BASEBALL: New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies

Today's one to watch features my good friend TSL's NY Mets. With a 13 game lead in the NL East, I'm sure the outcome of this one won't be enough to distract him from the hotties poolside or action at his Atlantic City blackjack table. However, although I adore my wonderful and growing family, I don't have such distractions here in this 2 bedroom duplex we call home. So I'm gonna make this TOTW.

The Mets had been hot and even had the 2nd best record in all of baseball until losing the first 2 games of this series in Philadelphia. While the Phillies cannot catch NY for the division, they surprisingly have upped their record to 58-60. With manager Charlie Manuel fighting for his job, the Phils stand only 2 1/2 games back in the wild-open NL Wildcard race. Just 2 weeks ago GM Pat Gillick asked fans for patience as he dumped the contracts of Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle with an eye towards next year. But now don't be surprised to see Gillick make a move via a waiver deal to bolster their pitching if the Phillies can reach the .500 mark.

The Mets start 39 year old Tom Glavine tonight. Away from the friendly confines of Turner Field and Leo Mazzone's guidance, the lefty has floundered for much of his 4 years in New York. But Glavine has put together his best season as a Met so far with a 12-5 record and a decent 3.92 ERA this year. On the other hand, veteran Jon Lieber takes the hill for the Phillies. Lieber looked solid in a hard-luck loss to the Mets 10 days ago, but has otherwise been unimpressive. He hopes to improve on his 4-9 record and woeful 5.51 ERA.

My pick: Philly. The Phils made a great 2nd half charge last year and came up just short of catching Atlanta for the division. They won't catch NY this time, but look for Philly to emerge as a wildcard favorite.

Sticking the TOTW favorite of tennis, here's this past weekend's JP Morgan Chase Open runnerup Jelena Jankovic of Serbia - who now lives in nearby Bradenton. I like her racquet. Very impressive.