San Francisco steamin'

I guess San Francisco can't get over its hatred for Tommy Lasorda and the Dodgers. This is ridiculous.

Tommy Lasorda has withdrawn as grand marshal of Sunday's Italian Heritage Parade due to public stink about his selection and because organizers couldn't assure that he would get to Los Angeles in time to see his beloved Dodgers play Game 3 of the National League Championship Series.

San Francisco Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier threatened to introduce a resolution calling for Lasorda's ouster from the parade because of the Dodgers-Giants rivalry. Alioto-Pier called the former Dodgers manager "enemy No. 1" in San Francisco. She never introduced the measure.

"I'm not going to go. They made a big thing out of it," Lasorda said today as he watched the Dodgers' batting practice in preparation for their game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Alioto-Pier's resolution also called Dodger fans "boastful and smug."

Asked if the episode bothered him, Lasorda said, "Sure it did, putting up a resolution to get me not to be the grand marshal. How would you feel?

"I wanted to do it because I love San Francisco, I really do. I love the city. We have a rivalry there. What the hell? That's the way it is."

Never should something like this be "the way it is." This is insane. The guy was already booked for the parade; then they raise the stink?

Enemy no. 1? I'm sure San Francisco can do better than Tommy Lasorda for their most hated enemy. How about fault lines or obscene cost of living?

Dodger Blues

Dodgers turning into Cubs? Bill Plaschke thinks so.

Who is this team that, one week after boldly sweeping the Chicago Cubs, is timidly collecting at the same dust pan after losing the first two games of the National League Championship Series to the Philadelphia Phillies?

The final score here in Friday's Game 2 Phillies' victory was 8-5, but it wasn't that close, because the Dodgers just weren't that good.

Who is this manager who allowed his starting pitcher to wilt for a second consecutive game? What happened to the great Joe Torre?

Who is this outfielder who has one bloop hit in seven at-bats, zero hits in five chances with men on base and one big center-field boot? Where is the likable Matt Kemp?

What about the leadoff hitter who has one hit in nine at-bats, a game-changing wild throw, and all sorts of uncomfortable grimaces? Who took the beloved Rafael Furcal?

The Dodgers didn't just leave Citizens Bank Park field Friday, they were thrown out by a Phillies team that pushed them to the door just before snatching their swagger.

My sentiments, exactly.

Canseco caught with illegal drugs

The Jose Canseco saga enters a new chapter of his troubling life as the former slugger is caught trying to smuggle fertility drugs across the border from Mexico.

Canceco was detained at San Diego's San Ysidro border crossing Thursday after agents searched his vehicle and said they found human chorionic gonadotropin, which is illegal without a prescription, said his attorney, Gregory Emerson.

Emerson declined to say if Canseco -- who admitted to using steroids in a 2005 book that also alleged steroid use by other baseball players -- had the drug, which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for use in males. The drug helps restore production of testosterone lost in steroid users.

This would appear to be the desperate move of a desperate man.

Manny being Manny, Phillies being World Series bound

Back-to-back four-run innings push the Phillies past the Dodgers, 8-5. Chad Billingsley, the young Dodger ace who looked unflappable at Wrigley last week, got slapped hard by the men in red. The Phillies nickel and dimed him to death for seven earned runs charged to Billingsley in just 2 1/3 innings of work. Shane Victorino's two-run triple in the third capped off the barrage of scoring. It was over after three.

Manny Ramirez did pull three runs back in the fourth with his third home run of the postseason, but it wasn't nearly enough. A sloppy Brett Myers gives up five earned in five innings, and still gets the win.

Up 2-0, the Phillies are in the driver's seat. LA probably needs to win all three at home starting Sunday.

Dice rolls

Very impressed watching Daisuke Matsuzaka tonight. The Boston ace went seven strong innings, striking out nine and not allowing a run. Thanks to timely-enough hitting, Boston squeezed out a couple of runs to beat Tampa Bay, 2-0. That puts all the pressure on the young Rays in game two.

Conine going extra

162 games of baseball is often referred to be like a marathon. Jeff Conine wanted to see if he could push things a bit further. The former MLB player will participate in his first Ironman triathlon in Hawaii Saturday.

Conine, a member of the Marlins' two World Series championship teams, must swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles in 17 hours to claim Ironman status.

''There's nothing that I've done that will come close to this,'' Conine, 42, said Wednesday by phone from Hawaii. ``I'm nervous. I'm anxious. I'm fearful because I've never done all three [disciplines] in one day at this distance. You don't know how your body will react and how you will get through it.''

For the first time, I might actually check out the results of a triathlon this weekend.

Manuel's mother passes

Charlie Manuel's mother passed away. Manuel will still manage game two of the Phillies-Dodgers NLCS. The Phillies manager is one of ten surviving children.

June Manuel, who was 87, reportedly suffered a heart attack on Wednesday and died Friday at Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Virginia. She lived in Buena Vista, Va.

What a difficult moment for the Phillies and Manuel. He'll certainly have the support of his team and the tough Philly crowd after this. All the best to Charlie.