' park in Moosic. I quite like this park because of the backdrop, of mountain, trees, and rocks. It's now home to the Triple-A Yankees and has been spiffed up considerably, most notably with a natural grass field. But oh my is the atmosphere subdued. We might call it dull.

Happ went six innings, throwing 101 pitches and giving up three runs on six hits. He also walked three and gave up a solo home run. He continues to work on command issues but overall appeared to be throwing better. When Happ is on, he has a balletic grace on the mound but he's not yet there. The IronPigs only threatened in the seventh (each game lasted just seven) but in the end were blanked 3-0.

I left after game one to listen to the Phillies game while driving home in the falling dusk. After all, Halladay was pitching. I picked the game up in the fourth, scoreless and already with mention of Travis Wood, the Reds' rookie lefty, being perfect. Amazing game! Wood was indeed perfect through eight, and Halladay, who allowed five hits but no runs, was just a tick behind. But Carlos Ruiz, just off the disabled list, led off the ninth with a sharp double. The Phillies could not convert and the game went into a tension-filled 10th, then 11th. In the bottom of the 11th, Carlos Ruiz again doubled. When Jimmy Rollins drilled a single to right, the ball game was over. The Phillies won 1-0. It was another thrilling ride home. What a game! What a series this has been.

After the Phillies-Reds game ended, I caught the end of game two up in Moosic on TV. The IronPigs won it 6-3 on another good outing by Andrew Carpenter, backed by timely hitting. Cliff Lee lost his debut with the Rangers, in a game that was reminiscent of several losses he had last year late in the season with the Phillies, giving up lots of homers and runs early. The Orioles, whose Chris Tillman had a no-no into the seventh, took it 6-1.

had them all the way

I admit it. I bailed in the 8th, when Danys Baez took the mound. Baez ended up surprsing me; by the time I reached the car, he was out of the inning. Instead, I heard J.C. Romero huff and puff in the 9th and give up another run to give the Reds a 7-1 lead. And I swear that my immediate, and very idle, thought was that down five was do-able but six? Forget it.

Reds' rookie Mike Leake was terrific through eight. with just 83 pitches thrown, he went into the 9th looking for his first complete game. He had also gone three for four at the plate, helping to drive Joe Blanton, who was both awful and the victim of some weird plays behind him, from the game.

Leake did not, however, fare so well in the 9th, but he did make the drive home entertaining. Victorino doubled to lead off the bottom of the 9th, then Ibanez flied out. Howard singled Victorino home and Werth followed with another single. After a good at-bat, Dobbs homered high off the right field foul pole to make it 7-5 and end Mike Leake's night. In came closer Francisco Cordero. He got Schneider to fly out, then walked pinch-hitter Ben Francisco. Pinch-hitter Cody Ransom (yes, that Cody Ransom) then popped one over the right center wall to tie the game. Victorino then made out to send the game to extras. Ryan Madson threw a 1-2-3 top of the 10th, and all it took to finish the sudden transformation from schlubs to superheroes was a lead-off double by Raul Ibanez, suddenly looking comfortable in the three-hole, followed by a two-run walk-off homer by Ryan Howard.

Afterwards, Charlie Manuel said that when he went out to get Joe Blanton in the 6th, with the Reds up 6-1, Howard said to him, "If we hold them here, we can still crawl back into this." Did they ever.

Cliff Lee was traded yesterday to the Rangers. Trade rumors now swirl around Jayson Werth.

a win's a win

Kyle Kendrick was very, very good last night, holding the Reds to one run through 6.2 innings. But the bullpen twice blew the lead, once in the 8th on a wacko play, then in the 9th. In the 12th, however, Brian Schneider hit the second walk-off homer of his career and his first as a Phillie. (His only other one, years ago, was also against the Cincinnati Reds.) This was a game filled with ugly base-running mistakes and bizarre plays, including a classic who's-on-first one in the third that gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead. In the end, they won 4-3.

Speaking again of doing yeoman work, two nights in a row Nelson Figueroa pitched two innings of scoreless ball in extra innings.

I woke early this morning to swirling rumors of an impending trade by the Yankees for Cliff Lee, which might then lead them to trade Vasquez to the Phillies for Jayson Werth. The tender Javier Vazquez has always had a no-trade clause with Philadelphia so I'm not sure that's happening, but what a double body blow those trades would be. We've all assumed that Lee would go to the highest bidder in the off-season, but couldn't the Yankees wait till then? Again, Jayson Werth has long been rumored as heading to the Yankees, but in mid-season?

In memoriam: Maje McDonald, with the Phillies in a variety of capacities for 62 years, died yesterday at his Philadelphia home, just weeks shy of his 90th birthday. He had a rich life in baseball and beyond. He got the name Maje from another nickname: Little Major Leaguer.

madson activated, zagurski sent down

Ryan Madson was activated from the DL today and Mike Zagurski was sent back to Lehigh Valley. Let's hope that Madson, sporting a 7.00 ERA, will help get the bullpen lined up and again ready to go. Remember the good old days, when Ryan set up for Lidge, and Lidge closed it out? Let's make it happen again. Or something like it. I hope that Zagurski's brief return to the majors will only make him work all the more on making it back there full-time.

Brian Schneider is in the line-up tonight. Dane Sardinha, who has done yeoman work, is definitely due for a sit-down after toiling so many days in brutal heat.

no wonder the edge is gone

For sure the Phillies have lost their edge. I think it's the cumulative effect of so many pieces gone missing for so long. Once one comes back, another one, two, or three go down. The utility guys have by and large surpassed expectations but they cannot be expected to provide the swagger that has long defined this team.

From what I see of the Braves and Mets so far, there's an element of smoke and mirrors to both. What I do know is that Joey Votto and the Reds will be on a mission for the four games that conclude the 'first half' in Philadelphia.

more saints seen and popsicles

Popsicles are perfect for cooling down parched, overheated bodies during torrid heat spells, such as the one now we're in the middle of here. I feel as if I've been living on popsicles for days now. The many little sticks piling up from them reminded me of this little booklet by Cyrilla Mozenter, for a 2005 show at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut. The show featured work from Mozenter's More saints seen series, which was inspired by a Gertrude Stein opera. When I talked with Mozenter a couple of years ago, she mentioned that she had for a while used popsicle sticks in her work, seeing in them a streamlined female form, suggestive of Cycladic sculpture. She described walking the streets of Manhattan, picking up discarded popsicle sticks. The image obviously stuck in my mind. Here she has used a stick for the closing for this booklet. You can see Mozenter's marvelous work at www.cyrillamozenter.com.

garcia to reading phillies

Harold Garcia, who recently set the new FSL hitting streak at 37, has been promoted to Double-A Reading. Congratulations! I saw him play a couple of times last year with the low-A Lakewood club and was impressed enough to remember him. Justin De Fratus, a closer who was also at Lakewood last year, was also promoted from Clearwater. Meanwhile, Michaal Schwimer, closer with the Reading Phillies, has been promoted to Lehigh Valley. I don't know what that means for Scott Mathieson, who could easily be trade bait.

6-3 and 43-38: same numbers, different meanings

The Phillies lost 6-3 in 11 innings last night to the Braves. Pin the loss on the depleted bullpen, though many will of course pin it on Cole Hamels, who went seven and gave up three runs. I am so tired of this Hamels-is-soft stuff from fans, I could spit, but it's too hot to contemplate wasting energy or fluids doing it. The fans in question believe that what Cole Hamels did in 2008 is nothing compared with what Cliff Lee did not do in 2009. Wake up, will you! Hamels won you lunkheads a World Series. Cliff Lee did not.

More to the point last night, the Phillies had exactly three hits, a two-run homer from Ibanez, an RBI triple from Howard (who with no outs was then stranded on third), and an aimless single late from Victorino. That's three hits in 11 innings.

The IronPigs last night won 6-3, though the bullpen, in the form of Joe Savery, tried mightily to cough it up in the 9th. Give Savery some credit for regrouping after giving up three runs and getting three outs. On another very hot night starter Brandon Duckworth was super, throwing seven shutout innings. Ryan Madson looked sharp pitching a quick, scoreless eighth in his second rehab stint with the 'Pigs.

On Monday the Phillies reached the halfway point of the season. Their record: 43-38. Those numbers match their half-season records in 2009 and 2008. Last year, though, the Phillies were atop the division at 43-38. This year they are in third place.

summertime

An elegant advert from Jurgen Lehl arrived the other day, this for his summer collection. As ever, it was all wonderful. www.jurgenlehl.jp

did you say hot?

Domonic Brown continues his torrid pace with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. In 12 games, he is batting .405 with an OPS of 1.197. He has scored eight runs on 17 hits, including seven for extra bases. He has four home runs and 11 RBI. He has also stolen a couple of bags and earned a couple of assists. Need I say he's become an instant fan favorite? Should Ruben Amaro, Jr., decide to trade this kid, fans might respond with pitchforks.

One night after setting a new hitting streak record in the Florida State League, scond baseman Harold Garcia went hitless for the first time in 38 games. The previous record of 36 stood for nearly 60 years. Here's to Garcia's record of 37!

world cup haiku

vuvuzelas--
hear them give way to
cicadas

phillies win 3-1

Great pitching, good defense, and timely hitting added up to a 3-1 win over the Braves on a very hot night in Philadelphia, the best place in the country, by the bye, to celebrate the 4th of July. it took Halladay 93 pitches to finish off the Braves. His only mistake: a solo home run to old friend Chipper Jones in the first. In case you've been dozing, Halladay is very, very good. I would love to have a seat behind home plate when he pitches. Chase Utley, looking good, held a press conference yesterday to talk about his surgery. In typical Utley fashion, he said that he is hoping to be back within six weeks. Yay, yay, yay! Really, doesn't that make you feel better already?

here come the braves

The Braves are in town and will no doubt take much joy in sending the Phillies to the beaches for the rest of the season. Tonight it's Roy Halladay v. Derek Lowe.

harold garcia sets new fsl hitting record

Yesterday Clearwater Threshers' second baseman Harold Garcia tied the Florida State League hitting streak, at 36 games. That record was set in 1951 by Joe Altobelli. Garcia extended his streak tonight, with an RBI single in the first inning of the Threshers' game with Daytona, setting a new record at 37 consecutive games. During Garcia's streak, which started on May 24, he is hitting .359. Not shabby at all. Keep it rolling, Harold!

Tonight, too, Kyle Drabek, traded to the Blue Jays last December in the Roy Halladay trade, pitched a no-hitter for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Jays' double-A affiliate. Way to go, Kyle!

it's supposed to be hard

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard...is what makes it great." The quotation is from A League of Their Own.

Well, the Phillies have definitely made it hard---if not impossible. Today's 8-5 come-from-behind loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates put them about six games behind the Atlanta Braves. Joe Blanton blew a 5-2 lead in the seventh, and the bullpen let it blow up after that. The season is not over but really there is just too much for this team to overcome. No matter how well the call-up 'Piggies are playing, each day's starting line-up looks like a Triple-A roster. Blanton, who appeared to have worked out what was ailing him, fell right back into it in the late innings, as he has been prone to do.

At the start of the season when I saw this series on the schedule, I knew it had disaster all over it. Still, in May I thought hard about going out to Pittsburgh for one game this week, but gave it up.

Gane time temperature tomorrow in Philadelphia promises to be 98F. I'd skip it but the numbers of games left to me are finite and dwindling fast.

complete game for kendrick

Kyle Kendrick pitched the first complete game of his career, a 12-4 rout of the Pirates. The Phillies scored early and often off of Paul Maholm, a lefty who has often given them fits, but they drove him from tonight's game in the fourth with the score 8-1. Ryan Howard drove in three; Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino each had three hits. Included in Rollins' hits: the 150th homer of his career. Phillies' pitchers have now thrown nine complete games, the most by any team in the majors.

PNC Park was full. Lots of Phillies' fans are in attendance for the series but tonight also drew the fireworks' crowd. It was good to see that park packed and rocking, even if visiting fans were making most of the noise.

ransom up, bocock out

Cody Ransom has been called up to the Phillies and Brian Bocock designated for assignment. The minor league carousel is certainly going round. Ransom can hit, Bocock cannot. But Ransom also strikes out a lot and his defense often makes me cringe. Ho hum.

Speaking of cringing, tonight's line-up: Rollins, Victorino, Werth, Howard, Francisco, Valdez, Ransom, Sardinha, Kendrick. Welcome to Triple-A.

phillies interested in lee, says rosenthal

OK, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, is reporting that the Phillies are interested in reacquiring Cliff Lee from the Mariners. My first thought was to wonder if that meant Lee will be playing second on the days that he is not pitching.

I mention this report only because Ken Rosenthal seems to get things more right than wrong, and he was certainly all over the Roy Halladay trade--and how trading Lee might be what would make it work--before those two deals went down last December. But without trading Domonic Brown, how could the Phillies make this happen? And why would they now trade the untouchable Domonic Brown? Rosenthal speculates that any trade involving the M's might include Jayson Werth. Why can't I get even a little bit excited about any of this? I guess I am over Lee.

Roy Halladay just last weekend called Chase Utley the driving force behind the team. That was before the injury. Things are going to be tough without Utley. And with Polanco out for really who knows how long, they get tougher.

At the start of the season the idea was to have Rollins batting first and Polanco second. That has happened just 10 times this year. In those 10 games, the Phillies are nine and one. I guess it was a good idea. But nothing's working now.

where is the offense?

These two kids had the right idea. They spent much of tonight's IronPigs' game stuffing their faces with popcorn.

Domonic Brown broke up the perfect game that Syracuse pitcher Jason Jones had going through 7.2 innings with a sharp single up the middle. The inning ended a batter later and I split. The final score: 7-0, Syracuse.

Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh another good outing by a Phillies' starter ended in a loss. Tonight it was Jamie Moyer. Final score: 2-0, Pirates. Between Hamels last night and Moyer tonight, the starters surrendered four earned runs on 10 hits. Each got a loss for his efforts. Last night's stat was the total ineptitude of the one through five batters, who on the road trip had exactly zero RBI. Tonight it was one for 13 with RISP. I know that the Phillies do not play well at PNC Park but this is sad.

ajami

Last night was the final local showing of Ajami, the stunning film from Israel about the rough-and-tumble Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, peopled by Palestinians, Jews, and others, all locked in an uneasy truce. The movie was written and directed by Scandar Copti, a "Palestinian citizen of the Israeli state", and Israeli Yanon Shani, who take an unflinching look at a social fabric stretched thin. Politics are the background to the tensions in Ajami but the film focuses on the daily conflicts, between ethnic groups, religions, tribes, families, and classes, which form a constant of life in the neighborhood. In Ajami life is always up for grabs; it can erupt into violence over something as trivial as the bleating of a sheep.

The movie opens with the brutal drive-by shooting of an innocent teen-ager, mistaken for the intended target. That target, a sweet 19-year-old named Omar, is the nephew of a man who shot a Bedouin thug. In time Abu-Elias, a local restaurant owner, who is the de facto neighborhood headman, intervenes. In an unforgettable scene at a tribal court, where, as in the neighborhood itself, everyone talks and few listen, he gets the family of the thug to accept a monetary payment in place of blood. But somehow all the good done by the righteous Abu-Elias, in his way one of the creepiest characters in the film, has a terrible price built into it. For Omar it is the impossibility of coming up with the money he needs in order to save his mother, half-paralyzed grandfather and prescient younger brother Nasri.

Omar's desire to do anything to save his family sets his life on a tragic spiral,but he is not alone in having his dreams destroyed. There is Malek, a 16-year-old Palestinian working illegally in Israel to earn money for his mother, dying of cancer. Dando, a brutish Israeli cop, is torn by the disappearance of his younger soldier brother, most likely the victim of an Arab kidnapping. Hadir, Abu-Elias' daughter, falls in love with Omar and naively thinks that her Christian family will permit her to marry him.

The directors Shani and Copti chose mostly to use non-professional actors, who were given freedom to improvise. Copti also plays a main role, that of Binj, a Palestinian hipster with a besotted Israeli girlfriend. The acting and the cinematography, by Boaz Yehonatan Yacov, bring these disparate tales into immediate focus without sacrificing the nuances and complexities of the lives examined. I left the cinema feeling battered but profoundly touched and grateful for a film so true.

Ajami is in Arabic and Hebrew. In a wonderful touch, opening and closing credits are given in each language, side-by-side.

surgery for utley, rest for polanco

The Phillies start a four-game series tonight in Pittsburgh. A friend recently sent a cache of vintage postcards, including this one of long-gone Three Rivers Stadium. PNC Park has it beat hollow.

Word is that Chase Utley had surgery today on the torn ligament in his right thumb and will be out at least eight weeks. Everyone is screaming that Ruben Amaro, Jr. must do something. I'd be shocked if Ruben and his staff had not already started 'doing something' as soon as the news of the injury came down.

Compounding the misery, Placido Polanco will miss at least three to four weeks while dealing with chronic tendinitis in his left elbow, aggravated when he was plunked by Tim Hudson in April.

Well, that's a fine mess.

the domonic brown show

Domonic Brown gets congrats from his mates after crossing home plate, while a cameraperson records it all for the TV broadcast. Brown hit a mammoth three-run homer in the third inning last night that bounced off one of the billboards beyond the concourse in deep right center. Brown went three for four, with a single, homer, and double, and scored two runs in a 6-4 'Pigs victory that was needlessly dicey at the end.

It was Hispanic Heritage Night at Coca-Cola Park last night. These Mexican hat dancers were one of the more colorful events on the program. Somebody missed a chance otherwise for some great music to be played throughout the night. For the most part it was very Latin Lite.