"Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had a funny way of showing love to the pitcher he chose to start the 2009 All-Star Game.

In an out-of-left-field comment following Thursday night's 4-1 Giants victory, Manuel put down winning pitcher Tim Lincecum (and Matt Cain), correcting a reporter who suggested the Phillies struggled against these "great" pitchers, who together held them to one unearned run in 13 innings in the series.

"They're good pitchers. You say they're great pitchers? To me, I don't know how great they are," Manuel said, as quoted in the Philadelphia Daily News.

"As they move on into their careers, the longevity part, I think that's when the greatness might come. ... When you say somebody is great, I look up there and tonight I saw a 90 (mph) fastball, 92 at best (from Lincecum). I saw a good changeup. I saw a breaking ball and I saw a cutter ... but at the same time, we can beat that. I've seen us beat that."

Lincecum seemed floored by the quotes, especially the velocity part, saying, "They had a guy named Moyer right? (Referring to lefty junkballer Jamie Moyer.) Talk to him about that one.""