Philadelphia Phillies

Biased as I may be, I came away from last night's game between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants with even more respect for my hometown team of red and less for the defending world champions.

Perhaps forgotten in last night's scrum between the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants was the continued success of rookie pitcher Vance Worley and outfielder John Mayberry Jr.

Worley, who was put in the rotation due to an injury to the Phillies' fifth starter, Joe Blanton, plowed through the Giants lineup for the second time in less than a month, giving up just two earned runs in the process.

The good news first: What's actually growing in the Phillies farm system is rich and healthy and improving. According to Keith Law's midseason Minor League Top 50, RHP Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton have developed since May.

John Mayberry was called up last week to take injured All Star center fielder Shane Victorino’s place on the roster.  The Phillies figured he would be a suitable enough defensive replacement, but nobody expected Mayberry to provide much offense. 

People may be thinking differently now.

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a great season so far. They have three aces, a strong bullpen and a good, but sometimes inconsistent, offense.

Like most teams, there are a few players that are really helping the team stay on top of the National League.

Domonic Brown and John Mayberry have been recently holding up the Phillies. Some others have done the same, and yet others have been holding up the team since the start of the year.

And what a game it was!  

We are just a few days away from the All-Star break for the 2011 MLB season.

We've already seen some spectacular performances in the first half from expected names and some newcomers alike.

Like last season, baseball has been largely dominated by incredible pitching performances. Pitchers are going deeper into games than they have in recent memory and leaving most hitters in the dust.

There have been a few exceptions however.

With that in mind, here are the best (and just for fun, the worst) in the AL and NL this season

In reference to the title, the Braves are the Beauty and the Phillies are the beast but not because of the reasons you might think. Atlanta requires finesse and control to dominate their opponents, while the Phillies use strikeouts and flat out strength to destroy their opponents. Both teams use different overall pitching approaches, but both get the job done and then some.

Cliff Lee has been fabulous for the Philadelphia Phillies, both this year and in 2009 when the team acquired him from the Cleveland Indians. 

Roy Halladay spent 11 full seasons in Toronto (and a few starts in a 12th), so this game will be quite a homecoming.

Here is a guy who when he left Toronto took out a full-page ad in the newspaper to thank the fans and the organization for everything they had done for him.