May 26 -- CAN FONZIE SAVE THE PHILS?

ATLANTA -- Finally.

After 49 games in 55 days, the Phillies at last have a winning record. It may not sound like much. Going into today's games, 14 of 30 teams were above .500. But the Phillies got there despite starting 4-11 and having Ryan Howard, Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber and Ryan Madson spend time on the DL. Oh, and they lost two closers -- Tom Gordon and Brett Myers -- to strained right shoulders in a 22-day span this month.

Myers won't be back until at least June 8. Gordon won't even start throwing until later this week. So, it seems to me they key to staying above .500 is protecting late-inning leads with a patchwork bullpen.
That's where Antonio Alfonseca comes in.

Chances are, Charlie Manuel will mix and match in the ninth inning with Alfonseca, Madson and Geoff Geary. Alfonseca got the first chance since Myers got hurt, and with his good sinker, he retired Martin Prado, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Kelly Johnson to pick up his first save since Sept. 13, 2002, when he was with the Cubs.

"I'll remember this day," said Alfonseca, who led the NL with 45 saves for the Marlins in 2000. "It feels like the first time again. I'm happy. Everybody's got to do the job, whether it's me, Madson, Geary, whoever."

So, until Myers comes back, who do you want pitching the ninth?

* It's refreshing to cover an athlete who is built like me. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a good thing, but there's one BIG difference between me and Mike Zagurski (right): He can pitch. By the way, it has been suggested that "The Big Zagurski" would be a better nickname than "Bronko." Maybe we could just call him "The Dude."

* How will you react to Barry Bonds when the Giants come to the Bank next week? Even in San Francisco, some fans are torn.

* John Smoltz is shocked -- shocked! -- that the Phillies put Myers in the bullpen. Not sure I've met a baseball player who's easier to talk to than Smoltz. I'll probably post more about Smoltz's comments later.

* If you're ever in Atlanta, make sure to eat at the Vortex, and try the buffalo bison burger. Yum.