Friday night fights

Odds and ends from another few days with the Phillies ...

* C Mike Lieberthal will play for Class AA Reading on Saturday, and it seems he's walking into a powderkeg. The R-Phils had a benches-clearing brawl Friday against Connecticut. Nine players, including pitching prospect Scott Mathieson, were ejected. According to a recap in the Reading Eagle, Mathieson started the brawl by hitting Eliezer Alfonzo in the lower left leg, the third batter he hit during the game. Mathieson, who grew up playing hockey in Canada, threw a few punches and took a few, too. Here's the story: http://www.readingeagle.com/re/sports/1525766.asp

Just wondering if any of the Connecticut pitchers would hit Lieberthal, who, you may recall, has been on the DL since getting hit by a pitch May 4. He has a bone bruise and a mild fracture in his left knee.



* Bobby Abreu batting leadoff is a nice thought. It's just not going to happen. Not unless Phillies manager Charlie Manuel reverses his position, and right now, he's steadfast about keeping Abreu in the No. 3 spot.

Manuel, peppered with questions Friday about the makeup of his lineup, asked the writers who cover the team each day for their ideal lineup. Here's mine, and I'm anxious to get your feedback:

RF Bobby Abreu
SS Jimmy Rollins
2B Chase Utley
LF Pat Burrell
1B Ryan Howard
CF Aaron Rowand
3B David Bell
C Mike Lieberthal/Sal Fasano

This way, you break up the lefties (Abreu, Utley, Howard), get Abreu's high on-base percentage into the leadoff spot, and drop Utley, who has more home run power than Abreu anyway, into an RBI position.

Thoughts?

* Chris Coste got his first major-league at-bat Friday night ... finally ... and he wasted no time swinging at the first pitch and flying to deep center field. That's the sort of aggressiveness you like to see from a pinch-hitter, and as it turns out, it was enough to keep Coste around for at least another few days. OF Chris Roberson, instead of Coste, was sent to Class AAA after the game (Aaron Rowand will be activated Saturday).

* Lastly, during this week's trip to NY, I stayed with a friend in Hoboken, N.J. Aside from its striking views of the Manhattan skyline and the Hudson River, Hoboken is known for being the birthplace of baseball.

Well, at least according to people in Hoboken.

A plaque on Washington Street claims to commemorate the site of the first organized game. You get a decidedly different story in Cooperstown, N.Y., where the National Baseball Hall of Fame is located.

Draw your own conclusions, I guess.