Quick Stains: June 11th

The Phillies sweep the best team in the NL, and lose two of three to the worst in the AL? Yup, sounds like a pretty typical week to me.

1. Kudos to Lieber for his complete game shutout. He was really the only Phillies pitcher that got it done this weekend.

2. Here's some unkind words about the decision to trade for Freddy Garcia. Gotta love the beauty of hindsight. Garcia could be done for a while. I'm assuming some team will grab him next year (how about Seattle, because irony is always fun) where he will go 200 IP, 4.15 ERA, 15-8. Also gotta love the beauty of pessimism.

3. Jim Thome comes back into town tonight. I'm hoping the fans treat him well. He was, and still is, a good man, and a wonderful baseball player. Here's a look at the decision to trade him based almost solely from an economic standpoint.

4. The Manayunk bike race is a silly time. Trust me, I was there.

5. Who thinks it's about time the Phillies rattle off seven or so wins in a row and then lose a couple series to the Nationals and Pirrates? That seems to be the course we're headed down.

6. Two points of comparison: The White Sox aren't good, but they are better than the Royals. Ryan Madson isn't good, but he is better than Jose Mesa.

ChiSox tonight at home. Who the hell knows what's going to happen.