The Accidental Baseball Team

It is highly unlikely Kyle Lohse is going to be the guy who finally leads the Phillies to the Promise Land; after all, two teams have given up on him in less than a year. On the other hand, one need look no further than another itinerant pitcher, J.D. Durbin, to recognize strange things can happen whenever a player pulls on a new uniform. Durbin is with his fourth team in less than eight months and the Phillies are quite happy he is currently paying the Philadelphia wage tax. Lohse, a career sub-500 pitcher with occasional "great stuff", is expected to step right into the starting rotation (taking Durbin's place).

If the Phillies don't stop running from the clubhouse to the infirmary all of these additions to the roster will be for naught. Last night two more players, both outfielders, went down with injuries. The Phils will learn today just how serious the injuries to Shane Victorino and Michael Bourn are. Whatever the outcome of their MRI and Xray respectively, both will be out of action in the short term. Greg Dobbs took their place last night to finish out the game.

To make room for Victorino and Bourn in the Accident Room (that quaint name once given to ER's), Brett Myers returned to active duty with a vengeance last night, pitching a 1-2-3 ninth inning to save the Phils' 4-1 victory over the Cubs at Wrigley. Cole Hamels notched his 12th win with a strong 8-inning effort marred only by the solo home run he surrendered to Ryan Theriot. It was only Theriot's third round tripper of the season but it was Cole's 23rd, tying him for the league lead. Hamels seems destined to be one of those great pitchers who surrenders a lot of home runs in between the strikeouts. As long as he keeps them within his current proportion that shouldn't be a problem.

Aaron Rowand provided all the runs Hamels needed with a 3-run homer off Ted Lilly. Tadahito Iguichi continued with his best Chase Utley imitation by hitting a solo shot. Utley, cast on his right hand, could be seen pumping his fist in the dugout following Rowand's blast. You have to give Aaron credit for drama and timing as he returned to the city of his greatest triumph, albeit on the north rather than south side of town. The win moved the Phils to within three games of the Mets. The loss prevented the Cubs from moving ahead of the Brewers into first place in the NL Central.