Phillies Notes: A Family Affair

Is there such a thing as a two-game sweep in a three-game series? The Phillies were lucky to get out of Cleveland with one win. Pitching was subpar for all three games (especially the horrendous bullpen) and though they scored some runs, a diet of three straight lefties had the Fightings taking a lot of awfully ugly swings.

One of the few enjoyable subplots was following the performance of the high number of former Phillies on the current Indians roster at the beginning of the series. Pat Burrell's former fishing buddy, Jason Michaels, was the only guy who really torched the Phils, going 5-10 with a homer and 3 RBI. Maybe he heard about Pat's engagement.

Aaron Fultz also pitched a couple innings, didn't give up any runs, and somehow continues to avoid injury with that violent-looking delivery of his.

On the flip side, David Dellucci proved he was an "everyday player" by blowing out a hammy while running to first base. This being the Phillies, he still beat the throw. And Roberto Hernandez played himself all the way to the minors on Tuesday. Sadly, Paul Byrd and his forehead did not make an appearance.

To recap: five little Indians who played for Philadelphia on Monday; only three left by Thursday. You're welcome, Cleveland.

- Good riddance to interleague play! The Phillies escaped with a winning record for once (8-7), but I'm sure they wouldn't be sad to see it go. After the Expos left Montreal, Toronto became Philly's "natural rival." With Baltimore, there used to be a little juice to the games, but Phillies-Blue Jays has all the spark of Padres-Mariners. It's pretty depressing.

And with the exception of the White Sox, the AL Central just destroyed the Phils--even the Royals.

- Goodtime Charlie got ejected again on Sunday, his league-leading fifth ejection of the year. The Phillies, unsurprisingly, also lead the majors in ejections as a team.

This was always one of my pet peeves about Larry Bowa. If you whine and yell all the time, umpires are going to remember that. Manuel was supposed to be a change of pace--a guy who might actually endear himself to a few of the guys in blue. Now it seems like he'll get himself thrown out because he doesn't know what else to do.

- The Road to 10K continues, the magic number dwindling to 9. And despite all of the turmoil of the past week--the schizoid play, the bullpen implosions, the suspensions--only two games separate the Mets, Braves, and Phillies in the NL East.

Whatta game, folks.