Picture this scene: Pat Gillick, Dave Montgomery, and Charlie Manuel are sitting in a typical neighborhood dinner and in walks Jose Mesa. Fade to black…

Yeah it sucks as bad as the series end to the Sopranos—why do we care that Meadow can't park? And did we need ten seconds of blank screen? It's a highly artistic way to play out an intellectual dead end or, worse yet, a copout to leave the door open for a movie sequel (Yeah, screw you, too, David Chase!)

Anyway, a day after John Lieber shut out the lowly Royals, the Phils were slammed 17-5 by the worst offense in baseball. This team is so bad that Mark Grudzielanek is their best batter, going three for five with a home run, double, and five RBI from the three hole in the lineup.

What was even worse was that the Phils crawled back into the game after the newly floundering Jamie Moyer was driven out of the game after 3.2 innings and six runs. In the middle of the sixth, after home runs by Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, the score stood at 6-5. Of course, Joe Table was on the mound…fade to black…

The seventeen run barrage was just the 62nd time in baseball history that a team followed up a shutout by allowing 17 or more runs. The worst was a 26-8 drubbing of the 1944 Dodgers at the hands of the Giants on April 20 a day after a 5-0 shutout. Here are the only times that a team allowed twenty runs after a shutout:

Meanwhile, Mesa came into town with a 12.34 ERA and proceeded to see the ERA and raise it to 12.46 (13.50 in 1.1 innings for the Phils). He has not had an ERA under 10.00 this entire season—his low was 10.13 on May 22 and May 28.

Mesa can become just the 22nd player ever to register a 10.00+ ERA with two separated teams in one season. If he keeps his Phils ERA over 12.34—yes, a Herculean task but if anyone can, he can do it—he will be just the 13th to take a 10.00+ ERA from one team and see his stratospheric ERA rise with his second team and the first since Dennys Reyes upped his 10.45 Pirate ERA with an 11.57 in Arizona in 2003:

Meanwhile, the Phils again lose a series after sweeping a division opponent on the road. Last time it was the Braves, now it's the Mets. Keep in mind that the Mets were missing two-thirds of the outfield. But still losing two of three to the Royals.The Phils may be a .500 or better team in the NL but it seems the are not much better than the lower echelon of AL teams, and the interleague record so far bears that out.

The AL is pounding the NL again this year to the tune of a .607 winning percentage (51 games to 33). Last year, the disparity was just as big, The AL won 154 against 98 losses, or a .611 winning percentage. Overall the AL leads in interleague play 1301 to 1235, .513. The NL hasn't won the season series since 2003. Here are the yearly breakdowns:

Unfortunately, the Sopranos season is done but the Phils' isn't. With Freddy Garcia, who had struggled all year, finally succumbing to injuries and no viable replacement in the farm system; a decimated, Mesa-infused bullpen; no third baseman; Ryan still struggling—four Ks to go with the home run yesterday; Pat Burrell recreating his execrable 2003 season after being non-traded this past offseason, this team seems more likely to slide below .500 rather than keep their collective heads ever so slightly above it. Unlike Steve Perry, I am ready to stop believing.