Sept. 23 -- IS RUIZ READY?

After not playing in eight days (since Sept. 13), rookie catcher Carlos Ruiz (left) is in the Phillies' lineup today. And, in his first two at-bats, he has a two-run single and an RBI double. Including those hits, Ruiz is 7-for-17 (.412) since his Aug. 31 recall from Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Just a thought: Maybe, after batting .307 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs for S/WB, Ruiz is ready to be the Phillies' No. 1 catcher.

Other notes:

--Had an interesting conversation this morning with LHP Randy Wolf, who will start Monday night against the Astros. Wolf has been with the Phillies since 1999, and although he will be a free agent after the season and is no lock to be re-signed, he said he's not thinking of Monday night's start as his potential Citizens Bank Park swan song. "I prefer to think that I'll be pitching here in October," he said.

--I covered Marlins 1B Mike Jacobs in the minors with the Mets, and although he's been struggling this month, I still think he has one of the sweetest left-handed swings I've ever seen.

--After Phillies starter Jon Lieber hit Marlins slugger Miguel Cabrera with a pitch in the first inning, Marlins starter Brian Moehler countered by hitting Ryan Howard. Both dugouts were warned, and nothing has happened since.

--Pat Burrell continues to struggle -- and he continues to get booed. Burrell flied to center field in the first inning, lined to shortstop in the third and grounded to third in the fifth. Each time, he was booed by the crowd.

--The Phillies beat writers presented their annual end-of-season awards before the game today. The winners were Ryan Howard (Mike Schmidt MVP), Tom Gordon (Steve Carlton Most Valuable Pitcher), Mike Lieberthal (Good Guy Award) and Chris Coste (Special Achievement Award). But the line of the day comes from Howard, who noted that the two previous winners of the Good Guy Award (Amaury Telemaco and Billy Wagner) weren't on the team the following year. "It should be called the Good Bye Award," Howard quipped.

More later.