July 26 -- THE PRICE ISN'T RIGHT

Quick turnaround today, and while I'm usually a big fan of the mid-week day game, it's a little tough to drag yourself out of bed after the previous night's game ended at midnight. Alas, I'm awake and ready for some day baseball.

So much to say about last night's game, in which the Phillies were on the brink of victory, then on the precipice of defeat, before finally winning in the 14th inning on Ryan Howard's two-run homer. But before we get into any of that, there's this:

In case you didn't hear, the Padres and Brewers fired the first real salvo of the trading season yesterday. San Diego sent reliever Scott Linebrink to Milwaukee for three minor-league pitchers, including touted 20-year-old right-hander Will Inman. That doesn't bode well for the pitching-needy Phillies, and here's why: Linebrink, a setup man and a free agent after the season, has blown five saves and posted a 7.16 ERA since June 8. Yet he still cost the Brewers one pitching prospect (Inman) on the level of Phillies phenom Carlos Carrasco and another (single-A lefty Steve Garrison) who they think can pitch in the majors.

That's a steep price, don't you think?

With that out of the way, a few outtakes from last night:

* Howard's homer provided the winning margin, but the biggest play came five innings and nearly two hours earlier. With two outs in the ninth and the Phillies trailing 5-4, Jimmy Rollins drove an 0-2 pitch to left-center field. Ryan Church converged on the ball from left field, while Ryan Langerhans closed from center. As they came together, Langerhans stepped in front of Church. The ball glanced off Church's glove and rolled to the wall. Rollins sprinted to third base, stopped and scooted home when cut-off man Felipe Lopez fumbled the relay throw.

* Tom Gordon warmed up in the ninth but wasn't brought into the game, even after Antonio Alfonseca struggled. Gordon said he felt strong in the 11th inning when he needed only eight pitches to retire Tony Batista, pitcher Jon Rauch and Lopez. But Manuel continues to ease Gordon back into the bullpen mix, something the skipper said he won't be as concerned about when Brett Myers returns. Speaking of which, a decision could be made today about when Myers will be activated. My guess: Before Friday night's game. As soon as I know, you'll know.

* One night after hitting a game-winning homer in the eighth inning, Aaron Rowand stepped to the plate with the winning run in scoring position in the 10th inning. And he popped up a bunt. A bunt! Charlie Manuel said he noticed Nats third baseman Ryan Zimmerman was playing deep, so he flashed the bunt sign on the first pitch. When he tried to take the sign off before the next pitch, he said couldn't catch the attention of Rowand or third-base coach Steve Smith.

* As if giving up the game-winning homer wasn't enough to put former Phils reliever Chris Booker in a sour mood, he was sent to the minors after the game to make room for John Lannan, the prospect who will make his major-league debut today.

If you're not lucky enough to play hooky from work today and come over to the Bank, we've got you covered. I'll try to post a few in-game updates, so check back throughout the day. And let's keep the discussion going from the previous post about the arguments for and against signing Rowand.