Pat wuz robbed

I truly thought the Philadelphia fans would come through. I clicked for Pat Burrell many times, knowing that this could be his last opportunity to make an All-Star team, especially as a Phillie. I surprised myself with my interest in this.

I knew David Wright would be tough to beat - he's from a bigger market in a city that's hosting the All-Star game. Plus, he's got better buzz nationally than Pat the Bat. I didn't think Corey Hart, playing for Milwaukee, would be a serious candidate. Turns out he was. Turns out he didn't deserve it.


Entering Thursday's play, Burrell and Hart had roughly the same playing time. Burrell's averages could all set career highs - .282/.414/.587 - compared with Hart's .293/.332/.504. I admit I didn't look closely at all the candidates' numbers, but if Burrell's on-base percentage was a measly .332, I might have given him a few votes, but I wouldn't be so gung-ho about it.

Looking further, thanks to Hart's advantage in hits (because it appears he has no judgement of the strike zone), each has roughly the same number of total bases. Runs and RBIs are also about the same. Burrell has struck out 12 more times despite 45 fewer ABs, but he has walked 68 times compared with Hart's 17.

In the field, Hart is probably better, although Burrell hasn't (officially) erred this season. Hart records about two outs per nine innings compared with Burrell's one and a half. And Hart has 13 steals, and Pat, as you know, is mobile challenged.

I thought Charlie Manuel's obsession with removing Burrell late in the game would cost him, but turns out it hasn't. I don't know what did.

At least Evan Longoria beat out Jason Giambi despite the Yankees' moustache giveaway.

Today: Burrell, who might have been daydreaming about making the All-Star team, went 0-3 in an afternoon matinee. Didn't matter. The Phillies crisply beat the Cardinals 4-1. Jamie Moyer put in seven strong innings, and Ryan Howard homered twice, raising the batting average to .234 and giving himself a slight shot at Mike Schmidt's team record of 31 first-half homers. Howard already set the Phillies first-half RBI mark.

Delighting Gary Matthews, Alyssa Milano was in the house selling her line of women's sports apparel. He seemed intrigued by her many tattoos.

Competitors: The Mets also won; the Marlins play late. The Red Sox were off, but are now 1.5 games out because the Rays lost.

[Photo credits: MLB.com (Corey Hart), Delwareonline.com (Pat's flip)]