Paul Bako

Pitcher Scott Eyre strained his left calf nine days ago in a game against the Mets and has yet to throw off a mound. Eyre, 37, said he felt no pain while playing catch, but has yet to test the injury from a mound. Eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list Friday, Eyre said his DL stay would "probably end up being longer than that, but not by much. It's what you call a common-recurrence injury, so I have to wait until it's 100 percent. " He expects to make minor-league rehab appearances before rejoining the Phillies, but is not yet sure when or how many.

Sidelined St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire was treated yesterday for inflammation in his back and will be reevaluated Monday. Craig Paquette probably will get the bulk of the playing time while McGwire sits out three games. Gary Gaetti's long-shot bid to continue his career at age 41 ended yesterday when he retired with a knee problem after going hitless in 10 at-bats with the Boston Red Sox. Gaetti, a third baseman most of his career, joined the Boston Red Sox early in spring training after playing the last two seasons with the Chicago Cubs.

If Cole Hamels can pick up where he left off before rain shortened his start to five innings Friday against the Marlins in Florida, the Phillies will be a step closer to having their ace pitcher where they want him to be. Hamels, who will pitch against San Diego tonight in a makeup game at Citizens Bank Park, was in command after giving up a solo home run in the first inning. "After the home run he gave up, his stuff was good," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I felt like about the second or third inning he really got clicking, but then there was the rain delay.

Relaxed and ready. Just hours away from Game 6 of the National League Championship Series last night at Wrigley Field - needing one victory to clinch a World Series berth for the first time since 1945 - the Cubs weren't getting excited yet. "It still feels like another game right now," Cubs catcher Paul Bako said. "We know what's at stake, don't get me wrong. But until the game starts, we're going to approach it like another game. And then the adrenaline is going to come from nowhere, once game time approaches.

"I don't have a good change-up today," Ryan Madson told his catcher, Paul Bako, when he entered the game in the eighth inning yesterday with one on, two out, and the Phillies leading Milwaukee, 6-5. "All right," Bako said. "Let's go. " It was perhaps a hidden blessing that Madson was without his best off-speed pitch yesterday. Relying on his fastball, the righthander powered his way to a four-out save, with help from a runner caught stealing to end the eighth. The pitch that Madson calls a sinker consistently reached 97 m.p.h.

Heading into this weekend's series at Turner Field, the most compelling story line for the Phillies involved J.A. Happ and Pedro Martinez, and which of the two would earn the final spot in a playoff rotation. The two pitchers remain the central topic of these games, but for a different reason than expected. The night after Happ was removed from a start in the fourth inning because the team feared he would aggravate a strained side muscle, Martinez left last night's 6-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves after throwing one warm-up pitch before the fourth.

When Chase Utley fouled a ball off his right foot in the third inning of Friday night's game, he reacted in characteristic fashion, telling no one how badly it hurt. After the game, though, the pain and swelling were enough to warrant disclosure to manager Charlie Manuel. Utley was not in the lineup last night, after X-rays showed no fracture, according to Manuel. The foot is "swollen up," Manuel said yesterday. "He's going to be out today. We'll see how it is tomorrow.

Cliff Lee's first five starts for the Phillies inspired hyperbolic praise, comparisons to the CC Sabathia of 2008, and a quick ascension to the title of team ace. Lee's last two starts have inspired only confusion and concern. Six days after a loss that seemed an aberration, July's prize acquisition lasted just three innings last night in the Phillies' 7-0 loss to Houston at Minute Maid Park. Lee allowed nine hits and six earned runs, and forever halted parallels to last year's Sabathia, who never had a similar stretch after joining Milwaukee before the trade deadline.

Lefthander Jamie Moyer checked into Thomas Jefferson University hospital with a blood infection, according to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. Moyer had surgery on Oct. 2 to repair three torn tendons in his groin and lower abdomen. "He is doing fine," Amaro said yesterday. He has "some type of blood infection and will likely stay one more night, getting the fever down and taking antibiotics. Not sure how he got it. " No further information was immediately available. Bastardo impresses Rookie lefthander Antonio Bastardo impressed his teammates and opponents with a bases-loaded strikeout of pinch-hitter Jason Giambi in Thursday's loss.

Brad Lidge has been inconsistent this season, but his pitching coach saw significant improvement after the Phillies' closer earned two saves - following a blown save Friday - in last weekend's sweep of the Nationals in Washington. "Brad Lidge's stuff right now is better than it was the last three or four months of last year," Rich Dubee said yesterday, offering an assessment that was somewhat surprising given the closer's 8.31 earned run average. But according to Dubee, Lidge's main problem all along has been command - rather than the quality of his repertoire - and that has improved recently.

They were Phillies faithful in enemy territory. Some were bold, proudly wearing Cliff Lee jerseys, World Series hoodies, and Phils' caps; others took the safe route, tucking their red into suitcases and slipping into Yankee Stadium unnoticed. Thousands of fans made the journey from Philadelphia to the Bronx yesterday to see the Phils take on the storied New York Yankees in the first game of the World Series. Shortly after Yanks pitcher CC Sabathia threw his first pitch at 8:01, the crowd let the Phillies fans know how they would be received.

NEW YORK - Paul Bako still remembers the one and only time he caught A.J. Burnett in a major league start. It was 2000. Burnett was a 23-year-old flamethrower, one of several young pitching prospects breaking into the big leagues with the Florida Marlins. Bako was a 28-year-old catcher whom the Astros had shipped to the Marlins after the first game of the season. Burnett was making his first start of the season for the Marlins. Bako, it turns out, was making his last. But for one game, the second of a doubleheader against the Braves, the two players combined for what at that point was the most impressive pitching performance of Burnett's sprouting career.

Lefthander Jamie Moyer checked into Thomas Jefferson University hospital with a blood infection, according to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. Moyer had surgery on Oct. 2 to repair three torn tendons in his groin and lower abdomen. "He is doing fine," Amaro said yesterday. He has "some type of blood infection and will likely stay one more night, getting the fever down and taking antibiotics. Not sure how he got it. " No further information was immediately available. Bastardo impresses Rookie lefthander Antonio Bastardo impressed his teammates and opponents with a bases-loaded strikeout of pinch-hitter Jason Giambi in Thursday's loss.

"I don't have a good change-up today," Ryan Madson told his catcher, Paul Bako, when he entered the game in the eighth inning yesterday with one on, two out, and the Phillies leading Milwaukee, 6-5. "All right," Bako said. "Let's go. " It was perhaps a hidden blessing that Madson was without his best off-speed pitch yesterday. Relying on his fastball, the righthander powered his way to a four-out save, with help from a runner caught stealing to end the eighth. The pitch that Madson calls a sinker consistently reached 97 m.p.h.

Heading into this weekend's series at Turner Field, the most compelling story line for the Phillies involved J.A. Happ and Pedro Martinez, and which of the two would earn the final spot in a playoff rotation. The two pitchers remain the central topic of these games, but for a different reason than expected. The night after Happ was removed from a start in the fourth inning because the team feared he would aggravate a strained side muscle, Martinez left last night's 6-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves after throwing one warm-up pitch before the fourth.

When Chase Utley fouled a ball off his right foot in the third inning of Friday night's game, he reacted in characteristic fashion, telling no one how badly it hurt. After the game, though, the pain and swelling were enough to warrant disclosure to manager Charlie Manuel. Utley was not in the lineup last night, after X-rays showed no fracture, according to Manuel. The foot is "swollen up," Manuel said yesterday. "He's going to be out today. We'll see how it is tomorrow.

Cliff Lee's first five starts for the Phillies inspired hyperbolic praise, comparisons to the CC Sabathia of 2008, and a quick ascension to the title of team ace. Lee's last two starts have inspired only confusion and concern. Six days after a loss that seemed an aberration, July's prize acquisition lasted just three innings last night in the Phillies' 7-0 loss to Houston at Minute Maid Park. Lee allowed nine hits and six earned runs, and forever halted parallels to last year's Sabathia, who never had a similar stretch after joining Milwaukee before the trade deadline.

Paul Bako has enjoyed significant playing time of late, but Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said that Bako and Carlos Ruiz are not sharing starting duties. "Chooch is still our starting catcher," Manuel said yesterday, using Ruiz's nickname. "I like to play Bako enough to keep his catching skills sharp, but Chooch is the starter. " Since Chris Coste was waived and claimed by the Houston Astros on July 10, Ruiz has started 13 games, Bako seven. That is slightly more than typical for a backup, and Manuel chose Bako to catch prize acquisition Cliff Lee's first start on Friday.

If Cole Hamels can pick up where he left off before rain shortened his start to five innings Friday against the Marlins in Florida, the Phillies will be a step closer to having their ace pitcher where they want him to be. Hamels, who will pitch against San Diego tonight in a makeup game at Citizens Bank Park, was in command after giving up a solo home run in the first inning. "After the home run he gave up, his stuff was good," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I felt like about the second or third inning he really got clicking, but then there was the rain delay.

As special assistant to then-general manager Ed Wade in 2004, Charlie Manuel was assigned to scout potential free agents. In that role, he attended a Chicago Cubs game to watch Paul Bako. "I wrote that he could handle the bat," Manuel recalled yesterday. "He could catch, he could throw, and he could call a good game. " Last night, Bako offered proof at the plate, driving in the winning run for the Phillies in the ninth inning. Game management always has been considered Bako's strength, and his resume includes two tenures as Greg Maddux's personal catcher, one in Atlanta and one in Chicago.