Kuzul

What else is there to say about the starting pitching and, more specifically, Cole Hamels?

The guy has been lights out for most of the season, and appears to be more focused than he’s ever been during his time in Philly. The immature side-issues seem all but gone, he appears to have grown up, and he seems to really be hitting his stride as a consistent pitcher.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that there are more than a few teams that would do back-flips if Hamels were their ace, and it’s possible he’s not even the second-best pitcher on this staff.

Pitching has kept this team from a complete meltdown, and with Hamels pitching seven scoreless innings and the Phils pulling one out from the Brewers 1-0 on Friday night, they have moved to only one game behind the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East.

They’ve said their goal is not only to make the playoffs, but to do it as NL East champs. For them, they say, nothing else matters. A Wild Card spot is not acceptable.

However, it seems like the pitchers are the only guys who truly feel that way.

Putting aside the team’s unbelievable win against the Colorado Rockies Thursday night, the pitching staff has been the only thing preventing a Cardinals-like fall from contention.

Even the one run the Phils were able to score should have been an out. Everyone and anyone watching the game could see that. I bet even those of you watching with your girlfriend got a nudge on the shoulder and a rather confused “shouldn’t he have caught that?”

Yeah, he should have.

And, of course, by “he,” I mean either one of them.

For now the Phillies will take the one run, take the win and move on to the next game, but they’re not going to get by on one run come playoff time. The offense seems to just show up whenever it feels like it and doesn’t truly start hitting until Joe Blanton backs them into a corner by giving up five runs with one swing of the bat in the first inning.

Don’t laugh (or call me a moron). If anyone can do it, it’s Blanton.

They’ll all celebrate the win for now, but the lack of offense will become a serious problem very soon if it’s not addressed and fixed permanently.

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This tag was the result of a beautiful Shane Victorino throw.

Charlie Manuel considered benching Shane Victorino before Saturday night’s game against the San Diego Padres because of his recent struggles against right-handed batters.

But Manuel, loyal to a fault, decided to keep Victorino in the lineup and give him one more chance to get out of his funk.

Victorino backed up Manuel’s decision by going two for four with two RBIs, a run scored, and an impressive throw from center field that quickly had Nick Hundley questioning his decision to round third and try for a run.

The Flyin’ Hawaiian was having none of it and got Hundley by a mile. Brian Schneider applied the tag and that was that.

Victorino’s performance, along with a fantastic outing by all four of the pitchers the Phils used Saturday night, gave the Phillies their second consecutive win over the NL West-leading Padres.

That’s right. The team that couldn’t squeeze out a single win against the Houston Astros has now won two games back-to-back against the Padres, arguably the best team in the NL this season.

But, that’s the Phillies for you.

Joe Blanton scattered six hits over six innings, walked one and struck out three.

Blanton has suddenly found his groove and has looked great in back-to-back starts, and this time, with some backup from Victorino, he was able to turn it into a win and even himself out at 6-6 for the year.

Jose Contreras, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge each pitched one perfect inning to end the game.

They allowed no hits, no runs, and each struck out one guy. Lidge, coming off an embarrassing balk that resulted in his fifth blown save of the season, got his 18th save of the year by retiring the side in order.

Lidge, another guy Manuel has been 100 percent loyal to, also seems to be justifying the faith Manuel has in him. He just has to cut down on the silly mistakes that really get him into a pinch.

Cole Hamels takes the mound Sunday afternoon for the Phils, so without even seeing the game I can safely surmise that the Padres will win 2-1 after Hamels takes a no-hitter into the sixth and has it blown up by a solo home run.

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Plain and simple, the Phillies play to the level of their competition. If they’re playing a good team, they’re going to pick their game up and come up with the plays they need when they need them in order to win.

We saw the best example of that right before the All-Star break in their four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds.

It wasn’t always pretty, but four consecutive wins, three in extra innings, showed the Phils can pull out close wins against good teams.

It’s something championship-caliber teams have to do.

However, with the recent four-game series against the Houston Astros, we see a glimpse of why the Phillies might not be World Series material.

Even though they will play up to their competition when they need to, they can also play down to the level of a bad team long enough to get swept and really put themselves in a hole for a playoff push.

And, again, it’s a problem that comes back to Charlie Manuel.

Of course it’s also on the players to understand they must approach every game like it’s the middle of October, but the manager’s job is to make sure his team is in the right frame of mind and playing to the best of their abilities.

Right now, Manuel’s not doing that.

He did a great job of keeping the team together through the injuries and getting the backups to play at a high level, but now that the pieces are all back in place, it seems like he quits doing his job and takes it for granted.

Bottom line is, there’s absolutely no reason for the Phillies to have lost four straight games to the Astros, as well as the numerous games they’ve lost to other subpar teams such as the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs (another four-game sweep), and Pittsburgh Pirates.

The good news, however, is that the 76-50 San Diego Padres (weird still, right?) are next up for the Phils, so they’ll probably find a way to win this series and get everyone to stop talking about their pathetic display against the Astros and two former Phillies starters.

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With Cole Hamels on the mound, everyone knew the game would be a low-scoring affair…for both teams.

It’s seemingly just as hard for the Phillies’ offense to score when Hamels pitches as it is for the opposing team, and the trend would continue in Game Two of a four-game series against the Houston Astros.

Hamels left the game in the seventh inning after giving up only two runs. Unfortunately, his offense only gave him one.

Then, in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs, Jimmy Rollins came through with a solo shot to tie the game at two and send it into extras.

And when I say “extras,” I mean they almost played a full second game.

Six completed extra innings later had the Phillies and Astros all the way into the 16th inning without an end in sight. Both teams had a few baserunners here and there, but for the most part, the bullpen for both teams was outstanding and nearly unhittable.

That is, until David Herndon entered his third inning of work.

Herndon had already pitched two perfect innings and, due to the lack of available pitchers, the Phils hoped he had a third in him. But, as it turns out, Herndon and the Phillies just were not meant to win this game.

A crazy chopper that went over Herndon’s head, followed by a hit batter, a wild pitch, and an intentional walk loaded the bases for the Astros.

An infield single and a fielder’s choice would put the Phillies down by two runs entering the bottom of the 16th inning.

Brian Schneider would lead off and ground out. As the lineup turned over, Rollins would strike out. Placido Polanco took a walk (a rare sight) and Chase Utley would step to the plate, representing the tying run.

However, with Roy Oswalt on board, the Astros chose to walk Utley and get Oswalt to the plate.

Now, if you didn’t watch the game, I understand your confusion. Let’s press pause for just a second and go over the sequence of events quickly.

In the 14th inning, Ryan Howard checked his swing on an 0-1 pitch. After an appeal down to third base ump Scott Barry, Howard was down 0-2 and nearly lost his cool after Barry mocked Howard, who put his hands on his hips and shot a confused glance after the call.

He began complaining and, after being warned by the home base ump, the now-infamous Greg Gibson, Howard said he was only mad at himself (which no one really bought) and everyone got ready for the next pitch.

Fast forward a bit, the count is now 1-2, and Howard again checks his swing on a ball low and inside. Again, the Astros appeal down to third, and Howard is ruled out on strikes.

Clearly frustrated, Howard threw his bat and starting mouthing off, which immediately got him ejected. Then, in a move no one would have ever expected out of the usually level-headed Howard, he chucked his helmet and was on a B-line for Barry.

Polanco came out and had to physically restrain Howard, or there’s no telling what Howard might have done once he reached Barry. He was clearly enraged at the call and had flown off the handle. It could have gotten very ugly, very quickly.

In fact, as Howard began walking toward Barry, the home base ump tried talking to him to calm him down.

Howard could immediately be seen pointing at Gibson and yelling “Don’t you f**king talk to me!” and nearly took out third-base coach Sam Perlozzo as he jogged toward Barry.

Barry, by the way, is usually a Triple-A ump who was filling in. He kept his cool and stood his ground, but he had to be scared out of his mind seeing a very large and very angry Ryan Howard headed his way.

And because Howard was ejected and the Phillies’ last bench player, Brian Schneider, took over at catcher for Carlos Ruiz, Charlie Manuel would have to pick one of his pitchers to put out into left field for Raul Ibanez, who was taking Howard’s place at first.

The final call was Oswalt. And not only was it the first time in nearly 40 years a Phillies pitcher would play the field, Oswalt would also get tossed into the clean-up spot.

While amusing at first, it was a situation the Phillies knew would come back to bite them.

Which leads us beautifully back into our story and ends my little digression.

Oswalt came up to the plate with guys on first and second and two outs. He fought his way to a 2-2 count, but grounded out to third base to end one of the wildest games the MLB has seen thus far in 2010.

So while it was an entertaining game all in all, it’s an enormous failure for the Phils.

Not only did they exhaust every player possible, but they still wound up losing to an inferior team, missed an opportunity to gain some ground on the Atlanta Braves (who lost 5-2 to the Rockies), and will most likely be without Howard for some time while he serves a suspension.

As a man, I understand why Howard was so angry with Barry. But, as a player, he’s got to be smarter than that and understand what’s at stake.

Instead, he’ll be on the bench for who knows how long while Mike Sweeney fills in at first and Jayson Werth takes over the cleanup role.

So much for getting used to the usual lineup again.

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Even Michael Bourn would look at this and think he’s out.

After being the beneficiaries of a terrible call against the Marlins back on Aug. 4, the Phillies got to feel what it’s like to be on the other end of a call Monday night.

With a man on first, Michael Bourn bunted the ball up the first-base line. Ryan Howard fielded the ball a few feet away from the base-line in fair territory, and make a spectacular dive to tag Bourn on his way to first.

Or so we thought.

Bourn lept off to his right side, jumping into the grass, and presumably leaving the baseline which would mean he’s out anyway, regardless if Howard actually tagged him or not.

Again, you would think so, wouldn’t you?

But up pops the MLB’s ridiculously vague rule about what constitutes leaving the baseline. In the rules, they say a runner can’t be more than three feet away from “his” baseline. And what exactly is “his” baseline?

Per the MLB rulebook, “a runner’s baseline is established when the tag attempt occurs and is a straight line from the runner to the base he is attempting to reach safely.”

So, apparently, Bourn’s baseline didn’t start until Howard attempted to tag him.

“I said, ‘If that’s the damn case, he can go all the way to the dugout,'” Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel said after the game. “[First-base umpire Greg Gibson] said, ‘Yeah, if he establishes his baseline over there, he can.’ I don’t understand that.”

It might not be exactly fair to call this a “bad call” since it’s more a result of an inexcusably vague rule, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Phils got the short-end of the straw.

It’s like the NFL’s infamous Tuck Rule game between the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots back in 2001. Just because the rules say it wasn’t actually a fumble, does not mean that the Raiders didn’t get royally shafted.

Everyone watching that play knew it was a fumble, and everyone watching this play knew Bourn was out one way or another.

It also doesn’t help that Gibson made a similar call this season when the Phillies faced the Cleveland Indians.

The call went against the Phils that time too, except that time when Shane Victorino attempted to do the same thing Bourn did Monday night, he was ruled out.

Same circumstances, same umpire, but a different call? The main focus of the rules should be to take as much discretion as possible away from the umpires, not give them more. This rule and this set of circumstances proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

The MLB needs to rewrite the rule so there’s absolutely no confusion as to what is and what is not the baseline.

Make it the actual line, stick more closely to the “three feet” part of the rule, or just say they’re going to abolish the baseline idea altogether and we can watch a speedy guy like Bourn just run in a circle until Howard is too tired to throw to first or tag him.

But whatever they do, they need to make it a concrete rule that everyone can clearly follow.

It certainly didn’t help that Ryan Madson got smacked around a little bit in only one inning of work and eventually gave up what would be the winning run, but if the Phils could score more than two runs it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.

Had they taken advantage of opportunities presented to them earlier in the game, they could be walking away complaining about the call, but comforted by the thought that it didn’t wind up costing them the game. Instead, they’re extra sore because they feel they’ve been cheated.

“Games like tonight, these are the games we have to win,” Manuel said. “That’s a game we’re supposed to win and have to win.”

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If the Phillies can continue their usual strong play in the latter portion of the season, they will most likely wind up in the playoffs. Whether it’s after they overtake the Atlanta Braves and win the NL East, or via the consolation prize of a wild card berth, most expect the Phils to be playing in the MLB’s second season.

And if or when the Phils do make it past the regular season, their super trio of starting pitchers has to make them a favorite in the NL.

Most of the hardships this season have come from the erratic and unpredictable play of Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick. Both guys have had some gems, but both guys have also had their fair share of games that make any observer wonder why in the world either of them are in the majors.

Of course, the incredible numbers of injuries doesn’t help, but that hasn’t seem to have affected Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, or Roy Oswalt. Granted, Hamels’ record doesn’t look so hot at 7-10, but with some hitting it’s not out of the question for him to be sitting at 12-5 or better.

Even Halladay, who sits at 16-8, could probably be 20-4 were it not for the injuries, and the other Roy hasn’t pitched a bad game for the Phils since his debut back on July 30.

And when the playoffs roll around, the chances of Blanton or Kendrick seeing too many starts at slim. Each could possibly see a start in the first series, but after that the Phils would likely go to a three-man rotation depending on when their days off land.

Then Blanton and Kendrick can move into the bullpen as long relief guys to compliment the rest of the bullpen and all of a sudden Philly looks set.

This is a club with a healthy mix of guys who have played and won in the playoffs, and guys who would love nothing more than to finally get into the playoffs and do some winning.

Impressive pitching, along with a healthy lineup, could mean trouble for the other three NL teams entering the October tournament, and perhaps set the stage for a 2009 World Series rematch between the Phils and New York Yankees.

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The Phillies’ offense continued to struggle Friday night as they were only able to muster one run off a Raul Ibanez double in the third inning. But, fortunately for them, it was Roy Halladay’s turn to take the mound, so it didn’t matter.

Halladay scattered eight hits, walked three, and struck out five in seven scoreless innings to earn his sixth consecutive win. And during that six-game stretch, Halladay has allowed one earned run or less in five of them.

If anyone is still not completely on board with the move to bring this guy in, it’s out of nothing but denial and a world-record stubbornness.

But for as well as Halladay pitched, it still has to be troubling that the offense was only able to score one run the entire game to go along with only four hits.

It’s not even like they were facing a great defensive team and an All-Star pitcher. It was the Nationals and Jason Marquis.

Marquis is a good young pitcher, but there’s no reason for this lineup not to have, at the very least, four runs against this guy.

It almost seems like the guys at the plate aren’t playing with the same sense of urgency because they know Halladay is going to keep the score very low, meaning they don’t have to do as much.

That might be true, but if they could at least get off the bus, I’m sure Halladay would appreciate the effort.

The bats have been hot as of late, but this team has shown they can sink into a funk faster than any professional sports team, so they’re going to have to get their hitting going soon if they’d like to avoid that…and if Greg Gross would like to keep his job.

Every game is a playoff game for this team right now, and if this is all they can do in that type of situation, then there isn’t much hope for a third straight appearance in the Fall Classic.

Unless, of course, Halladay can just pitch every day.

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Chase Utley returned to the lineup Tuesday night, but that’s about all there is to report on that front. An 0-for-5 performance from Utley means he’s probably fighting some discomfort and loss of strength in that thumb, but he played the field well and should quickly improve at the plate.

The game itself, however, was much more intriguing—if you’re a Phillies fan.

It was a game of two teams heading in two opposite directions as the Giants’ slide continues and the Phillies’ patented August playoff push continued to chug along.

Besides allowing two home runs—one to former Phillie Pat Burrell and the Giants’ newest acquisition, Jose Guillen—Roy Oswalt swept through the San Francisco lineup with relative ease and continued to make Ruben Amaro, Jr. look like a genius.

Jimmy Rollins showed up with a two-run single in the fifth inning, and Shane Victorino, just off the DL as well, hit a two-run double in the sixth inning to put the Phils up for good.

A five-run eighth inning sealed the deal and the Phils sent the Giants back to their hotel down one game in the series.

Overall, that’s not too terribly exciting, but the win could have had playoff implications as the Phillies are now the top dogs in the NL Wild Card race.

And despite the fact that the Phillies are acting like it doesn’t matter and are still aiming to win the division, holding onto the final playoff spot will be very important moving forward.

I understand the importance of winning the division. There’s a certain momentum a team gets as the division champs, and the Phillies have used that the past two seasons to make it to the World Series.

However, it’s just about getting in. Regardless of the seeding or whether or not they win the NL East, the main focus has to be just getting an invite to play in October.

The playoffs are a new season and every division leader in the NL is hoping the Atlanta Braves are able to keep winning and that either the Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, or anyone else is able to take the final spot and keep the Phils at home.

With a revitalized rotation and a lineup that’s finally playing close to their potential, the Phillies are the last team anyone in the NL wants to see.

But with Utley back, and Ryan Howard expected to return at some point this week, it’s going to be very hard to keep this team from heading back to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

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It’s probably a bit of a reach, but it’s possible the Phillies are able to add Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to the lineup as early as Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.

Utley, who had thumb surgery back on July 1st, has a better shot of returning when the Phillies start their series against the Giants than Howard.

The All-Star second baseman has reported no soreness in his thumb after making rehab starts in the minors and is closing in on the estimated time of his arrival.

Howard, on the other hand, did report some soreness in his ankle after going through some workouts a couple days ago. He’s going to be evaluated by the Phillies’ team doctors Tuesday, but it’s likely they’ll decide to keep him benched for at least a few more days.

The Giants will probably get lucky and miss the return of both players. With a serious playoff push already under way, Charlie Manuel and the rest of the Phillies organization are going to want to make sure that their star players are 100 percent before throwing them back on the field.

If they rush them back, they could both wind up hitting the DL again, as was the case with Jimmy Rollins a couple months back.

Once both guys are activated, it’s going to be interesting to see what the team decides to do in order to make room for them. The bullpen is about as thin as it can get, so the two guys sent down will likely have to be from the field.

Greg Dobbs could find himself back in the minors, and it could also mean the end of Domonic Brown’s major league stint.

Brown has played well, but keeping him on the bench might not be worth it with a lefty in Ross Gload already on the bench. However, if Gload winds up on the DL, Brown could stay as the lefty off the bench and fill in for Raul Ibanez when he needs it.

Ben Francisco is playing well, so he’d likely be the guy if Manuel felt the need to give Jayson Werth the day off.

Dobbs, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have a place. Wilson Valdez can play second or third, and the team has two other options for a left-handed bench bat. Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. have shown before they’re comfortable putting Dobbs through waivers, so it’s likely that’s the route they’ll go once again.

Either way, having Howard and Utley back this week is going to be a huge boost to a Phillies team already on a hot streak, and it could make them the favorites in the NL East or, at the very least, to earn a wild card spot.

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Roy Oswalt pitched a lot better in his second time around as a Phillie, going six innings and giving up two earned runs on his way to a no-decision.

But, that’s not the story of the game that cinched a series sweep for the Phillies over the Marlins.

After the Phillies gave up a four-run seventh inning, all looked lost heading into the ninth down by two runs. But, after a few clutch knocks by the red-hot Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth, the game was tied heading into extras.

And once in extras, it didn’t take long for the Phils to break the tie.

Carlos Ruiz led off the inning by belting a home run over the left field wall on a 3-2 count to put the Phils up by one. They put runners in scoring position with no one out, but the Marlins did a good job of limiting the damage and the Phils’ defense took the field with a one-run lead in the bottom of the tenth.

Brad Lidge came out, took care of business, earned the save, and the Phils completed their sweep of the Marlins.

However, to the delight of Phillies fans and horror of Marlins fans, the outcome should have been much different.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Marlins had Hanley Ramirez on second, one out, and Gaby Sanchez at the plate. Sanchez ripped a Ryan Madson pitch down the third-base line, but the ball was ruled foul and Sanchez would later strike out.

But upon further review, it’s clear the wrong call was made.

On the replay, you can very clearly see the ball ride the line, hop over the bag, and actually land in fair territory before bouncing in the corner in left field. The ball even kicks up a little cloud of dirt where it lands, so there’s no doubt it should have been a fair ball.

The third-base ump saw things differently, the Marlins were robbed of a walk-off hit, and the Phillies would go on to extend their record to 60-48 and stay two games behind the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.

It’s definitely good to see things starting to bounce the Phillies’ way at this point in the season, but it’s got to be a bit alarming that another obvious call is blown.

The Jim Joyce call got extra attention because it robbed Armando Galarraga of a perfect game, but this call was just as bad or, if you’re a Marlins fan, coach, or player, possibly worse.

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