Wednesday's Thoughts

- Jimmy Rollins made his return to the lineup in the Phillies loss to the Braves on Tuesday night. He promptly went 0-5 and struck out on two bouncing breaking balls and made two first-pitch outs, seeing a total of 18 pitches in the process. Awful.

- 610 WIP morning show member Al Morganti pointed out this morning that in 2009 the Phillies leadoff spot has an on-base percentage of .237, and the nine-hole has an on-base of .261.

- It's time for John Mayberry, Jr. to stick with the Phils full-time. I don't care what his average is, he's a legitimate threat to hit the ball out of the park as a right-handed bat off the bench. He's 26, so he's not a huge prospect, and I'm not sure how much he needs to play everyday at this point. He probably helps the organization the most as a RH power bat off the bench.

- The Pirates made two trades yesterday, leading me to believe that GM Neal Huntington went to the office and got bored.

- Don't look now, but the Marlins are only 1 1/2 games out of first place in a pitiful NL East. The Fish might very well have the best rotation in the division, and have some nice pieces in the bullpen and the everyday eight. But do they have what it takes to push through and not wilt down the stretch like they did last year? We will see.

-If Cliff Lee really is on the block, the Indians could go into full sell mode. Mark DeRosa is already off to St. Louis, and the Tribe have a few bullpen pieces (Rafeal Betancourt, Jensen Lewis) that contenders are always looking for.

- Loved Ryan Braun's schoolyard grand slam last night in the Brewers 6-3 win over the Mets. To set the stage, Braun was up against Johan Santana with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning with the Mets up 2-1. Braun hit a ball that bounced to the wall in leftfield for a double, then took off for third as the Mets relayed home a throw that would have had J.J. Hardy dead to rights at the plate. However, the throw from Alex Cora eluded Omir Santos, allowing Hardy to score. The loose ball was gathered up by Santana, who attempted to throw out Braun at third, but his throw sailed into left field, allowing Braun to scamper home. Mets centerfielder Fernando Martinez also just fell down in the outfield on a fly ball from Corey Hart. That's why the Mets are the greatest.

- How in the world can you let David Wright beat you if you're playing the Mets right now? He should go weeks at a time without getting a pitch to hit with that lineup around him.

- Two steals of home on the same day Sunday, but big ups to Gary Matthews for just taking it on a pitcher's delivery home. None of this delayed stuff or waiting for the catcher to throw the ball back. Impressive.

-Congrats to Mariano Rivera for his 500th career save. The Sandman might very well be the best closer in the history of the game, and all of this with one pitch.