Phillies

Joe Jordan, who has overseen the Orioles' past seven drafts as director of amateur scouting, is leaving the organization to become the Philadelphia Phillies' director of player development. The Phillies asked for and received permission from the Orioles to interview Jordan, 49, and met with him Monday. He agreed to the deal Wednesday. Now, instead of choosing the players -- something for which Jordan has received mixed reviews -- he will be helping to develop them into major leaguers.

The 2011 Major League Baseball playoffs start at 5:07 p.m. on Friday night -- why wouldn't they start at 5:07 p.m. on a weekday? -- and I have a feeling that my preseason World Series pick isn't going to get it done this autumn. Semi-related question: Are golf courses in Boston still open in October? The Red Sox -- and the Atlanta Braves, too -- are out of the playoff picture after Wednesday night's MLB thrill ride, and if we're lucky, the postseason will be half as fun as the frantic final night of the regular season.

Enjoy the undercard. There is an abundance of intriguing storylines in baseball these days, and most of them will be like Matt Kemp's run at the Triple Crown — over and out of sight by the time the World Series rolls around. Justin Verlander could win 25 games. The Rays and Cardinals could force their way into the playoffs with dramatic victories down the stretch, and the Red Sox and Braves both could survive alarming collapses. Kirk Gibson could put himself on the playoff roster as a one-legged pinch hitter.

If you missed out on the Melo League All-Stars when they played the Washington-based Goodman League All-Stars at Morgan State University's Hill Field House last month, you now have a chance to watch Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Chris Paul and others play a glorified streetball game on Sunday night. Well, that's assuming you have a computer, and since you're reading this now, that's probably a safe assumption. The Melo League All-Stars will play Team Philly, which is led by Tyreke Evans and Hakim Warrick, in a game that's being billed as the "Battle of I-95.

A 28-year-old guy living in his parents' basement in South Philadelphia just might be one of the foremost experts on the Archdiocese of Baltimore, if not the whole American Catholic Church. Rocco Palmo facetiously calls himself "The Church Whisperer," and over the past six years, his blog has become a must-read for ecclesiastical insiders. After starting with just three readers a few days before Christmas in 2004, Palmo has built up a audience of roughly 500,000 unique visitors each month.

August 29, 1996: The Orioles acquired Todd Zeile and Pete Incaviglia from the Phillies.

The Phillies could get Chase Utley back by the middle of the week. Maybe that will put manager Charlie Manuel in a better mood. He barked at a reporter who suggested scoring is down everywhere. "That doesn't mean we have to have that damn problem," Manuel said. "That's like saying if somebody jumps off a bridge, we're going to jump off the bridge with them. The hell with that. " … The Mets' fire sale could start as soon as Memorial Day. There's not an untouchable on the roster, including third baseman David Wright.

Jordan Zimmermann's recovery from ligament replacement surgery may not be fully complete, but after his outing in a 4-0 loss to Philadelphia on Thursday, there's little doubt about his re-emergence as a front-line starter the Washington Nationals had envisioned before his right elbow betrayed him. For five innings, Zimmermann no-hit the Phillies with four-seam fastballs, sliders and the occasional change-up before hanging a curve in the sixth that...

In the past two days, I've made five bold Orioles predictions for the upcoming season, asked you to predict how many games the Orioles will win and got some of your World Series picks . The guys over on the Orioles Insider blog have been at it, too, giving quick-fire Orioles predictions in this post and this other post (and there's more to come). Talk about prognostication overload. But if you're not sick of predictions, I've got some more. Here are my predictions for the 2011 MLB season: playoff teams, award winners, the World Series champ, the Orioles' record, and more.