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It is quite obvious the Philadelphia Phillies are in a slump. A team riddled by injuries and inconsistency without an ignition towards change.

Despite getting an extra innings 2-0 win in St. Louis yesterday, where Cole Hamels shined, the team still showed the overwhelming stress that comes from being back-to-back National League Champions.

The Phillies have been plagued by non-existent bats that have turned consistent players like Jayson Werth searching for a way to right the ship.

The legendary preseason beard Werth was rocking during his early hot streaks has been reduced to a whimsical and mildly scary goatee in an attempt to fix his batter’s box issues.

We’ve seen things like Chase Utley using voodoo on his bat to ease his hitting struggles. Yet the hitting gods couldn’t keep him from a thumb injury that will have him sidelined till Labor Day.

When things like this happen to a team with so many expectations from the public, front offices usually try to ignite their lineups with a trade or the firing of a manager or bench coach.

The Phillies did just that last night firing hitting coach Milt Thompson. Thompson, a former Phillie and member of the 1993 NL Champions, was with the team for six seasons and was a main contributor to the team’s 2008 World Series run.

The rumors of a firing surfaced just weeks ago heading into the All-Star break. Manager Charlie Manuel vehemently supported Thomspon stating:

Many people in the Philadelphia media saw this move coming as most of the team’s struggles are coming from the batter’s box.

We all knew a firing was going to take place and getting rid of Thomspon is the easiest solution.

The real question is: are the Phillies using Milt Thompson as a scapegoat for other front office transgressions?

Right now the Phillies are sitting seven games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East, which is good for second place. Not exactly where you’d like to sit heading into August, especially with the strength of the NL Wild Card Race.

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MLB’s second-half of the season is officially in full swing

Thus far, in 2010 is proving to be one for the books. With so many tight division races, fans will have plenty of excitement to keep them occupied.

Still, fans tend to throw in the towel and write-off their teams chances of playing in October. A few teams stand out that might not be division leaders now, but still have the potential not to be counted out yet.

Remember, that pennants are not won in July and baseball can look decidedly different from week to week.

Here, are two teams, one from the AL and the other from the NL that should not be counted out:

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Angels lost their best player for the season, 1B Kenny Morales, which has finally impacted the team. Still, this is a group who has won the AL West six of the last seven years and it would be foolish to consider them out this soon.

Even with the first-place Rangers acquiring SP Cliff Lee, the back of rotation is not significant. The Angels have an ace in Jered Weaver. Weaver beat out Seattle’s King Felix for the third time this season, but the Angels have to give Weaver some run support. The vets need to step it up now specifically Abreau, Hunter and Matsui to stay in the mix.

Truthfully, they are not the same Angels from 2009. They lost a lot of speed on the bases, which played a enormous role in their past successes. The Halos should pick-up a solid bat before the end of July. Rumors that Red Sox Mike Lowell or Orioles Miguel Tejada are possibilities, but are a tad too old to get that excited or could be the difference makers.

The Angels remain just four and a half games out, and the next two weeks are the time to make a move on Texas. Angels are a second-half team, with a proven history and now’s time to prove it.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies, even worse than the Angels, have been hit with injuries. So far 12 players have seen the DL, including three All-Star hitters, the closer, a setup man, two starters and both their starting and backup catchers. Things have been far from sunny in Philadelphia.

After just two starts, NLCS rookie of the year SP J.A. Happ has yet to be back to his 2009 form, but he will be back. Then SS Jimmy Rollins has been actively on and off the DL, who is the Phillies lead-off bat. On June 28th, 2B Chase Utley hurt his thumb. Utley had surgery on his thumb on July 1st and will return in a few weeks. Turning to the bullpen, closer Brad Lidge is getting reacquainted after missing April and most of May, but Lidge still can throw heat. Phillies fans need to be patience with Lidge.

The Phillies are kicking themselves for letting Cliff Lee go. In 2010, Lee is throwing better than trade-off Roy Halladay, that is just a fact. Positives are SP Cole Hamels is looking better with each start and Happ should be of use when he is back any day now. I would also expect Lidge will be back to the dominating closer by mid-August again, but getting Lidge on the mound more will help keep him strong.

Now what to do about Jason Werth is another question. Werth is not hitting like his usual self, but can you blame a player who knows the team did not want him? Not particularly well executed by the Phillies management, who handed Howard a monster contract and making Werth aware he has no worth. No doubt this is taking a toll on Werth, whether he knows it or not.

1B Ryan Howard is currently on a hitting tear and is confident the Phillies are getting back on their feet. Rollins will start to get hot now that he is fully recovered. Utley will be back in three weeks, along with Happ and Polanco who will rejoin the team shortly.

The Phillies are a half game behind the New York Mets and five and a half behind the NL East leading Atlanta Braves. Remember the last three seasons the Phillies have had about the same record, and they have been to the World Series the last two years.

The Phillies will make a run at the division for sure and with so much baseball left winning it is not out of left field by any means.

Read more on….Lady Loves Pinstripes .

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Chase Utley has been out of the Philadelphia Phillies lineup since June 28th with a thumb ligament injury, and Utley will likely be out until the middle of August.

The speed of Utley’s return and how he plays once he’s back will be crucial to determining whether the Philadelphia Phillies will be making their third straight World Series appearance in 2010.

Utley is just one of the Top 25 Players Who Will Be the Key to Their Team’s Playoff Hopes.

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This article is a long time coming. I know the team is only 5.5 back in the division, but with the strength of the NL East and the National League in general, things may become very bleak on Broad Street.

This city of Philadelphia talks about 2008 like it was yesterday, the season where everything was perfect and the Phillies were kings of the world…guess what, it’s not and they are slipping HARD.

Phillies fans have been sold a bill of goods from management with two promises about this season:

1. The team would walk into the playoffs…

2. They would pretty much spend the entire season leading the NL East…

The team has walked with a certain sense of entitlement, believing these things, and if certain parts of their performance don’t change soon, it’s looking like neither will happen.

Just like many Phillies fans, I watched tonight’s Game four of the Cubs series with a sense of urgency. Halladay was on the mound and after stealing a win yesterday, I was hoping tonight would be a sign of brighter days, a refresher toward the team’s potential.

Like the rest of Philly, I watched as the game came and went, seeing much of the same inconsistent play that has haunted the team this season.

The Phillies were given a gift in Game three and, if it weren’t for the epic collapse of Carlos Marmol, they could have been looking at a sweep.

It seems the story of the season is inconsistency. Whether it’s the bats, the pitching, or the roster, this year’s Phillies have been suffering from a severe lapse.

Phillies fans are an interesting breed. Not only do we come off as critical but, at points, show signs of complete oblivion.

Fans are aware of the issues this team is facing, and they talk about how things need to be done; all it takes is a 12-2 win to turn things around and they are once again talking sunshine and daisies.

The four-game sweep of the Reds was incredible. The Phillies were the walk-off wonders and seemed as if the stars were aligning. It seemed as if their luck could never run out. The Reds were leading the Central at the time and, going into the break, all seemed well in the world.

Guess what…they just lost three of four to a team that’s 10 games back in the same NL Central.

The Phillies live and die by the long ball and if the line drives aren’t flying, then they are suffering.

I bet many fans aren’t aware the Phillies are ranked 23rd in batting average and 22nd in hits…not positive for a team coming off of back-to-back World Series.

The Phillies are hemorrhaging and every talking head in the media has their opinions on how to fix it. The talking points for tomorrow’s radio shows are written and the situations are well known. It’s important to address them and realize the logical and sad truths around many of them.

Jayson Werth: Can they/would they trade him and get legitimate compensation?

Most fans in the city have accepted the fact, at the completion of this season, Werth will hit the open market and play elsewhere next year. The Phillies have stated their salary cap ceiling and made it clear with the move of Cliff Lee that there are no exceptions to this rule.

Is it time for the team to sever ties with Werth in an attempt to bolster the team?

Yes this statement can be taken as treason, and without his bat the team will be lacking a strong presence from the right side of the plate. He has the ability to help the team via trade and it is a valid option the team needs to look into.

What would they get for him and would anyone want his expiring deal?…thus bringing up issue No. 2.

Do the Phillies still need another starter?

J.A. Happ is still working on his rehab and no definite date is set. With this known, the team needs to address the fact without another starter in the rotation things are going to get dicey around playoff time.

Fans throw out names like Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren, and Ted Lilly but none of these seems logistically possible without giving up more quality minor league prospects. Seeing as the only legitimate prospect the team has is Dominic Brown, who is the heir apparent to replace Ibanez, the team will balk with any deal involving their prized prospect.

Sure Cole Hamels is improving but with his history of meltdowns, he is never reliable enough to sleep well at night. Jamie Moyer is now you second-most reliable starter and, at 47, you never know what showing you will get.

If you can make a legitimate argument for Kyle Kendrick as a fifth starter, I would like to hear it; in 19 appearances, his 5-3 record and his inability to make it past the sixth inning wont allow fans to sleep well at night, and the same goes for Joe Blanton.

A record of 3-5 from a third starter will not help you in the playoffs, and batters have an .844 on base percentage against him.

Roy Halladay has been everything we thought he would be. He has had his rough outings, but with 10 wins fans are feeling comfortable when that fifth day comes around.

With the way the bullpen has produced, the team may need to send either Happ or Blanton to the pen to ease the suffering. The only problem with that is both may be needed to start.

The Phillies need more depth, and adding another solid starter could make taking the NL East a little bit easier.

Is it just injuries?

Placido Polanco is back from the DL and has looked relatively solid.

Ryan Madson is back from “Toe Gate” and has allowed three runs in 3 1/3 innings since returning with a record of 1-1 and a blown save.

Chase Utley is only weeks away from a return. No word of the healing thumb but even his presence should boost a normally second-half team.

What are their options?

Do they hold out and see how the returns of Utley and Happ help the offense, or is a move the only way to get back on track? And if they make a move, what can they trade and who’s interested?

With the July 31st trade deadline fast approaching, they may not have time to rely on Happ or Utley, and front-office decisions need to be made. If not, instead of talking three-peat World Series visits and 2008 Champions, we may be talking 2006 and missing out on the playoffs.

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The pitching numbers have been staggering as the baseball season hits its mid-point.

There have been two no-hitters as well as two perfect games thrown. Then there was the perfect game that was not in Detroit thanks to Jim Joyce.

Travis Wood and Ted Lilly also had no-nos going into the ninth inning before they were broken up.

Ubaldo Jimenez is at 15-1 with a 2.20 ERA as the ace of the Colorado Rockies staff. He is putting up these amazing numbers while pitching in Coors Field.

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When a 22-year-old third baseman named Scott Rolen burst onto the scene in 1997 by winning the NL Rookie of the Year award, he won over the fans who followed the Phillies during some of the franchise’s darkest days.

For the next four years, the youngster with such promise was compared to one man and one man only:

Michael Jack Schmidt, the best third baseman in baseball history and the greatest player ever to wear a Phillies uniform.

Flash forward to 2010: Rolen returned to town this weekend as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, and Phillie fans welcomed him back home in the exact same way they have since 2002.

Scott Rolen was one of the finest players in Phillies history. Too bad he’ll never be remembered like that.

For Rolen, where did it all go so wrong?

After all, Rolen was a fan favorite during most of his time here, the late 1990’s. You know, back in the days of Nintendo 64, back when middle-school dance functions first played Britney Spears and ‘N Sync, and back when Monica Lewinski’s mug appeared on the cover of every magazine in America.

Back then, Rolen was the Phillies’ Chase Utley.

In Philadelphia today, it’s probably baseball blasphemy to mention Scott Rolen and Chase Utley in the same sentence. But, the two players actually have, and had, a lot in common.

For years, Utley has been the best all-around player on a Phillies team loaded with talent. Similarly, Rolen was the best all-around player on his Phillies teams that simply weren’t very good.

Remember what it was like to have Desi Relaford instead of Jimmy Rollins? Matt Beech instead of Cole Hamels? Mickey Morandini instead of Chase Utley?

Utley was, and still is, the absolute right guy at the absolute right time. Scott Rolen, on the other hand, was the absolute right guy at the absolute wrong time. Still, the similarities between the two run deeper than that.

1. Five-Tool Ability

They could both hit for average, hit for power, run, field, and throw. When Utley’s at his best, there’s nothing on the field he can’t do. The same could be said of Rolen during his tenure in Philly.

2. Gamers

Everyone knows Utley has tremendous on-field tenacity and intelligence. But anyone who watched the Phillies during the lean years knows that Rolen’s style was very similar. Both men played the game as hard as anyone. Scott was a smart base runner who went from first-to-third on a single whenever possible and broke up double plays with hard slides. His hot-corner defense was pretty good too….

3. Never a quote machine

Scott wasn’t a talker. Intel about his non-baseball activities was always confidential. Scott never seemed like a vocal clubhouse leader. Then again, neither has Chase Utley. Chase lets his play on the field do the talking. Rolen did the same. Has Utley ever given a real passionate quote over the years? Well, there was one….’08 World Series parade?

4. Chick Magnet

Yep. They flocked for the Scott Rolen jersey long before Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth, or Cole Hamels appeared on the radar. The babes who at one point held up “Scotty’s a Hottie” signs at the Vet eventually converted to “Burrell’s Girls” a few years later.

Of course, Chase is pretty popular with the women, too. But Rolen’s female fanbase was even more impressive since a Phillies game during the late ‘90s wasn’t exactly considered the unparalleled social hotspot that it is today for people 15 to 25.

What’s Done Is Done. But It’s Still Sad.

Of course, the Phillies did their best to re-sign Rolen in March 2002, but Scott had feuded with management in the past year and was desperate to leave his losing team in favor of a serious contender.

Phillie fans didn’t like that.

Rolen turned down the Phils long-term contract offer. Through the entire first half of the 2002 season, the Philadelphia fanbase booed him before every at-bat and after every out he made.

The man who had been the Phillies most beloved player for six seasons was suddenly their most hated.

Think the fans were hard on Donovan McNabb? He had it easy by comparison.

When Rolen was traded to the Cardinals at the ’02 deadline, he spoke of St. Louis as “Baseball Heaven” and criticized the Philly fanbase. Considering the way he was treated over his final four months in town, could you really fault Rolen for saying what he said?

In Philadelphia today, Rolen is known as a malcontented mercenary who hated everything about the fans and the city.

Will Philadelphia ever welcome back Scott Rolen? Ever? Probably not.

Just don’t forget that during Bill Clinton’s second term in office there were pretty much only two reasons to watch a Phillies game. 1) To hear the great Harry Kalas. 2) To watch Philadelphia’s young third baseman do his thing….

A lot has changed in Philadelphia over the years, but one thing hasn’t. To this day, Scott Rolen is still compared to one man and one man only. But it isn’t Chase Utley, and it sure as hell ain’t Michael Jack Schmidt anymore:

It’s J.D. Drew.

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In answer to the headline question: yes.

Three Phillies are going to the mid-summer classic in Anaheim. But are the right three guys going? Should there even be three Phillies going in the first place?

Those are appropriate questions, but as it turned out, manager Charlie Manuel and company made all the right calls when selecting the deserving Phillies. Here’s why…

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In just a matter of days, things have gone from bad to worse for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Injuries and losses continue to mount, all the while the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets have increased their lead in the NL East.  And, division aside, the Phillies currently sit fifth in the Wild Card standings.

After a brief revival from the offense, it has seemingly gone back in the tank. Heck, pitchers must be starting to feel like they need to hurl a perfect game to win—although that almost didn’t work for Roy Halladay.

When the team does manage to get a lead, the pitchers seem to squander it away. Although it would be  premature to conclude, the back-end of the bullpen scenario is starting to evoke memories of 2009—which, if you were vacationing out the country last year, is not a good thing.  

The prevailing sentiment amongst the Phillies organization is that there is no need to panic, but these are quickly becoming desperate times for them.

Over the past few days, the team learned that they would be without baseball’s best second baseman for a minimum of eight weeks. And, that only speaks to time off the field rather than a return to Chase Utley’s normal standard of play—which may not happen at all this season.

They also learned that their regular third baseman (and best option to replace Utley) will be out for at least another four weeks. It adds insult to injury that Placido Polanco is the one player who has hit consistently for them all year and currently sits second in the National League batting leaders.

Additionally, the news on the rehabilitation of its other injured players hasn’t been particularly encouraging, either.

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The Philadelphia Phillies were hoping for the best case scenario with star second baseman Chase Utley, but on Thursday they got the worst case scenario.

The Phillies placed Utley on the 15-day DL on Wednesday with a strained ligament in his right thumb. They were hoping that he would only be out a couple of weeks, but after Thursday’s events he will be out more than just a couple of weeks.

Utley had surgery yesterday to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and is expected to miss the next eight weeks. That is a big blow to Phillies.

With Utley out for eight weeks and Placido Polanco out for three-to-four weeks, I think the Phillies need to make a move to help stabilize the infield. I think the guy who would be a great fit would be Baltimore Orioles INF Ty Wigginton.

Wigginton struggled in June with a .208 average and one home run, but overall he has 14 home runs and an .807 OPS on the season. More importantly than his offense, Wigginton is a very versatile player on defense. He can play first, second, or third base if need be.

That is the type of infield versatility that the Phillies need right now.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Middle infielders have been taking a beating this season with many of the top names having injury issues at some point in time.  Let’s get an update on some of the players currently nursing injuries:

• Chase Utley – According to Matt Geleb of The Philadelphia Inquirer (click here for the article), Chase Utley “had surgery to repair a severely torn ligament in his right thumb Thursday.”   Ultimately, he’s expected to be in a splint for five weeks and won’t return to the Phillies lineup for at least eight weeks.  There’s hope he could return sooner, as Utley has recovered from injuries earlier than expected in the past.  Still, no matter how you slice it, fantasy rosters are going to be handcuffed for the next several weeks and possibly for two months or more.
• Troy Tulowitzki – Troy Renck of The Denver Post (click here for the article) is reporting that “An X-Ray this week showed that the chipped bone is not moving, which represents good news. It’s healing on schedule. As such, Tulo only has to wear a brace at night.”  We’ll just have to wait and see what happens, but it’s nice to hear that things are progressing as expected.
• Jose Reyes – He remains out of action due to “an injury to his right side” according to Adam Rubin of ESPN NY (click here for the article).  The injury is being compared to Angel Pagan’s, who has been in and out of the lineup for the past seven games or so.  Reyes isn’t expected to return before Saturday, when the Mets take on Stephen Strasburg.  Those in daily leagues can adjust your lineups accordingly, but after last season problems, expect the Mets to proceed extremely cautiously.

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