A new All-Star and maybe a new SoxandPhil

When I came home today, I turned on the TV to see whether Shane Victorino won the final All-Star slot.

He did.

But that was instantly overshadowed as Comcast discussed a Todd Zolecki Tweet that the Phillies had agreed to terms with Pedro Martinez. He has since dismissed the original report from a Spanish publication, but there are strong indications that if the Phillies' 2009 rotation will include a former Cy Young potential Hall of Famer, it will be Pedro, not Roy Halladay. Zolecki even said he thinks Pedro will be a Phil.

If this does happen, Christine and I are on record against it. Although, Christine said she would enjoy it if he did pitch well if only to rub it in the face of his former team, the Mets.

I wouldn't mind Pedro in Philly; I just don't think he would help the club. I would have several questions:

• Would it be acceptable to wear my Red Sox Pedro T-shirt (pictured above) if we happen to go to a game he's pitching?


• Would he instantly be the second-greatest SoxandPhil of all-time? (Behind Curt Schilling.)


• Who was the last Phillie to wear No. 45? (Actually, not that tough of a question. It was another SoxandPhil, Tom Gordon.)


• While everyone was clamoring for Manny Ramirez to play the Red Sox in last year's World Series, could Pedro beat him to punch in the 2009 SoxandPhils fall classic?

When we still thought the signing was completed, Christine said, "Poor Shane Victorino. He's going to be completely overshadowed."

He was. He's barely mentioned in this post (although I would have focused on how he probably didn't deserve the honor), and he was relegated to the final line in Zolecki's afternoon post:

Shane Victorino won the NL Final Vote, which means he is headed to St. Louis next week.

Congrats, Shane. Sorry you didn't get top billing today, but we all know you've received plenty of attention this week. And, I have a feeling you won't just be watching the game from the bench. I have a good feeling your manager will have you starting in place of injured centerfielder Carlos Beltran.

Tonight's games: Chase Utley certainly looked like he enjoyed himself rounding the bases on his inside-the-park home run in the 3rd inning. After a crazy 5th inning, the Phillies have taken a 9-6 lead over the Reds in the 6th inning.

David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia hit traditional home runs, but the bullpen coughed up another lead. They're trailing the Royals 7-5 in the 7th, but that was No. 300 for the big guy, who has been on a tear.

Before today's game, the Globe reported:

While his average remains a disappointing .223, that’s far better than the .186 he was batting at the start of June. Over his last 27 games and 24 starts, Ortiz is hitting a robust .301 with a 1.037 on-base plus slugging, 14 walks (and 18 strikeouts), eight home runs, and 17 RBIs.