I say they should leave Towers down in AAA for this year and let him get straightened out.  Then try him again in spring training next year.  He has zero trade value, and he's signed through next year, so they might as well keep working with him.

Did anyone else think it ridiculous that Gibbons was considering bringing in Ryan last night?  With the way Burnett was performing, and his low pitch count there was no need to even consider bringing him in.  I'm more worried about Ryan getting overworked than Burnett getting re-injured.  I have not been a fan of Gibbons' bullpen management.  Long relievers are capable of going more than one inning.

Hopefully Burnett's great start to this series will inspire Lilly and Doc to show everyone they can do it too.  I think this might be the first series all year that I've had a hint of a thought going in that they could sweep just based on starting pitching.

Toby Named Later

 So, a Toby on each side of the trade, huh? And incidentally, what the hell happened to Toby Hall? Wasn't he, a few years ago, The Next Hot Young Catcher and The First Devil Ray-Developed Superstar-to-Be? Instead of Carlton Fisk, he appears to have turned into Biff Pocoroba.

But, Mick, Biff Pocoroba is a way cooler name than Carlton Fisk. Hey, how about an all-comic or all-superhero Hall of Names?  Biff Pocoroba, Gary Wayne, Jason Lane, Jeff Kent,  Joe Randa.

Hopefully Burnett's great start to this series will inspire Lilly and Doc to show everyone they can do it too.

Well, the rest of the lads aren't exactly blessed with the same physical gifts as Halladay and Burnett, so it's not like their challenges lie only between their ears.

Last night was evidence of just how electric Burnett's stuff can be. Hell, he was striking guys out missing Molina's target by a plate and a half. How many times did Molina set up on one side, only to see Burnett's pitch end up entirely on the other? Ryan Zimmerman uttered a few choice expletives after getting caught looking when Molina, having set up inside, had to reach across his body for a pitch that was legitimately on the outer half of the plate, but looked outside because of Molina's required contortions. Burnett may never develop Halladay's control, but -- is this sacrilege to say? -- may have the better raw tools. (That said, I believe that Halladay will always be the better pitcher.)

 Ryan Zimmerman uttered a few choice expletives after getting caught looking

Nice, I thought I was the only one who caught Zimmerman's "Choice Expletives".  AJ was nasty last night, good to see.

BP's Notebook carousel has come around to the Blue Jays again.  But, then you didn't need to see SNLVAR to know that Josh Towers had been suffering through a miserable season, did you?

Silly question of the day.  Marlon Anderson just pinch-hit for Marlon Byrd.  I suspect that this is the first time that one Marlon pinch-hit for another.  Is this right?  And if so, are there equally unusual examples of first name pinch-hitters, such as one Estel hitting for another or one Biff hitting for another?

Well, I checked out the Marlons.  These are the only two Marlons in major league history, but they did play together in Philadelphia in 2002, so one might very well have pinch-hit for the other earlier this season or in that year.