Lots of news - some expected, some not

A year ago, Sports Illustrated pulled a pretty good prank, picking the Mets (Hahahahahahahahahhahahahaha!) to win the World Series. This time around, the magazine is picking the Phillies to win the National League for a third straight year. But the pundits still aren't over whatever they were on last year, because they're not picking the Phils to lose a spirited contest against the Red Sox, but to beat the Rays in a rematch of the 2008 World Series.

I'm not big on jinxes, but I don't have a good feeling with "This might hurt" next to Roy Halladay on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

In other news:

The Red Sox and Josh Beckett may be progressing toward a contract extension. ... Junichi Tazawa has some tearing in his elbow, according to the dreaded Dr. James Andrews, but they haven't officially announced surgery yet. ... How long has Tim Wakefield been around? He played for the last Pirates team that finished over .500. ... Speaking of old pitchers, the Phillies officially named Jamie Moyer the fifth starter. ... And while Jayson Werth and Reggie Jackson weren't discussing playing for the Yankees, Mr. October must have mentioned the Yankees no-facial hair policy because Werth ditched the beard in anticipation of his big payday from the Empire.

(Yesterday, Christine wanted me to mention the facial hair ban when we dumped on J-Dub, but we forgot about it when we posted.)