The Zo Zone

"Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it San Diago ... I don't know what it means. I'll be honest, I don't think anyone knows what it means anymore. Scholars maintain that the translation was lost hundreds of years ago." -- Ron Burgundy.

Life certainly does not become easier for the Phillies this week, who open a four-game series tonight against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.

Here's why:

Chris Young (8-3, 1.97 ERA) tonight.

Justin Germano (6-3, 3.55 ERA) tomorrow night.

David Wells (5-5, 4.15 ERA) on Saturday.

Jake Peavy (9-4, 2.30 ERA) on Sunday.

The Padres have the best pitching staff in baseball. It helps that the Padres play in one of the best pitchers' parks in baseball, but there is no question the Phillies have their hands full, as Ryan Howard suggested, after yesterday's 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

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The latest Philliescast is up.

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Howard could be heating up, which would only help the Phillies the final two months of the season. He is hitting .297 with 19 home runs and 50 RBIs in 47 games since he returned from the disabled list May 23 in Atlanta. Howard is hitting .211 against lefthanders this season, but leads the majors with 10 home runs against lefthanders. He also is tied for second in the majors with 27 RBIs against lefthanders.

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It's official. The Phillies have signed No. 1 pick Joe Savery to a $1.3725 million contract, plus a college scholarship. He will join single-A Williamsport tomorrow.

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ESPN's Buster Olney writes about a cool trade market. In regards to the market, Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin tells him, "Nothing this quiet, in all my years."

Like I've written ad nauseam, I just don't think the Phillies have the pieces to make a significant improvement before the July 31 trade deadline. But we will see.

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ESPN's Jayson Stark comes up with a barrage of Phillies uselessness. (Apologies to those reads who do not have ESPN Insider.)

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John Dewan's Stat of the Week lists the best defensive players at the all-star break, based on his Plus/Minus System.

A player with a +25 means he made 25 more plays than the average player at his position. Dewan determines that number by looking at each play hit in his direction and comparing what the player does with that play compared to all other players at his position. Every time a player catches a ball he receives a fraction between 0 and 1. A difficult play gets a larger fraction. An easy play gets a smaller fraction. If a player fails to make a play, he receives a negative fraction between 0 and 1. There's even more to it, but that's the jist.

Anyway, this is a very long-winded way of saying the only Phillies player to rank in the top five at any position is Chase Utley, who has a +16. That ranks him as the best defensive second baseman at the break. Interestingly, Utley ranks 12th amongst second basemen in baseball with a .985 fielding percentage. Placido Polanco, who has had no errors this season, isn't ranked in the top five according to Dewan's Plus/Minus System, so I'm not sure what to make of these numbers.

I guess if you're Utley you're happy.

If you're Polanco, you probably just roll your eyes.

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Celebrity Sighting at Dodger Stadium: Chuck Liddell, who had a seat about five rows behind home plate. I pulled a Johnny Drama and ticked him off, but whatever. I'm not scared.