June 10 -- VOTING RESULTS

MIAMI GARDENS -- Just got to Dolphin Stadium, where we've received an update on the NL All-Star voting. For a third straight week, Chase Utley is the leading vote-getter with 1,284,961 total votes. That's nearly 175,000 more than Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, the next-closest player with 1,110,171 votes. It's also more than twice as many votes as the second-place second baseman, the Cubs' Mark DeRosa (589,637).

So, barring something completely unexpected, Utley will start at second base in the All-Star Game.

But Utley's teammates aren't faring as well in the balloting. Ryan Howard ranks fourth among first basemen with 368,012 votes, way behind Houston's Lance Berkman (1,046,249), the Cubs' Derrek Lee (771,516) and St. Louis' Albert Pujols (700,777). At shortstop, Jimmy Rollins ranks fifth with 442,885 votes. He's behind Houston's Miguel Tejada (726,835), Florida's Hanley Ramirez (607,528), the Cubs' Ryan Theriot (583,433) and the Mets' Jose Reyes (498,007). Pat Burrell has plummeted to ninth among NL outfielders with 487,131 votes.

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Before eating lunch at one of the best BBQ joints in America, I read this comment about the Phils from old friend Wes Helms in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "They're hitting right now, and their pitching has stepped up the past few games. I wouldn't say they're the cream of the [NL East] crop. I think we can play with them any day of the week. We just hit a little spell here that took us three games behind them."

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The Phillies have signed eight of their draft picks from last week, including 51st overall pick Anthony Gose, a left-handed hitting outfielder from Bellflower (Calif.) High. The others:
1B Jeremy Hamilton (fifth round pick), 3B Cody Overbeck (ninth round), 2B Daniel Hargrave (22nd round), OF Brandon Haislet (23rd round), RHP Jordan Ellis (28th round from Villanova), RHP Michael Cisco (36th round), OF Bryan Frew (43rd round).