They didn't make it very clear, but I think the embedded SQL idea is meant to be for things like querying against collections, similar to LINQ[1]. Even it's meant for databases, it's still up to you where in the app you put it.
That being said, my initial reaction is to wonder why, when designing a new language, one would model after PHP of all things.
Yeah I'm also not a fan of linq. Or at least not in my PHP.
I think something like underscore.js[1] would be much more in the style of PHP - I always thought PHP and JS were similary in their wackiness - and I would much prefer it to LINQ.
As far as modeling after PHP, there are things I'd leave/take, but really the biggest issue is the standard library.
That being said, my initial reaction is to wonder why, when designing a new language, one would model after PHP of all things.
1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Integrated_Query