Francisco Rodriguez blew the save, his third in 10 days.  Nothing new here.  Frankie has averaged 5.5 blown saves per season since becoming a full time closer, which is about the norm. 

This is what I worried about with Kevin Correia.  His fastball velocity was back a little yesterday, but not where it was during is hot streak.  You can see from the chart below (via fangraphs.com) the upward trend in Correia's average velocity and how it dropped significantly his last outing.  Yesterday's outing is represented with the red dot, which indicates an average fastball velocity of just over 91 mph.

A.J. Happ is becoming an interesting starter to watch.  Since converting to a full time starter he has shown a nice progression in K/BB rate.  Also, Happ's velocity is showing signs of progression as well.  He's currently owned in only 37% of Yahoo! Leagues.  

Franklin Gutierrez stays hot.  He hit .304 with 4 homers and 3 stolen bases in June. 

Pitchers are not giving anything to Albert Pujols and he'll take his walks all day long.  The beneficiary?  Ryan Ludwick.  It's been a struggle this season with healthy and a prolonged slump, but he has 7 hits in his last 5 games and 3 RBI in his last 2 games with Pujols getting on in front of him.

Derrek Lee didn't just hit 2 homeruns last night.  He hit 2 pure bombs last night.  One was a grand slam and Lee collected 7 RBI on the night.  Lee hit .333 and slugged .973 in June. 

Will there be a place for Jake Fox to play once A-Ram returns from the DL?

I think I'm done betting against Mark Buehrle.

The greatest Phillies moment in 2009 would have to be when the WFCs received their World Series rings. The second greatest moment of the season occurred in the third inning of Thursday night's game in Atlanta. With one out, and northpaw Javier Vazquez on the mound, Jimmy Rollins grounded a single into right field. Rollins' hitless streak had been snapped, after twenty-eight fruitless at bats. The game was stopped, as the bat, ball, and first-base bag were removed from play. The historic artifacts are en route to Cooperstown, for future generations to enjoy. The crowd of over 38,000 rose to cheer the shortstop/Red Bull spokesman, as even Kotchman's Crotchmen realized the significance of the moment.

The Phillies seemed energized by the momentous event, and recovered from an early deficit, to tie the score at two. The Phils finished with eight hits on the night, quadrupling their output in a single day. Stopper J.A. Happ got in on the offensive explosion, blasting his first MLB hit, a fifth-inning single. Happ continued to excel on the mound, surrendering only two runs over seven innings. Happ's ERA fell to 2.96, in the one-hundred and four pitch, seven hit, effort. The young southpaw has pitched like a #2 starter over the past month, in fronting a rotation performing like #7 starters. When Happ left the game, the Phillies were tied 2-2, had a Win Probability of 50%, and were primed to extend their winning streak to one game.

Former interim closer Ryan Madson entered the game in the bottom of the eighth. Four batters later, the Phils trailed, 5-2. It was the second three-run implosion for Madson, in his last five appearances. The Phillies went down meekly in the top of the ninth. Adding insult to injury, Paul Bako was used as a pinch-hitter, popping out in what will, hopefully, be his last appearance as a Phillie. The sweep at the hands of the Braves dropped the Phillies into a first place tie, with Florida.

The Phillies host the Mets Friday, in the opener of a crucial three-game series. The Mets have the misfortune of having to face newly-promoted northpaw Rodrigo Lopez. With Jimmy Rollins heating up, and the Lopez-Madson-Brad Lidge trio armed and at-the-ready, the Phillies won't be in a first place tie for long. (They will soon be ahead of the other NL East teams, if that wasn't clear.)

Jimmy Rollins got a hit in Thursday night's game! In fact, Rollins got two hits, and is now two for his last thirty-one! The Red Bull must be sparking his resurgence...

Raul Ibanez worked out in Reading for the third consecutive day, but did not play. Ibanez continues to not play, and the Phillies continue to indicate that he hasn't "had a setback" and that they are "waiting until he is 100%." It is best for them not to rush Ibanez, but the Phils really need him back.

Scott Eyre is expected to make another rehab appearance on Friday night. Hopefully, this one goes better than the last one. He'll almost definitely miss the Mets' series.

Rodrigo Lopez will be promoted to make the start for the Phillies on Friday night, but the corresponding roster move has yet to be announced. Hoping for Paul Bako or Jack Taschner, but suspect it will be another optioning of Sergio Escalona.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA) used a five-run fourth inning to beat the Syracuse Chiefs, 5-1. Carlos Carrasco, passed over for the starting pitcher opening for the P-Phils, pitched six strong innings. He allowed a single run, on six hits (two walks/four strikeouts), in the ninety-seven pitch outing. Gary Majewski followed with two scoreless innings of relief, getting his ERA back under 4, at 3.99.

The Reading Phillies (AA) had their five game winning streak broken by the Altoona Curve, in a 4-3 loss. Like the P-Phils, the R-Phils could have used Raul Ibanez' bat. Reading fell behind, 4-0 after four innings, and could not complete the comeback. Vance Worley took the loss, surrendering four runs (two earned) in six innings (six hits, one walk/two strikeouts).

The Clearwater Threshers (A) lost for the first time, in eight second-half games, to the Palm Beach Cardinals, 9-6. The Threshers trailed 9-1, after five innings, and could not complete the comeback. The Threshers made three errors, leading to five unearned runs. Starter Jon Velazquez took the loss, but only two of the seven runs he permitted (in two and two-thirds innings) were of the earned variety.

Cody Ross hit his 14th bomb of the season of newly acquired Sean Burnett.  Ross is slugging .633 vs. left handed pitching this season. 

Josh Johnson left the game after only 3.1 innings.  No injury, just a rain delay and 4 walks to go with a rising pitch count.

Ricky Romero continues to impress.  He's stranding over 85% of runners and his FIP is a run higher than his ERA before his start yesterday.  Walks and the AL East are my concerns, but he's definitely a guy worth rostering right now.  He's only owned in 33% of Yahoo! leagues.

Brad Bergesen impressed against the Red Sox.  He's not going to strikeout a ton of guys, but he's keeping the ball on the ground and keeping the walks to a minimum.  His next start comes against the Mariners.  If you need a spot start, he's worth another go.

Yovani Gallardo struck out a career high 12 in 7 IP against the Mets.  If Gallardo can reduce his walk rate, he's basically Lincecum light.

Gil Meche, coming off a "dead arm" period, threw 121 pitches in only 6 innings.  His arm looked fine with a fastball sitting in the mid 90's, but minor injuries have been an issue this season.  If I'm A Meche owner (or a Royals fan) I'm not happy about the pitch count at all. 

Billy Butler, 4-4, continues to outperform James Loney, but it seems no one is paying attention. 

Jason Hammel has been pitching well for the Rockies lately.  He's not quite the ground ball pitcher Aaron Cooks is, but he is getting enough groundballs and limiting walks to be an NL-only add.

Troy Tulowitzki got cold just as fast as he got hot two weeks ago.  I think he'll finish with an AVG around .270.

Jimmy Rollins took another o'fer, but so did most of the Phillies against Jair Jurjjens who only allowed 1 hit. 

Justin Verlander was touched up last night.  That makes two less than spectacular starts in a row.  I'm not reading much into it.

Jose Contreras has struck out 8 batters in 3 of his last 4 starts.

Randy Wells pitched well again and got his third straight win.  I'd start him again at home vs the Braves in his next start. 

Johnny Cueto brought back the strikeout last night against the D-Backs.  Of course the D-Backs are second only to the Marlins in team strikeouts. 

Kevin Millwood and Jered Weaver squared off in a battle of the "sell highs".  Neither faired particularly well and neither are likely to repeat their first half numbers in the second half.

Nelson Cruz left with a back injury.  It didn't sound serious, but I never like to hear about back problems.  Keep an eye on the situation.

Albert Pujols did not hit a homerun, but he did go 2-2 with a stolen base.  Can he go 60/20!!?  Not likely, but this is just amazing to watch.

Matt Cain continues to strand runners like crazy.  8 Cardinals left on base and only 3 strikeouts. 

Adam Wainwright struck out a career high 12 in 9 innings.  He's throwing a curveball or slider on nearly 40% of his pitches.  That combined with only 132 innings pitched last season raises a bit of a red flag for potential time missed later this season. 

The Phillies lost to the Braves on Wednesday night, by a score of 11-1. But do not be deceived. The game wasn't really that close. It is easy to lay the blame at the feet of third-string catcher Paul Bako, and Manager Charlie Manuel for including the ineffectual backstop in the starting lineup. But, once again, Bako wasn't the only Phillie who was bad at baseball on Wednesday. (Just the only one tragically-named Gabor.)

Ace Cole Hamels got the start, and was strong from the outset. Until the third inning, when he surrendered three runs. After a scoreless fourth inning, Hamels ran into more trouble in the fifth. Hamels pitched to four batters in the fifth, retiring a grand total of zero of them, before his untimely departure. Hamels threw eighty-eight pitches in the abridged outing, permitting seven runs, on nine hits (two walks/one(!) strikeout). Hamels' record dropped to 4-5, with an ERA of 4.98, and appears rather Verduccified. (Fortunately, the Phillies have Rodrigo Lopez available to bolster the scuffling rotation.)

Tyler Walker, The Destroyer of ERAs Other Than His Own, replaced Hamels in the fifth. Walker permitted the one runner he inherited to score, as in his way. This time, however, Walker was charged with two runs to his own record, as he allowed a pair of fifth-inning homers. When the Braves were content with their brutalization of the scoreline, they had a 9-1 lead. Walker returned for a scoreless sixth, but the numerator of his FIP equation had already been scarred by the pair of fifth-inning home runs. The Phillies' hopes of a victory, on life support when Walker entered the fracas, were all but extinguished.

The vulgar display of "pitching" was rendered almost irrelevant by the absent Phillies' offense. The Phillies scored a run in the fourth inning, an unearned marker without the benefit of a hit. The Phils did manage a hit, eventually, but not until the seventh inning, when Paul Bako singled. (Note:We are still not rooting for no-hitters against the Phillies, no need to see that sort of historical event.) Philadelphia struck for another single in the eighth inning, off the bat of Shane Victorino, but that was the height of their maple-wielding success. The Phils were outhit in the game, 14-2.

Positives? Well, Rollins stole a base. He was, inexplicably, running on a 3-0 pitch, against a (momentarily) wild pitcher. But, still, A STOLEN BASE! Bako's lack of success with Hamels may have pushed him closer to the waiver wire. The Phillies managed to fill four relief innings without using any of their good relievers. (Note: "Good" is relative here, as the list includes Ryan Madson (struggled mightily as interim closer), Brad Lidge (struggling mightily as non-interim closer), Chad Durbin (4.29 ERA), Chan Ho Park (6.04 ERA, 4.70 in June, as a reliever), and J.C. Romero (1.85 WHIP).) Sergio Escalona pitched a scoreless seventh, and Jack Taschner allowed two unearned runs in the eighth. Taschner pitched to seven batters, surrendering two hits and a walk. His ERA remained at 5.20, but his WHIP was further mangled (1.95). (Taschner gets his demotion when his WHIP reaches 2.00, even if it is the middle of an inning, and episodes of "The Pen" have yet to be aired).

The Phillies' "Highlight of the Day" on their website is a sacrifice fly by Greg Dobbs. Impressive. The Phillies still lead the NL East by .007, over the Marlins. The Phils are still going to win the division, and undefeated J.A. Happ is going to beat the Braves on Thursday night. But this past month has been gosh-darned Bako Taschner painful.

The Phillies announced that Lehigh Valley (AAA) starting pitcher Rodrigo Lopez will be recalled for Friday night's start against the New York Mets. The Phillies chose "experience" over "skill", at least for Friday's start. Lopez has pitched well recently, and the Phillies wanted to see how the veteran (of thirty-three years on the planet, including seven in MLB) northpaw would do at the MLB level. Before TJ surgery in 2007, Lopez had a 4.42 ERA/1.31 WHIP with Colorado. Lopez would have to pass waivers to return to AAA, so he'll likely be given a few starts for the P-Phils, before they decide whether he is rotation-worthy. (He may be able to stick as a reliever, also.)
Carlos Carrasco certainly has more upside, and the potential to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, but the Phils opted not to recall him. Yet. Perhaps they wanted to protect his delicate psyche? Perhaps they wanted to protect his trade value, which could decrease with some struggles at the MLB level? Perhaps they want to give him more AAA time, to work on his slider?
I think Carrasco should have been given the start. (Lopez could be promoted as a long reliever/spot starter to get some MLB time, at the expense of the roster spot of Jack Taschner (or Paul Bako)).
The Phillies have not yet announced who will lose their P-Phils roster spot to Carrasco.
Probably Sergio Escalona, again? (But, hopefully, Jack Taschner or Paul Bako.)

Jimmy Rollins went 0 for 3 Wednesday, decreasing his average to .205. Going 0 for 27 tends to have an adverse effect on batting averages. Going 6 for 55, isn't helpful, either. Still better than Bruntlett...

Paul Bako started behind the plate on Wednesday night. Charlie Manuel said something to the extent of "he's on the roster, I have to use him", when asked about Bako's inclusion in the starting lineup. I'm sure Phillies' starter Cole Hamels appreciated that logic.

Scott Eyre pitched for Reading (AA) in a rehab appearance on Wednesday night. Eyre, on a pitch limit of 25, allowed a home run to the first batter he faced. When he departed, having hit his pitch count, the bases were loaded, with two out. Kyle Drabek got out of the jam unscathed, and Eyre was only charged with one run, on two hits and a walk.

Raul Ibanez was expected to make a rehab appearance for Reading, but did not. Ibanez took batting practice, and is expected to play Thursday. Looks like he will be out for the entirety of the Mets' series...

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA) did not have a game scheduled for Wednesday.
The FeHogs face the Syracuse Chiefs on Thursday night, with Carlos Carrasco slated to start.

The Reading Phillies (AA) trailed 4-0 going into the bottom of the second, but came back to beat the Altoona Curve, 8-6. Reading scored six runs in the bottom of the second, two on a Michael Taylor home run. Taylor was 2 for 4, improving his average to .350. 1B Kevin Mahar (.312) had two hits, as did C Tuffy Gosewisch (.244).
Pitcher Kyle Drabek went 3 for 3, improving his batting average to .625. Drabek also kept his winning percentage at 1.000, with his fifth win. Drabek, pitching in relief of the rehabbing Eyre, pitched six and one-third innings, surrendering three runs (seven hits, three walks/four strikeouts). All three of the runs came in the second inning, perhaps pitching in relief adversely affected his routine?
Tyson Brummett pitched in relief, again. It appears that he has lost his rotation spot to Yohan Flande.

The R-Phils had four players chosen to appear in the All-Star game. LHP Joe Savery, RHP Vance Worley, 3B Neil Sellers, and OF Michael Taylor will all travel to historic Trenton, N.J. for the Mid-Summer Classic on July 15th. Kyle Drabek's performance at the AA level might have made him worthy of inclusion, but he has only pitched 40 innings for Reading.
Drabek's next All-Star appearance will likely be in 2010, for Lehigh Valley.

The Clearwater Threshers swept a doubleheader from the Palm Beach Cardinals, winning 2-1 (seven innings), and 7-1 (six innings). Drew Naylor pitched seven strong innings in the opener, permitting a run on only four hits (zero walks/six strikeouts). Michael Galen Cisco surrendered only an unearned run in the second game, pitching five innings (four hits, one walk/three strikeouts).

The Phillies lost the first game of their three-game series in Atlanta, 5-4, in ten innings. Starter Joe Blanton was mediocre, allowing three runs (eight hits, three walks/three strikeouts, ninety-three pitches), as the Phils fell behind, 3-2. Pinch-hitter John Mayberry and 3B Pedro Feliz (three hits) hit back-to-back homers in the eighth, giving the Phillies a 4-3 lead. But setup man Ryan Madson combined shoddy fielding, and poor pitching (two walks, one hit), to allow a game-tying, unearned run. Chan Ho Park gave up the game-winning run to the Braves, acquiring two outs in the tenth, but three hits, which proved to be one too many.

Blanton, Madson, and Park certainly did enough to be blamed for the loss. Jimmy Rollins (0 for 5), Jayson Werth (0 for 4, error), and Carlos Ruiz (0 for 4, 6 LOB) also contributed heavily to the losing effort. However, Gabor Paul Bako II, also deserves a large portion of the pie of accountability. Charlie Manuel inserted Bako into the game, after burning backup C Chris Coste as a sixth-inning pinch-hitter, as part of a double-switch. This move put the pitcher in the eighth spot in the lineup, Bako in the ninth spot, and starting catcher Carlos Ruiz on the bench. This move was actually designed so that Bako would be allowed to bat. Given the veteran catcher's dexterity with the bat, the Phils might have been better-served by keeping Ruiz in the game, and allowing a pitcher to bat. Bako was retired in his only AB, and his questionable pitch-calling in the tenth was a huge factor in the defeat. With two outs, two strikes, the winning run on base, and a base open, Bako calling for a Park fastball lead, immediately,to the Phils' loss. IN. EXPLICABLE.

The Phillies try to start another nine-game Turner Field winning streak Wednesday night, with ace Cole Hamels on the mound. I'm predicting that JIMMY ROLLINS WILL GET A HIT IN THE GAME!

Jimmy Rollins returned to the lineup on Tuesday, and increased his hitless streak to 24 AB, with an 0 for 5 effort. The Braves fans mocked him, chanting .208 (his batting average). Still better than Gnome Bruntlett...

Paul Bako played in the field, and was allowed to bat (!), in Tuesday night's loss to Atlanta. These events should only be permitted to occur under emergency circumstances, or in blowouts. This may have been our last chance to see Bako on the field, however, if he is removed from the roster on Friday.

The Phillies acquired Brian Mazone, a soft-tossing journeyman, to bolster the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA) staff. With a day-night doubleheader looming on Friday, and the probable promotion of a member of their starting rotation to the parent club, the Phils just wanted another arm for AAA. They may not want to promote any of their AA starters, at this point, though Joe Savery could be an option late in the season. (Kyle Drabek, coming off TJ surgery, should probably stay at AA for the season, and keep his innings down.)

J.A. Happ has been named as the starter for Thursday night, so the Friday night starter (against the Mets) will, likely, be a pitcher currently in AAA. This move keeps Happ on his regular day, and gives him the start in the final game before the All-Star break. It also enables the Phillies to wait another game, before opening up a roster spot, with the optioning of (Sergio Escalona? Jack Taschner?) or the DFA'ing of Paul Bako.

The starter for Friday still has not been announced. It could be Andrew Carpenter, Carlos Carrasco, Rodrigo Lopez, or Roy Halladay. Carrasco and Carpenter have options remaining, while the veteran Lopez would have to pass waivers to return to the LV. Halladay is a bit of a darkhorse here, as he would be on three days' rest, and is currently in the Blue Jays' organization. My money is on Carrasco making the start (or Arizona RHP Doug Davis, who would be on full rest).

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA) fell to two games under .500, with a 3-1 loss to the Norfolk Tides. The Tides scored two eighth-inning runs to break the tie. Kyle Kendrick pitched a bullpen-saving complete game (106 pitches, 70 strikes), allowing only two earned runs (six hits, two walks/one strikeout) in the nine-inning effort. The FeHogs were held to only five hits.

The Reading Phillies (AA) trailed the Altoona Curve, 5-4, in the bottom of the ninth. They tied it in the ninth, and won on a 12th inning walkoff HR by Kevin Mahar. In Yohan Flande's long-awaited R-Phils debut, the lefty allowed five runs in the second inning. In the other five innings he pitched, he held the Curve scoreless. Flande permitted only four hits, with three walks/four strikeouts.

The Clearwater Threshers (A) were rained out on Tuesday night. They will play a doubleheader on Wednesday, against the Palm Beach Cardinals.

Who would have thought that at the beginning of July, the baseball world would be applauding three teams from the National League West while remaining vexed with four teams from the National League East?

But here we are, and the Los Angeles Dodgers look strong and deep; the Colorado Rockies have been the hottest team in baseball for the last month; and the San Francisco Giants have pitched their way to the top of the N.L. Wild Card race.

On a different coast, the Philadelphia Phillies lead the East merely by default; the Mets are spending more time in the doctor's office than the clubhouse; the Marlins aren't doing anything more than treading water by playing .500 ball in a sinking division; and the Braves are underachieving with one starter hitting over .300.

It's a baseball paradox of Philly cheese steak proportions, and with so many questions involved, who knows how it will shake out?

We don't really, but there is one guy in the division who could change all of that, and that is Jimmy Rollins.

Who?

Yeah, Philly fans haven't seen him this year, either.

But that's exactly why Rollins holds the key to such an unstable division. The Phillies haven't had 'Jimmy Rollins' in their lineup once this season; they have had some Fathead portrait of the guy who once captivated the entire city at shortstop.

After hitting .211 with six home runs and a .254 OBP through 68 games of the season, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel decided it was best to sit his relentless shortstop last week and allow Rollins some time to clear his head and get back to the player that he ought to be.

Rollins is set to return to the Phillies' lineup when they open a three-game series in Atlanta on Tuesday after taking four games off to do nothing. Manuel didn't even want Rollins taking batting practice. In fact, the less thinking about baseball the better.

"I want him to sit down. I want him to kind of get away," Manuel told the Philadelphia Daily News last week. "I told him if he didn't want to, he doesn't have to take BP. I want him to just get away for a couple of days and sit and watch and hopefully just relax and try to get his thinking back and the way he feels and everything."

Which is smart, because Manuel knows that the division is there for the taking and another deep October run could be theirs when they aren't playing their best ball and are surviving with smoke and mirrors on the mound.

Remember, it was only two seasons ago that Rollins became one of four men since 1871 to join the 20-20-20-20 Club by accumulating 20 or more doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases in a single season.

Who are the other men?

Curtis Granderson did it the same year as Rollins with the Detroit Tigers. Then we have to go back to Willie Mays in 1957 with the New York Giants, and Frank Schulte in 1911 with the Chicago Cubs. That's it.

So we know what type of dynamic player Rollins is and can be, and the Phillies are just waiting for that same guy to come back. This is already a club who ranks 1^st in the N.L. in home runs and 2^nd in the league in runs scored.

With a normal Rollins batting leadoff in Philadelphia and a healthy Raul Ibanez in the middle of the order, the Phillies lineup is one of the meanest gauntlets in baseball when you add Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, and Chase Utley to the aforementioned two. Even Jayson Werth is better than most other outfielders the Phillies will see come August and September.

If Rollins doesn't bounce back to his career levels at least, then it becomes a wide-open division again if only because Philadelphia's pitching staff has a larger crack than the Liberty Bell.

The Phils rank 15^th in the N.L. in earned runs, so we can fairly assume that it can't get much worse. But where is the improvement going to come from?

Cole Hamels must pitch better than his 4.44 ERA, Jamie Moyer isn't fooling anybody with his ERA hovering above 6.00, and Joe Blanton hasn't had the type of success in the N.L. that the Phillies thought he would have when they got him from Oakland last summer.

Sure, Citizens Bank Park is a hitter's park, but a sinkerball pitcher shouldn't be getting knocked around like Blanton is.

Brad Lidge spent some time on the DL with a sprained knee in early June and hasn't been close to the same guy he was in '08 when he converted every save opportunity for the entire season.

What's been Lidge's problem? You could make a number of cases, but I would look at the 5.6 walks per nine innings he is averaging. With stuff that good, Lidge just needs to let it fly in the zone and see what happens.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. will be one of the most active men on the trading front for starting pitching as the deadline approaches, but with so many teams looking for arms and so few quality arms available, there just aren't many upgrades to be had.

"We have interest in a lot of guys and we have talked to several teams about pitching across the board," Amaro Jr. told MLB.com. "But a lot of it just depends on which pitching becomes available. And if they do become available, if we have the right fits for them."

"When you have this many teams in the race it's very thin," Amaro said. "It's always thin. Again, there were three teams who got pitching last year. Three teams out of 30. That's 10 percent."

And, in reality, that may be the tipping point for the Phillies. The lack of pitching available via trade combined with the thin pitching staffs within the division could make the N.L. East a summer slugfest. If that's the case, Philadelphia already is the team to beat and will be even more so when Rollins joins the party.

None of these teams look real pretty in comparison with the Dodgers, Cardinals, or Brewers. But in the end it doesn't matter because none of those teams are in the division.

What matters is that the Philadelphia Phillies are the only team in the N.L. East with a positive run differential (i.e. have scored more runs than allowed) and that certainly isn't because they are carving teams up on the mound.

Thus far, Rollins has merely been a caricature of himself sans the flesh, blood, and heart.

We won't know for a few games what Rollins has emerged from his mini vacation.

But if the old chatty and swaggering J-Roll rides into the batters box to leadoff the ballgame down South, we will know one thing.

The golden key to the East will be dangling from his neck.

Teddy Mitrosilis is the author of Ballpark Banter. He also writes for Bleacher Report. You can reach him at tm4000@yahoo.com.