In No Particular Order

You want evidence pitching is ascendant this season? Try this:

Bruce Chen, yes, that Bruce Chen, retired the first 18 batters he faced yesterday as the Royals beat the Angels 4-2. Chen, pitching for his tenth major league team, carries a career mark of 41-45 in thirteen seasons.

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Look for Ben Francisco to get more starts going forward. His manager may have a blind spot for veterans such as Raul Ibanez, but Charlie has an even blinder spot for home runs. Francisco popped a big one in yesterday's 12-4 win over the Pirates, who prior to taking the first two games in this series were better known as the lowly Pirates. Francisco needs regular playing time to show once and for all if he can handle the position.

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One of Manuel's favorite proteges, Jim Thome, smacked a home run yesterday and reached 10th place on the all time home run list. It isn't really fair to protest he's played 19 years and consequently should be expected to climb on the list. The point is he's still hitting them out including ten dingers this season.

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The annual travesty called fan All Star voting is about to result in electing a number of players who do not deserve to be starters including our own Chase Utley. Martin Prado has had a better season in every respect and should get the nod. He will because Utley is injured, but he should have won on merit. Bud Selig would never take the vote away from the fans because, well, because when presented with a clear choice of what he should do Selig always makes the wrong one.

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You may have noticed the Boston Red Sox have seen a lot of front line players go down with injuries or terrible starts but some how they have managed to creep back into the race in baseball's toughest division. The real reason is they have excellent pitching even without Josh Beckett.

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Speaking of excellent pitching, the Phillies really have no alternative to Brad Lidge as closer but it is quite clear he isn't fooling let alone intimidating the opposition.

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Speaking of "fooling and intimidating", rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg has lost his last two starts. There really were more than a few observers out there who never expected him to lose a game.

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Meanwhile, Pat Burrell has found life in a city by the Bay, just not the one in Florida. Ever since being released by Tampa Bay, Burrell has found his home run stroke in San Francisco, belting five of them in a more or less full time role. In Tampa he was strictly a DH, giving some credence to those players who argue they have to play defense to feel involved.