Big Al Mcmordie

At 1:35pm our member selection is on the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies 'over' the total. It hasn't been the kind of start that the Phillies or their fans had hoped for to defend their title. Not only are they hovering around the .500 mark early on, but they have what appears to be two much-improved teams in the division this year in the Marlins and Braves, both of whom seem to have made major strides in improving their pitching (something the Phils can't say at this point). Consider that the player who came out of Spring training as the winner of the #5 spot in the Philly rotation is none other than Chan Ho Park. Park teased the Phils by having a fantastic spring training, looking like he did when he pitched for the Dodgers. But in his first regular season start against the Rockies, Park didn't last four innings and got hammered for seven hits and five ER. At least the Phillies' bats are heating up quite a bit lately, and the Padres are actually scoring quite a few runs this season too, as they are sixth in the NL in runs scored (compared to 2008 when they finished last in the Majors in runs scored with only 637). Take the 'over'. As always, good luck...Al McMordie.