“A prosecutor who dreamed of life on the bench hits the jackpot”: The Newark (N.J.) Star-Ledger today contains an article that begins, “He applied for a federal judgeship and didn’t get it. He pushed for a state judgeship and was unsuccessful. Now Stuart Rabner is the governor’s choice to lead New Jersey’s highest court for the next generation. Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to announce tomorrow he is nominating the 46-year-old former federal prosecutor as chief justice, and Rabner is likely to win quick and easy confirmation in the state Senate.”

“Prosecutorial vendetta?” Today in The Washington Times, Dan K. Thomasson has an op-ed that begins, “What in the world did former vice presidential aide Scooter Libby ever do to special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to make him so angry?”

“Thousands Wait to Hear Ousted Pakistani Justice”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

And The Washington Post reports today that “Thousands of Pakistanis Rally Around Ousted Judge.”

“The Next Big Thing in Law? The Harsh Jurisprudence of Justice Thomas.” Adam Cohen has this Editorial Observer essay today in The New York Times.

And yesterday in The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina, columnist Barry Saunders had an essay entitled “Getting to the heart of a justice.”

“Conn. Lawmakers Limit Eminent Domain Use”: The Associated Press provides this report.

And The Hartford Courant reports today that “Lawmakers Tackle Controversies; Legislation Restricts Seizure Of Private Property.”

Philadelphia Phillies 9, San Francisco Giants 8: My son and I were back at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon. Due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, the weather this afternoon began dark and with occasional drizzle. By 4 p.m., the drizzle had turned into a steady rain. Apparently the umpires had consulted the weather forecast before the game and recognized that a delay would serve no purpose because the pace of the rain was likely to increase as day turned to night.

Phillies starting pitcher Freddy Garcia, who was the cause of much hope among Phillies fans after his off-season acquisition, had another poor outing, surrendering seven runs (six earned) over five and one-third innings. After yielding lead-off home runs to the Giants in both the first and second innings, Garcia held the Giants scoreless in the third and fourth innings. The Phillies bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth, as both Chase Utley and Aaron Rowand hit home runs. At the end of four, the Phillies led 3-2. That lead was short lived, however, as Garcia gave up three runs in the top of the fifth, and the Giants scored another two runs in the top of the sixth. At the end of six full innings, the Giants led 7-3.

Were it not for the Phillies, Giants starting pitcher Tim Lincecum would be having a wonderful season. Just 22 years old, Lincecum heading into the seventh inning had held the Phillies scoreless in all but the fourth inning, when he surrendered the home runs to Utley and Rowand. In the second, third, fifth, and sixth innings, he retired the side in order. In the seventh inning, holding a 7-3 lead and having already thrown 89 pitches, Lincecum pitched himself into trouble, giving up hits to the first three batters. A single, followed by successive doubles, narrowed the Giants lead to 7-5. Lincecum then retired both Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, but his pitch count was at 101. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Giants Manager Bruce Bochy brought in relief pitcher Jack Taschner. He inherited Wes Helms on second base, and Taschner then walked Utley on a full count. 2006 MVP Ryan Howard was up next, and on a 1-1 count he smacked a three-run home run to straight-away center off the brick wall that serves as the batter’s eye. The Phillies now led 8-7.

Barry Bonds, who did not start the game, was called on to pinch hit in the top of the eighth inning with two outs and a runner on first. He hit a grounder over the second base bag, which is where Rollins was playing defense due to the infield shift. Phillies relief pitcher Ryan Madson, who was brought into the game in the top of the eighth to face Bonds and record the final out of that inning, stayed in the game in the top of the ninth to face the top of the Giants order. After retiring the lead-off batter on a grounder to second base, Madson walked the next two batters. The Phillies then replaced Madson with Antonio Alfonseca, who surrendered a hit to Kevin Frandsen, producing the tying run. The next batter, catcher Bengie Molina, grounded into a double play around the horn, third to second to first.

The rain-soaked bottom of the ninth began with Rollins striking out. Next up was Shane Victorino, who entered the bottom of the ninth inning 0-4 at the plate. This afternoon’s promotional give-away for children was the Shane Victorino Hula Figurine, and both before the game and between innings there were numerous tributes to both Shane and Hawaii, Shane’s birthplace. For a moment, amidst the rain and dark clouds, the Flyin’ Hawaiian became the Sluggin’ Hawaiian as Victorino drove the 1-0 pitch in the bottom of the ninth into the seats in left field to win the game with a walk-off home run. A more poetic ending would have been difficult to script. The many rain-soaked Phillies fans who remained till the end left the ballpark quite happy.

You can access the box score of today’s game at this link, while wraps are available here and here. The next game that my son and I are planning to attend is next Sunday afternoon, when the Baltimore Orioles host the Colorado Rockies. The game will feature as a promotional give-away a Cal Ripken 1983 World Series bobblehead doll, which might seem to bring back painful memories for some longtime Phillies fans.