Second base
Difficult to figure out which was more astonishing: the hiring of 80-year-old Jack McKeon in Florida or the resignation of Jim Riggleman in Washington with the Nationals playing better baseball than at any point during his tenure.
Here's what we did figure out: Since Charlie Manuel became the Phillies manager in 2005, 13 other men have managed the other four teams in the National League East.
Third base
Got a lot of e-mails last week about the American League being superior to the National League. That's a myth. The American League has won the interleague matchups every year since 2003, but the National League won the All-Star Game and the World Series last year.
From top to bottom and in terms of star players, the two leagues are more evenly matched than they have been in a long, long time.
Home plate
Domonic Brown went into the weekend series with Oakland stuck in a nasty 5-for-52 slump that had dropped his batting average to .200. It makes you wonder if he will soon be the third man who has failed to win the Phillies' right-field job this season.
GM Ruben Amaro Jr. says Brown deserves a little longer chance than Ben Francisco and John Mayberry Jr.
"I think he has a higher ceiling than those other guys," Amaro said. "We treat him a little differently. We think he has a different future."
Amaro said he also likes the way Brown has handled his struggle.
"I think he has had a pretty good demeanor and is handling it pretty well," the general manger said. "There may come a time when it's more beneficial for him not to be here than to be here, but we don't have to live and die with him right now."
- Bob Brookover
