May 4 -- WAVING GOODBYE

SAN FRANCISCO -- There were several reasons why the Phillies lost tonight. Almost none had to do with Jamie Moyer. The ageless lefty dazzled for six innings and made one bad pitch in the seventh, a fastball that wasn't elevated enough so that pinch-hitter Eliezer Alfonzo couldn't crush it for a three-run double.

But the biggest play of the game came in the sixth inning when Ryan Howard (now batting .200, by the way) was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a single by Aaron Rowand with nobody out. Howard still isn't running at full speed after spraining a ligament below his left knee a few weeks ago. But that didn't stop third-base coach Steve Smith from waving him home. Charlie Manuel defended Smith's decision, pointing out that Giants center fielder Dave Roberts has a weak arm. But Smith never expected second baseman Kevin Frandsen to make such a strong relay throw. My take: Given that Howard isn't at full speed and there weren't any outs in the inning, Smith has to put up the stop sign and leave the bases loaded for Wes Helms. Waiving Howard home was too big of a gamble.

***

Moyer talks about how he once considered pitching in Japan, but couldn't find a team that wanted him.

***

One other leftover: Manuel wasn't concerned that Antonio Alfonseca allowed three runs in the eighth inning. That's reasonable considering Alfonseca wasn't hit particularly hard (he gave up singles to Mark Sweeney, Omar Vizquel and Ray Durham).