Oh what a relief it is

To be fair, it wasn’t an ideal situation for Phillies reliever Geoff Geary. With no outs in the seventh inning and nursing a three-run lead, Geary was brought into the game with the bases loaded and nowhere else to go for help.

A little more than an hour later, the three-run lead was a three-run deficit, and Geary was bounced from the game and credited with a blown save while his ERA jumped 69 points. For Geary the outing personified his troubles at home where his ERA 7.71 and opponents are hitting a lusty .333 off him.

But the troubles get deeper for Geary. In his last eight appearances, the right-hander has a 12.27 ERA, which comes on the heels of seven straight outings in which he didn’t allow a single run.

But here comes the really troublesome part for Geary – he has inherited 35 runners this season, which is the second most in the National League. That means when Geary gets into a game, chances are there are already runners on base for him. The fact that he has allowed just nine of those 35 to score is not so bad considering that all three of his inherited runners scored last night.

“I think one of the biggest things that shows up is that we don't give up one, two or three runs,” manager Charlie Manuel said after last night’s game about his relievers. “We give up five, six, seven, eight. I think that's what's showing up. In the seventh inning there, even if they take the lead at 4-3, we've still got plenty of time to win the game.”

No, the 3-for-3 is actually quite awful and it would be difficult to categorize Geary’s season as “good” at this point. But there is a reason why Geary has been in 36 games this season and could top 80 appearances for the second year in a row, and it’s not simply because Manuel doesn’t have any other options.

Pitchers don’t rack up 80-plus outings by being the only choice for certain situations.

***
During his career, Geoff Geary has only contributed four losses to the Phillies’ 9,992 lifetime defeats. That many losses are definitely way too many for just one generation to achieve.

Regardless, the stories to mark the Phillies’ milestone 10,000 lifetime loss are beginning to trickle out in anticipation for the big day, which has even piqued the interest of the national media. In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated a pithy chronicling of some of the more interesting quotes that were delivered after a handful of losses through the years.

I particularly enjoyed the story related from Rex Hudler on former manager Terry Francona.

***
Remember Wally Backman? He played briefly for the Phillies in the early 1990s after making his name with the Mets during the 1980s.

Anywho, Backman actually was hired to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks a few years ago before getting relieved of his duties a few days after his hiring when it was revealed that he had spent time in jail for DUI and pleaded guilty to harrassing a female friend of his family in 2001, and accused of spousal abuse by his ex-wife. He had also filed for personal bankruptcy in 2003.

These days Wally is a long way from the Major Leagues and is managing the South Georgia Peanuts in the independent South Coast League. A few days ago it appears as if Wally had a bit of a problem with the umps and it made the papers…

***
Speaking of making the papers, my Uncle Jim is in pretty good shape. He’s a champion power lifter, was a decent runner and bicyclist, and still is an all-around sharp dude with a personality and sense of humor to match.

What makes this so notable is that my Uncle Jim is dead…

Well, not really. But according to the federal government, my uncle, Jim Johnson is a dead man and he’s spent the last four months trying to prove that he is, indeed, alive.

Check out his story that made the papers and while you’re at it, send him a card to let him know he’s the healthiest dead guy walking around.

***
Finally, an interview with Floyd Landis has been set up for Friday afternoon before his book signing and talk at the Barnes & Noble in Lancaster. Needless to say, it should be a pretty good time…

Let’s just hope that talking to Floyd is nothing like talking to Barry Bonds.

***
Meanwhile, it didn't take Lance Armstrong too long to answer the charges levied in David Walsh's latest book that was drawn on in a Sports Illustrated piece yesterday. Stealing a page from Landis' "Wiki" defense, Armstrong puts all of his information out there for everyone to see and draw their own conclusions.

Check it out here.