Jim Thome

Charlie Manuel was not surprised to hear that Carlos Ruiz was trailing in the all-star voting for catchers. Yes, Ruiz led the National League in batting average and ranked fourth in on-base percentage and third in slugging percentage entering Tuesday. But fans had voted more often for St. Louis' Yadier Molina, San Francisco's Buster Posey, and Atlanta's Brian McCann. "From the national standpoint, they probably don't know Chooch is this good," the Phillies manager said. "He probably doesn't have the exposure like the other ones have.

Before Friday's series opener with the visiting New York Mets, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel talked about the importance of being patient against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Easier said than done when confronted with the floater. The Phillies took their hacks but were thrown off rhythm by the righthander, whose previous history at Citizens Bank Park left much to be desired. Dickey surrendered one run over seven innings as the Mets opened the weekend series with a 5-2 win over the Phillies.

PITTSBURGH - The Phillies signed Chad Qualls in the winter because they valued his durability; no pitcher has appeared in more games since 2005 than the 33-year-old righthander. But three games into the season, Qualls is sidelined by a nebulous right heel injury he could barely describe, which only complicated the Phillies' middle-relief puzzle in Sunday's 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Qualls said it felt like a "knife was going at the back of my heel" when he was walking around in his spikes Saturday afternoon.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Jim Thome wore a wide grin in the Phillies dugout at Bright House Field before he even took batting practice Sunday morning. "Man, it's exciting," he said. The occasion was Thome's first appearance at first base in a major-league game since 2007. He played five innings in Sunday's 3-3 tie with Baltimore and mastered what little action was required. No balls were hit to Thome, who recorded three putouts. That didn't make it any less awesome for Thome.

MIAMI - As the Phillies dressed after another loss Saturday, Jim Thome said his goodbyes. The room was quiet, except for a few players trying to catch up on the news. "Where is he going?" one asked. "Baltimore," another said. They both nodded. "It's bittersweet, to be honest," Chase Utley said. "Jim is a great teammate. I think we're all sorry to see him go, but also we're excited he'll get opportunities to get at-bats daily and still do a lot of damage. " Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. took the same diplomatic stance in discussing Thome's trade to the Orioles for two minor-leaguers.

NEW YORK - For the second straight game, Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz wasn't in the starting lineup because of a right hamstring strain. Assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said Ruiz had an ultrasound test on his hamstring Tuesday in Philadelphia. Ruiz was available as a pinch-hitter in Tuesday's game at Citi Field against the New York Mets. "It is a mild hamstring strain, and we wanted to make sure it wasn't anything more serious than that," Proefrock said before the game.

LOS ANGELES - Jim Thome was comfortable playing for the White Sox, with playing so close to his home. He didn't have to accept a trade to the Dodgers and, honestly, there were plenty of reasons why he might have wanted to stay right where he was. With the Sox, he would play almost every day. Which, in turn, would give him a better chance to add to his career total of 564 home runs; he has admitted that reaching 600 is a goal. With the Dodgers, he would be limited to pinch-hitting.

BALTIMORE - How does anyone sleep when they are headed to the majors the next morning, B.J. Rosenberg wondered, so he didn't. He shut his eyes for maybe three hours Friday night, flew to Baltimore, and made his big-league debut in the 11th inning of a tie game. An "L" will always appear next to Rosenberg's name for June 9, 2012. But that did not discourage him after the Orioles' 6-4 win over the Phillies. "It's still one of the best days of my life," Rosenberg said. "It's a dream come true.

TORONTO - It's entirely possible that Jim Thome made his final Phillies start on Sunday. He made it a memorable one. With a second-inning blast to right field as a designated hitter, Thome became the fourth player in baseball history with at least 100 home runs for three teams. Thome homered in the second inning of a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. The others who have hit at least 100 homers for three teams are Alex Rodriguez (Seattle, Texas, New York)

Minnesota slugger Jim Thome has become the eighth player to hit 600 home runs, connecting twice in a 9-6 win over the host Detroit Tigers last night. Thome, 40, hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning for No. 599, then came to bat again in the seventh. He hit a 2-1 pitch from Daniel Schlereth over the fence in leftfield, then circled the bases as the Detroit fans gave him a standing ovation. "It's an unbelievable night, obviously," Thome said. "It's something you never dream of doing.