Confident Phillies still have plenty working in their favor (cont.)

Burnett throws curve, joins neighbor Lee as a Series star

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The Phillies' strategy against A.J. Burnett was like a lot of teams. They tried to wait him out, and hope he became wild. But he had 22 of 25 first-pitch strikes. Matt Stairs, a teammate in Toronto, said, "You're trying to be patient. I've seen him have games where he had trouble throwing strikes. And I've seen a lot of game like tonight."

The truth is, you never know what you're going to get with Burnett. But Rollins summed up Burnett's performance with one word: "Great." He threw 45 curveballs out of 109 pitches, and the Phillies looked bad on many of them. "His curveball command was (bleeping) outstanding," one scout said.

Burnett was superb, but he wasn't quite as great as his Arkansas neighbor Cliff Lee was the game before. "They live 15 minutes apart," said agent Darek Braunecker, who represents both star pitchers.

Bay willing to listen to Boston during exclusive window

Word is, the Red Sox are willing to offer close to $60 million for four years for outfield star Jason Bay. While that figure seems a bit short for an established middle-of-the-order hitter who's proved he can thrive in a pressure-packed market, there also seems to be a touch of optimism for a deal, especially on Boston's side.

The Red Sox absolutely need to get a hitter or two, just to keep up with the Yankees, and Bay and Matt Holliday are the only two free agents in that category (see a comparison of the two in a forthcoming Daily Scoop). Boston will also take a long look at Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez. But they may even consider trying to acquire two big offensive pieces if they are trying to close the offensive gap in the AL East.

Bay's agent, Joe Urbon from CAA Sports, declined comment on what's going on in talks but Urbon didn't rule out the possibility of Bay staying with Boston and even making a deal in the 15-day period where Boston has exclusive rights to negotiate after the World Series ends. "He liked his time in Boston. He liked the players, he liked the coaches, he liked the environment," Urbon said. "If he gets the opportunity to get something done (before the free-agent period begins), he will look out and he might do it."

Urbon also denied rumors that what he called "regionality" will play a role in where Bay lands. It's been suggested that San Francisco or Seattle might have an inside track because of where he lives. But Urbon said, "The reality is that (Bay) is from Canada ... that would leave him with one team." Urbon also noted, "He lives in the Pacific Northwest, but he's played most of his minor-league and major-league career on the East Coast."

It's rare for a star player to sign with his old team within the 15-day window. But a Red Sox person also sounded hopeful something could be done. "He loves it here," that Red Sox official said.

Notes

• The Mets are hiring well-respected ex-Diamondbacks third base coach Chip Hale to fill that roll in New York. Eighteen runners were thrown out at home with Razor Shines on the lines last year.

• Yesterday's note about Mets' ownership making sure to secure top scout Sandy Johnson with what one club official called "a blank check" for another year is only seen as a reflection of ownership's diminishing faith in Minaya, not a negative reflection of Minaya's relationship with Johnson, a Minaya mentor. Their relationship is seen as positive, except that they don't always agree (for instance, Johnson is a much bigger backer of Mets scouting director Rudy Terrasas).

• Manuel mentioned that he thought Chase Utley was safe even though he was called out on the back end of a double play that killed the Phillies. But Manuel refrained from getting into it about the umps. "I'm not saying nothing about the umpiring," he said. Pressed if he thought the umpiring was good, he said, "You know, I've probably never thought umpiring was good, if you want to know the truth."

• Phil Hughes said he regrets shouting at the home-plate umpire on his way of the mound in Game 1. "I definitely regret it. It was probably just the emotions of the moment," Hughes said. "I was upset about the situation. The (pitches) probably weren't as close as I thought."

• Hideki Matsui, who homered on a low curve from Martinez, was asked if he expects to be back with the Yankees next year, and he said, "I have no idea." Asked if he would like to be, he said, "Having been here this long, I guess you could say I'm comfortable."

• Robinson Cano sometimes complains about the perception he doesn't hustle. Yet, one scout said that while Derek Jeter is a consistent 4.2 to first base whether he has a possible hit or a routine grounder, Cano eases in at 4.5 or 4.6 when he hits an easy grounder. In other words, it's time he starts hustling or stops complaining. "(Cano) is upset people say he doesn't hustle, but the stopwatch doesn't lie," the scout said.

• Commissioner Bud Selig sounded again like he has no immediate interest in expanding instant replay. "This is a game about pace," he said.

• Congrats to Jeter, whose charity work with his Turn 2 Foundation enabled him to win the Roberto Clemente award.