The Braves actually lost two of three to the woeful Devil Rays, largely on the strength of Fred “Chicago is not my kind of town” McGriff, who hit three homers in the series. Greg Maddux bailed them out with a six-hit shutout tonight. Both Odalis Perez and Jason Marquis struggled, and with Kevin Millwood scheduled to return Friday night one of them is going to go to the pen. Perez is the more likely candidate, because they need a lefty… The Phillies have split the first two with the Yankees, with the third game in extra innings. The Braves now have two in Cincinnati, while the Phillies go to Montreal.

Rico Brogna retired tonight. It was probably that or be waived, as Bernard Gilkey was ready to come off of the DL. Brogna won’t be missed by me, but people who get to know him seem to like him. Me, I don’t like first basemen who hit like shortstops. Whenever a terrible player gets the boot, you always hear about what a great guy he is. Of course terrible players who have long careers are great guys. Nobody’s going to put up with a jerk if he isn’t talented.