Friday's first pitch

Leading Off
The Phillies came out of the All-Star break the same way they went into it: on fire. Ryan Howard blasted his 200th career home run, becoming the fastest player - games-wise - in major league history to reach the mark. He achieved the feat in his 658th game. Meanwhile Ralph Kiner had held the record, blasting his 200th dong. in his 706th games
But it wasn't just the hitting.
Jamie Moyer continued his dominance of the Fish, holding them to just one hit in improving his record against the Marlins to 13-2.
If the Phillies can use this four-game set to put more distance between themselves and Florida they'll really improve their chances of winning a third-straight division title.

Regional Roundup

• There's an ominous tone to this profile of Dave Trembley. One Oriole prospect shined very brightly during his minor league All-Star game.


• New manager, same result. Scott Olsen is out.


• Taking stock of Zach Duke.


• Hot prospect Michael Taylor makes his Triple-A debut. Jimmy Watch: 1-for-5, no runs, strikeouts or walks; .229.

• A gym owner under scrutiny says he has never met the Rocket.


• Has Julio Lugo worn out his welcome?


• We love Larry Stone. His hysterical look at Cleveland is fantastic.


• The Rays need to beat up on the little guys.


• Prince Fielder thinks he's still in the Home Run Derby


• It's a brand new day for the Fuzzies. They also signed B.J. Ryan.

• In a rare occurrence of broadcaster honesty, Al Hrabosky called out Yadier Molina. Tony La Russa took exception. A blood feud has begun. La Russa might be heading to the Hall of Fame, but we here at the Southpaw have never been big fans We side with Hraboski.

1936 -- Carl Hubbell's 24-game winning streak over two years began as he beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on five hits.

1941 -- Joe DiMaggio's hitting streak of 56 games was stopped by Al Smith and Jim Bagby of the Indians before 67,000 at Cleveland. The Yankees still won, 4-3.

1990 -- Minnesota became the first team in major league history to pull off two triple plays in one game, but still lost 1-0 to Boston.

The Closer
How heavy are the Yankees about to step in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes?
It would make for great theater if the Bombers brought in The Good Doctor, we admit that.
We might even go so far as to say it could be good for baseball.
But we still don't want it to happen. We're not saying Halladay has to go to the Phillies or the Red Sox, but if he were to go to a dark horse team like, say, St. Louis, things would get very interesting.
That could be the makings of a team for the ages.
The question is, does Halladay fit the image of the current Yankees? These aren't guys who grit things out like Scott Brosius and David Cone. These are calculated hitmen. And we love watching them fall.
By all accounts Halladay is a great teammate and a good community guy. Not that Yankees players aren't that, but the image is there that they're all egotistical. That's why we'd like to see him go to a team of gritty players like Chase Utley Shane Victorino or class acts like Prince Albert, would be more fun.