Age Before Beauty

The ageless wonder wasn't exactly brilliant last night but he managed to notch another win as the Phils pounded the Brewers 9-5.

Jamie Moyer looked every bit his 47 years in yielding three solo home runs in the bottom of the second inning after his mates had staked him to a 3-0 lead versus former Phil Randy Wolf. By his own admission, the three pitches the Brewers launched had nothing on them and were right over the heart of the plate. Charlie Manuel probably stuck with Moyer as long as he did to save his depleted bullpen. Still, in the end he used three more pitchers before securing the victory.

Ryan Howard got things started with his first home run in a long time. Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley also went deep. It wasn't a pretty win but it was efficient.

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Throwing has always been the one glaring weakness in Chase Utley's game and last night he made another error on the back end of a double play, throwing the ball away. Replays show he didn't appear to have full control of the ball before he literally let it fly to first. Utley made two errors in the game giving him six for the season.

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Tampa Bay designated Pat Burrell for assignment today perhaps ending his career. I guess it's possible some team will pick him up for the stretch run given Burrell's ability to catch fire and carry a club for a few weeks. More likely he will fade into oblivion, there to count the $9 million Tampa Bay still owes him. Burrell arrived with a "can't miss" tag normally reserved for number one draft picks and proceeded to hit and miss plenty during his career. Years from now fans who saw him play will remember the home runs and conveniently forget the defensive liabilities. He was a middling player with good power.