Swept a-Ray

In observance of the five-year rule that says no complaining for five years after a championship, I won't mention that Daisuke Matsuzaka, our $100 million pitcher, routinely pitches only five innings. I also won't mention tonight's disgraceful 7th-inning performances by Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen.

I'll just tip my hat to the Rays - they're the better team right now. They're fun to watch, and as I've said plenty of times, it's going to be a challenge against them this year. If this is the ALCS matchup, it has the potential of being just as intense as 2004 against the Yankees and last year against the Indians.

{Stop being obnoxious, Greg. Your team looked old and played old. Those who aren't old sucked it up tonight. I think you should worry about holding off the third-place team this weekend before you start talking about the ALCS.}

For the Phillies, if you define a winning streak as two or more consecutive wins, they have their first since June 12-13. But two errors by Ryan Howard in the 9th made it a very tense non-save appearance for Brad Lidge. It ended 7-3 with the bases loaded. Adam Eaton, who fans gripe cost the Phillies $24 million, went five innings, just like Dice-K. He got the win.