Harry Caray must be twisting in his grave right now after the way his beloved Cubbies lost on Wednesday night.

It’s all tied, 3-3, between the Cubs and Phillies heading into the bottom of the ninth at Citizens Bandbox Park. Jimmy Rollins leads off with a double, then moves to third on Kenny Lofton’s groundout. Cubs reliever Mike Remlinger intentionally walks Chase Utley and Bobby Abreu, loading the bases.

Michael Wuertz comes in to replace Mike Remlinger. Wuertz strikes out Pat Burrell on a 3-2 pitch ,but the ball eludes catcher Michael Barrett. Now all Barrett has to do is step on home plate, since Burrell is trying to advance to first.

Instead, Barrett sees Rollins dancing down the third-base line, and throws the ball to third. While Aramis Ramirez is trying to gun the ball back home, Rollins scores and the Phillies win, 4-3.

It was a boneheaded play by Barrett. “I just panicked and threw the ball,” he said.

The loss leaves the Cubs five games behind the Astros in the Wild Card race, and this is the kind of loss that will haunt them the rest of the season.

Put a fork in the Orioles. They have lost eight in a row and 14 of 15. They are five games under .500 and 10 1/2 games out of first place in the AL East — their largest deficit of the season.

Things got so bad Wednesday night against the Angels that Miguel Tejada, who struck out three times versus John Lackey, had to cover his head.

Manny Ramirez hit a three-run homer in the first inning Wednesday, giving him 30 homers and 100 RBIs for the eighth straight season.

But then in the second inning, Ramirez collided with shortstop Edgar Renteria on a ball hit by the Royals’ Ruben Gotay. As Ramirez made the catch, Renteria tried to avoid a collision. But Renteria couldn’t stop his momentum, and slammed Ramirez across the face with his glove.

Ramirez suffered two contusions on the play, one on the right side of his chest and the other on the right side of his face. He is listed as day to day.

The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Rafael Palmeiro’s positive steroid test was for stanozolol, a powerful anabolic steroid that is not available in dietary supplements.

Stanozolol, known by its brand name, Winstrol, was most notably linked to the Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson of Canada, who was stripped of a gold medal in 1988 after testing positive for that steroid.

Palmeiro said Monday that he had never intentionally taken steroids, but that statement lacks credibility. Stanozolol does not come in dietary supplements and is among the most popular steroids on the market. It can be ingested or injected and usually remains in a person’s system for at least a month.

Bottom line: You can’t go into GNC and ask for stanozolol.

I am really ashamed of Palmeiro. I wish he would come out and tell us the truth. Stop hiding behind lawyers and agents, Raffy. We all want answers.

It was a heavyweight battle on Tuesday night in Anaheim between Sydney Ponson and Bartolo Colon. Punchy Colon allowed just one run on 10 hits in seven innings. Sir Sydney was not as lucky.

I don’t see Ponson finishing the season with the O’s. They want to get rid of him in the worst way, and he will definitely clear waivers — especially if he keeps pitching like he did against the Angels.

Granted, the Angels can hit. Ponson allowed three homers to two of the best hitters in baseball — Vlad Guerrero (who hit two of them) and Garret Anderson.

But let’s be honest: He’s out of shape, and his control is way off. He throw 100 pitches, and 58 were strikes — not the best ratio. Ponson hasn’t won a game since beating the lowly Rockies on June 18. He went 0-4 in July with a 7.89 ERA, and he’s continuing that trend in August.

Carlos Zambrano pitched an eight-inning gem for the Cubs on Tuesday night against the Phillies at Citizens Bandbox Park.

Closer Ryan Dempster, though, nearly wasted Zambrano’s effort. Check out their lines.

Zambrano was awesome, throwing 68 of his 104 pitches for strikes. Dempster struggled with his command, though, throwing 21 balls in 41 pitches. He walked the bases loaded, then walked Ryan Howard to force in a run. But he rebounded by striking out the next two batters. For his efforts, Dempster picks up his 15th save.

I am wearing the Fantasy dunce cap tonight for starting Al Leiter against the Indians. Leiter threw 78 pitches — 41 for strikes — in just two-plus innings. He allowed four runs on five hits and walked five. Leiter faced 15 batters, and retired only six of them.

It was ugly, and that’s being kind. The Yankees nearly came back, and Scott Proctor pitched well in relief. But the Indians held on for the win.

The Pirates and Major League Baseball unveiled the 2006 All-Star Game logo on Tuesday, and I must say it’s hideous. The cartoon rendition of Pittsburgh does not do the city any justice.

This is a hard-nosed, blue-collar city. The logo should reflect that. It shouldn’t look like a logo for Candyland.

When’s the last time two future Hall of Famers made news like this on the same day?

Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro — who recently joined the exclusive 3,000-hit, 500-homer club — was suspended Monday for 10 days by Major League Baseball for violating its Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program and began serving the suspension immediately.

And Giants slugger Barry Bonds — who should be No. 2 on the all-time home run list by now if it weren’t for a knee injury — told MLB.com on Monday that he does not foresee playing again this season.

I am very saddened by the Palmeiro news. I have always been a huge fan of my fellow Cuban-American. He’s got one of the sweetest swings I have ever seen in my life. But now, Palmeiro joins a dubious club — he is the highest-profile player to test positive under the current drug prevention policy adopted earlier this year.

Back in March in front of Congress, Palmeiro vehemently denied that he used any performance-enhancing drugs. On Monday, he said he "never intentionally put a banned substance into my body." At his age, Palmeiro should know better. He shouldn’t take anything without reading the bottle. And as a former spokesperson for Viagra, Palmeiro should be checking what he takes so it doesn’t mess with his body. You can easily harm yourself if you don’t thoroughly read a label.

Palmeiro’s image is definitely tarnished. Many fans — including myself — are outraged. According to an ESPN poll, a majority of fans don’t think he’s a Hall of Famer anymore. You can’t totally discount his stats, though. ‘Roids might make you stronger, but they don’t you give better hand-eye coordination. He’s still a Hall of Famer in my book; I just wouldn’t put him on my first ballot if I had the opportunity to vote.

"I hope that people look at my whole career and appreciate that I’ve given everything that I’ve got," Palmeiro said. "I respect the game. I respect my opponents. I respect the players that came before me. I respect the Hall of Fame. If they think I’m worthy enough, I would be very honored. If they don’t I gave it all that I had for this game."

While Palmeiro’s rep takes a beating, the floundering O’s are in trouble, too. They’ve lost six straight and are 1-9 in their last 10. The O’s are three games are .500 (51-54) and 8 1/2 games back in the AL East. Put a fork in ’em, they are done.

As for Bonds, he had been hoping that to return to the field in September. But a recent MRI showed that his knee is swelling.

"I don’t think you’re going to see me out there this year," Bonds said during a telephone interview. "That’s the reality of the situation. … The doctors say it’s wise for me to work out hard this winter and be ready to go next season. I want to be out there and play the whole year."

With Bonds out, the Giants can kiss their slim chances goodbye in the NL Jest. And for the first time in his career, Bonds will miss an entire season.

It was a sad day indeed.

How bad is the NL West?

So bad, that the Giants — who have one less win than the woeful Reds — are just 5 1/2 games out, even though they are 13 games below .500. And since 5 1/2 games back on July 31 isn’t that big of a margin, the Giants are buyers — not sellers — at the deadline.

Instead of dealing Jason Schmidt or any of their other veterans, the Giants went out and got themselves Randy Winn from the Mariners for backup catcher Yorvit Torrealba and right-handed pitcher Jesse Foppert.  This deal came way out of left field since the Giants were never mentioned as one of the teams interested in Winn. The Yankees and Cardinals had been hot and heavy in their pursuit of the outfielder.

Meanwhile, the Mariners have the same exact record as the Giants. But the AL West isn’t a joke like its NL brethren.

As  my colleague John Schlegel points out in his well-written column on the Mariners-Giants deal, "These two teams are in the same place in one sense, but it’s a heck of a lot better to be where the Giants are with that record."

Is Winn a difference-maker? I don’t think so. The Giants desperately need Barry Bonds back in the lineup if they intend to overtake the free-falling Padres. Bonds continues to rehab his right knee in Los Angeles, and hasn’t ruled out returning this year.

If Bonds comes back healthy, the Giants may have a shot. But I still think it’s the Padres’ division to lose.

And they sure are doing a good job of letting it slip away.