The Thursday That Was

-Yesterday's 3-1 win over the Rockies was pretty much exactly how the Phillies drew it up... Seven strong innings from Cliff Lee, Ryan Madson holds the line in the eighth and Brad Lidge slammed the door in the ninth. Well played.

-Good move by the Phils in keeping J.A. Happ in the rotation.

-However, I hate the idea of a six man rotation.

-Today's Mets-are-the-greatest-thing-ever moment is from the bottom of the third inning of last night's game against San Diego. With the bases loaded and one out and the Padres ahead 4-0, Everth Cabrera hit a tailor made double play ball towards second baseman Alex Cora. As Mets play by play announcer Gary Cohen excitedly yelled "A double play ball!", Cora proceeded to bobble the ball, thus ruining chances for a double play, but recovered and threw to first, just in time to NOT get Cabrera. 5-0 San Diego, and everyone is safe. The Pads added another run in the inning and cruised to an 8-3 win.

-The Marlins led the Nationals 6-0 and 8-3 yesterday. And lost the game.

-The Marlins just got swept by the Nats, heading into a weekend series in Philadelphia. If the Phils win two of three over the Fish, the competitive phase of the NL East race is over.

-John Smoltz' days as an effective Major League pitcher sure appear to be over.

-Joba Chamberlain needs to settle down. He had a 9-3 lead in the fifth inning last night, walked the bases loaded, gave up a run, then struck out Casey Kotchman and Nick Green to get out of the jam. He then gave a hearty uppercut and yelled somethin in jubilation. Easy there, cuz. You have a five-run lead in the fifth inning, you walked seven in those five innings, gave up four earned runs and could barely last long enough to get yourself a win. You weren't exactly dealing out there.

-I love Dustin Pedroia. He's scrappy, dirty, huge heart. Love him.

-The new Yankee Stadium is a joke. Six home runs last night. Let's just say they weren't all majestic blasts.

-On Saturday, David Ortiz will apparently address his failed drug test from 2003. If he offers anything other the "tainted supplement" "something impure from my home country" excuses, I'll buy you a protein shake.

-When is a player that hasn't been outed as a steroid user going to just come out and say "You know what? I used steroids. And it worked. It made me bigger, stronger and better, and I got paid a ton because of it. The culture was accepting of everything, and I did it. And given the choice, I'd do it again."

-That guy would get a standing ovation in his next at-bat.