Heating up

The Phillies returned home Friday night and welcomed the Houston Astros to their last visit to Veterans Stadium. The hospitality ended there, as the Phils took 2 of 3 from the Astros, snapping the visitors' seven-game winning streak.

On Friday night, the Phillies rode good starting pitching and an awakened lineup to a 5-3 victory. Brett Myers pitched 6 1/3 innings of good baseball, limiting the Astros to two runs on five hits. Myers retired 14 straight batters before walking Lance Berkman to start the seventh. He then gave up singles to Richard Hidalgo and Brad Ausmus before having to be removed from the game. And I emphasize "having to be". Seemingly, Myers and Mike Lieberthal convinced Larry Bowa that Myers was still going strong, and Bowa decided to leave Myers in the game. Only problem: Bowa suffered a brain lock and forgot that pitching coach Joe Kerrigan had already been out to see Myers once in the seventh inning. Bowa's visit was the second, meaning Myers would have to be replaced. Terry Adams came in and hit a batter and gave up a run-scoring single in his 1/3 of an inning, and Rheal Cormier came in to finish off the seventh.

But the offense made a nice appearance in the game, as well. The top five hitters in the lineup combined to go 9 for 15, including Lieberthal's three hits -- raising his average to .352 -- and Jim Thome's moon shot to right field. Thome's shot, which landed in section 502 of the upper deck, was "estimated" at 414 feet -- tied for the second longest home run to right field in Vet history. But if you saw it, you know it went a bit further than 414. As John Kruk said in the TV broadcast, "If that ball went 414, I'm skinny." Last I saw of the Krukker, he had not exactly lost that game-playing weight. To see the shot yourself, check out the Phillies video page. You will need RealPlayer, and choose the key play video from the 5/9 game versus the Astros. It's worth seeing.

On Saturday night, the offense wasn't as impressive, but it did what was needed. Bobby Abreu and Mike Lieberthal each had a first-inning RBI single to give the Phillies and Randy Wolf a 2-0 lead, and that's all Wolf would need. Wolf pitched a complete game shutout, preserving that 2-0 lead. He allowed five hits (four singles and a Biggio double) and only one walk. The Astros did not have more than one baserunner in an inning until the 8th. It was his fifth career shutout. Abreu, Thome, Lieberthal, and Burrell went a combined 5 for 14, with Lieberthal raising his average to .357.

So with two games in hand, the Phillies looked to Sunday. On the bright side of Sunday's game, the offense put seven runs up on the board, including back-to-back homers from Thome and Burrell. On the bad side, the bottom fell out of the starting pitching, and the Phillies lost 10-7. Vicente Padilla had his fourth straight poor outing, lasting only three innings. In that short time, he managed to give up six runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks; he did not strike out a batter. Before the Padilla Flotilla was set to sail, the Phils were down 6-0 and Padilla was sunk. The bullpen's efforts were so-so, with only Carlos Silva really getting touched up -- he gave up three runs in two innings. But Padilla had given the Astros a lead they could hold on to.

Offensively, the Phils were carried by the 2 through 5 hitters in the lineup: Tomas Perez, Abreu, Thome, and Burrell. They combined for six of the team's seven hits, scored all seven runs, and drove in five. Thome's homer was his eighth, and fourth in five days. Burrell followed with his sixth, marking the first time this year that the Phillies have hit back-to-back home runs.

Overall on the series, the Phillies scored 14 runs on 23 hits, for an average of 5 and slightly more than 7 per game. Still not great, but better than we had been seeing.

An off-day today, followed by three with Arizona.

Offensive?

The Phillies were off last night, giving me a chance to do what I have been wanting to do since the calendar turned to May -- compare this year's offensive output with last year's, up to this point in the season. It would come as no surprise to anyone that the Phillies offense is struggling right now. The Phillies have scored 174 runs -- good for 5th in the NL -- in 35 games (just shy of 5 a game), despite a .252 average (10th) and seemingly no power whatsoever. The team slugging percentage is .397 (11th); to put that in perspective, Pat Burrell's SLG right now is .406, and we all know how much he is struggling. But how do these numbers compare to last season?

Actually, these numbers are not too far behind last year's totals. Last season, as a team, the Phillies hit only .259 and slugged .422. The influx of players like Jim Thome and David Bell, along with the continued development of Pat Burrell and the emergence of rookie Marlon Byrd was supposed to increase offensive output, not maintain the status quo. But it seems to this point in the year that the players are struggling...almost each and every one of them. That obviously can't continue forever, which is a reason why the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article this morning about how the Phillies offense is about to burst out. But how much can we expect them to improve, and should the slow starts be a cause for concern? Let's look, position by position.

1st Base

Jim Thome was the free-agent signing of the winter and was expected to boost the Phillies offense -- not to mention make people forget Travis "What's His Name?" Lee ever wore red pinstripes. But Thome is not hitting well, and until his two homers the other night, wasn't crushing the ball. Through 35 games, Thome is hitting .254. He has "only" 6 homers and 26 RBI. But through this point last season, Thome was hitting an ugly .210! And yes, he had 9 home runs and 29 RBI, but he wasn't hitting much else. His slugging percentage this season is only .008 lower than it was at this time last year, and his OBP is .034 higher, thanks to 24 walks already this year. So minus a small dip in his power numbers, he's hitting better than he did at this point last season -- and let's not forget he finished last year at .304 with 52 HR and 118 RBI.

In addition to putting up better numbers than he did to this time last season, Thome is also outpacing Travis Lee's 2002 numbers. His average is 29 points higher, his OBP 40 points, and his SLG more than 100 points higher. And despite his "lack of power", he is still doubling up Lee's output through May 10th of last season -- 6 HR to 3, 26 RBI to 13. So despite his struggles, Thome is still giving the Phillies a better output, and based on his early-season struggles last season, we can expect an explosion this summer.

Advantage: 2003, with improvement to come

2nd Base

Placido Polanco, in his first full season with the Phillies, is putting up numbers above and beyond what I expected. He is hitting .300, which isn't a shock. But his OBP is above .400, and his SLG is at .438. These numbers put his OPS 245 points higher than it was last season at this time. We probably can't expect him to continue to play up to the level he is playing at now, but he is also not a .597 OPS guy. Surprisingly, he is giving the Phillies about what Marlon Anderson was giving them last season. Anderson's BA was in the same ballpark (.294) and his OPS was only 22 points lower, at a surprisingly high (for him) .820. Anderson's OBP was more than 50 lower, but he made up a lot of that difference with a SLG average around .470.

Advantage: Even

Shortstop

Here, we are comparing Jimmy Rollins to Jimmy Rollins. Rollins had a poor season last year, with a BA in the .240 and an OBP in the low .300s. Yet, through May 10th (35 games) last season, he was hitting .317 and getting on base 37.5% of the time. He had already swiped 7 bases in 11 tries. And from there, his numbers went downhill. This season, he is at .282 and getting on base almost 35% of the time. His stolen base numbers are down (3 for 5), but his other numbers across the board are equivalent to this time last season -- and much better than his final numbers on the year. Last year, he took a tumble...this year, things are looking up.

Advantage: 2003

3rd Base

A debate that will go on in Philly for a few years: are we better off with the 3B we have, or should we have held on to Scott Rolen? Rolen's numbers last year, surprisingly, were in the same ballpark as David Bell's 2002 numbers. Bell had a 30 point advantage in BA at this time last season, while Rolen held a 60 point SLG edge. Their OBP were practically even. But in 2003, David Bell is struggling mightily. His average has fallen to .217, and his OPS is below .600. My hope lies in the fact that last season, Bell had an awful May, followed it up with a good June, struggled again in July, but finished in August and September very strong. Things have to go up, right?

Advantage: 2002

Left Field

Pat Burrell. A complete mystery to this point in the year. He struggled early on last season, as well, and Larry Anderson has made a few references to it during broadcasts this week -- that it was about this time last year that he turned things around. But at this point last season, he was hitting .267. This year: .211. Last season, his OBP was .362, and his slugging was an even .500. This year: .300 and .406. His raw stats look comparable -- he had 2 more homers and 1 more RBI at this point last year. He had 2 more walks, and 3 fewer strikeouts. The main difference that I can find is in his average; last season, he had 4 more hits in 13 fewer at-bats. Since his strikeout totals are fairly equal, I removed his Ks from his ABs, and worked out his BA for balls put into play (H/(AB-K)). That number this year is .304. Last season, it was over .390. And this makes sense, as every broadcast I watch, the broadcasters are saying something along the lines of "He's 0 for 3, but has been robbed twice". In my eyes, he's not following one of the main rules in baseball: "Hit it where they ain't." If he can start to do this again, the average -- as well as the power numbers -- will go up again.

Advantage: 2002

Center Field

Coming into the season, not a whole lot was expected of Marlon Byrd, and he wouldn't have to do a whole lot to make people forget Doug Glanville. Unfortunately, to this point in the season, he has done less than that. Last year at this time, Glanville was hitting .244 with a paltry .312 OBP. Sadly, Byrd -- around one DL stint -- is hitting only .167 with an OPS barely over .500. Throwing Ricky Ledee into the argument puts the 2003 numbers above Glanville's output of a year ago, but considering the Phillies were counting on Marlon Byrd to man CF on a daily basis, 2003 has been a disappointment so far.

Advantage: 2003, but only thanks to Ricky Ledee

Right Field

Much was made of Bobby Abreu's slow start last season, yet he finished at .308 with 20 home runs and 31 stolen bases. Much is being made again this year about Abreu's early struggles, so take another look at last year's final totals. Why? Because his numbers so far this year pretty much match last season's numbers to this point. His OBP is 40 points lower this season, but he has drawn 5 fewer walks. A little more patience at the plate, and a summer warm-up, will bring Abreu's numbers to the expected level.

Advantage: Even

Catcher

Last season at this time, Mike Lieberthal was still getting back in the swing of things after 2001's knee injury. In early May, he was hitting .255/.314/.373/.687 before heating up in the late summer months. This year...well, the heat remained through the winter. Lieberthal has the only hot bat in the Phillies lineup right now, hitting .337/.412/.529/.941. He has more homers and RBI than this time last year, and 35 games into the season, still has more walks than strikeouts. Don't expect these numbers to stay this high, but expect the final numbers to be better than last year's.

Advantage: 2003

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So what do I take from this? At 4 of 8 positions, the 2003 performance is better than the 2002 numbers at the same point of the season. At 2 other spots, they are about equal. Yet, most of baseball's "thinking heads" agree that the Phillies are still struggling and should break out at any time. Considering they are 4 games better than last year's record through 35, and only 3 1/2 games behind a Braves team firing on all cylinders, I'm still looking forward to an explosive summer at the Vet.

Around the blog league...

I am a little behind on this one, but Alex Belth has another great interview up over at Bronx Banter -- this one with ESPN.com's Rob Neyer.

Jon at is wondering why Fred McGriff is hitting ahead of Brian Jordan versus lefties.

The Southpaw has been posting like a wildman lately. I'm not sure, but I think he is trying to have more posts than readers. Head over there and give him a run for his money.

News and Notes

The Astros come to town for a 3-game weekend set beginning tomorrow night. Pitching matchups for the series:

Friday: Roy Oswalt (2-3, 3.66) vs. Brett Myers (2-2, 2.09)
Saturday: Wade Miller (1-3, 5.02) vs. Randy Wolf (4-2, 3.53)
Sunday: Kirk Saarloos (0-0, 18.00) vs. Vicente Padilla (3-4, 3.97)

Brandon Duckworth has been sent down to AAA Scranton to get some work in. With an off-day today, and another on Monday, Duckworth was going to be skipped in the rotation. But since he is still working back from injury, Larry Bowa wants him to get his work in. He is going to make a start, and the Phillies want to key in on his stamina. Bowa has said that Duck will throw 90 pitches, no matter how long it takes him to throw them or what kind of trouble he gets into.

Bill Conlin has an article in the Daily News today about the Phillies inability/unwillingness to steal bases. To an extent, Conlin has a point. After all, the Phillies are only on pace to steal 32 bases...

...as a team...

...for the season. He wants the green light to be flashed a little more often. I can't disagree with that, but as I see it, we only have a few base stealers on the team. Jimmy needs to run more, and be more effective in his attempts. So far on the season, he is only 3 for 5 in the SB department -- this from a guy who swiped 46 in his rookie year. And Bobby Abreu needs to run some more. He's 2 for 3 on the year, but does not look like the guy that has swiped 30 or more in each of the last two seasons. Beyond that, maybe Ledee or Byrd. But the Phillies are not a running team. With Abreu, Thome, Burrell, and Lieberthal, they have become more of a mashing team. Let Rollins and Polanco get on, but there is a legitimate fear to having them caught stealing if one of the next three guys at the plate could drive them in with a double or more.

And I haven't strayed from the Phillies often lately, but I wanted to get my two cents in on this: Marlins' pitcher Josh Beckett is having elbow problems. This will be the third pitcher on the DL for the Marlins in that many weeks, and the second young pitcher with a significant arm injury. I am not expert enough to say whether or not the ridiculously high pitch counts have something to do with these injuries (but Aaron will take issue with it over at Aaron's Baseball Blog), and I will leave the injury reports to someone like BP's Will Carroll -- but to my non-medical, untrained eye, something is seriously wrong in Florida. I don't know whether Jeff Torborg and his staff are overusing these young pitchers, or if the Marlins' medical staff is somehow or another missing the signs, but something is fishy down south.

Beckett has thrown over 100 pitches four times this season, and 99 in a fifth start. Last season, he threw more than 100 pitches in a game 6 times, with 116 being his high. Those may not be seriously high numbers, but we need to remember that Beckett had shoulder trouble as recently as three years ago, and he is only 22. This is a pitcher that the Marlins want to anchor their rotation for years to come, and multiple arm problems before age 23 is not a good sign.

A.J. Burnett has also had multiple arm ailments over the last few years. Yet, in between DL stints, he consistently throws more than 100 pitches per outing. This season, after a spring arm injury, he had games of 113, 108, and 112 pitches in four starts. In 2002, he had 3 games between 100-109 pitches, 7 games between 110-119 pitches, 9 games between 120-129, and one over 130. In 2001, he had 18 games over 100 pitches, with two over 120.

Again, I am not an expert on the effects of pitch counts. I am not even an expert on the effects of a young man throwing a little white ball as hard as he can over and over again. But I do have common sense, and that sense tells me that you don't let a young pitcher with previous arm trouble consistantly throw 115 pitches.

But maybe that's just me...

Coming home

After 10 games in 10 days out West, the Phillies are coming home. They completed the "no rest for the weary" trip at a respectable 5-5. .500 on a West Coast swing isn't bad -- but if you asked any of the players or their fans, they would probably say it could have been better.

The Phillies managed to salvage one of three at the "BOB" last night with a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The win came in the wake of a disappointing game Tuesday night, in which the Phillies managed to blow a 4-0 lead. With the game tied in the 9th, the Phillies found themselves unable to advance the lead run from first base and thus held scoreless. In the bottom of the inning, the D'backs showed them how "small ball" should be played, and a sac fly plated the winning run in a 6-5 Arizona win.

But last night was a different story. The new ace, Kevin Millwood, was on the mound and he did what is expected of an ace -- he shut down the opponent and gave his team a chance to win. Millwood held Arizona to two runs on four hits in seven-plus innings of work; he struck out six and walked only one. Rheal Cormier pitched another inning of shutout baseball, and Jose Mesa made the ninth exciting before nailing down his tenth save.

In what may be a spark of hope as the summer months descend upon us, the offense looks to be waking from its winter slumber. After Jim Thome cranked two homeruns and Pat Burrell added one of his own Tuesday night, Bobby Abreu and Tyler Houston each hit one last night. After hitting just 22 homers as a team in the first 33 games, the Phils have now hit five in the last two nights. Is this a sign of things to come?

Well, maybe. Thome appears to be heating up, even if just a little bit. After hitting a season-low .227 after an 0-for-4 Monday night, the slugger has gone 5 for 7 in the last two games with the two home runs on Tuesday night. But the other two players in the Opening Day 3-4-5 mix are still struggling. After reaching .295 on April 27th, Abreu saw his average fall 30 points on the West Coast trip, thanks to a 7 for 37 streak, with only 3 extra base hits. Burrell has been struggling since Opening Day, and his 0 for 3 last night dropped him back to .211. His .706 OPS ranks him ahead of only David Bell and Marlon Byrd, both of whom are also struggling. In the case of Bell, after a 3 for 4 night in the opener in LA took his average up to .259, he went 3 for 30 (.100) in the next eight games before being given a night off last night.

On the bright side, Jimmy Rollins is 8 for 21 in the last five games, walking twice and scoring five runs. Placido Polanco is 6 for 24 with six runs scored in the six games since he was activated from the DL. And Mike Lieberthal is hitting .337/.412/.529/.941, with more walks than strikeouts.

Still, I'd like to believe that the last two nights will serve as somewhat of a wake-up call to the offense, as they enjoy an off-day today before hosting the Astros for three. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Blinded...

Obviously, I have not been able to see through the Cleveland fog. For weeks now, I have been a frequent visitor to the Cleveland Indians Report, but due to a (permanent?) case of brain lock, I never added a link to this wonderful site. That problem is now resolved. Be sure to check out the CIR, as you will find all of the information you need on the Indians and their rich minor-league system. The big names may be gone from Jacobs Field, but there are many more on their way. Check it out...

Just 1 of 162

It was a bad night. It could have been seen from the start. SS Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a triple, but was quickly erased when he tried to score on a Miguel Batista wild pitch. Instead of giving the Phillies a quick lead, he was nailed at the plate, and things just went downhill from there.

Vicente Padilla, in his third straight poor start, struggled early and often. He quickly loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning, and in an attempt to get out of the jam, offered a two-out, 0-2 fastball to Diamondbacks 3B Matt Williams. Williams, though in the "twilight" of his career and no longer a full-time player, can still turn on a fastball. And he did, putting the ball over the fence, and putting Arizona on top 4-0 in an eventual 10-1 thumping of the visiting Phillies.

The night was just all-around ugly for the Phillies. Batista twirled his fourth career complete game, giving up one unearned run on seven hits. Along with Williams's blast, the ageless Steve Finley went 3 for 3 with two homeruns, a triple, and four runs scored. The Phillies also managed to clear the benches, and argue with the fans in the stands. In the bottom of the seventh, Joe Roa (in his first appearance since April 20th) let loose a pitch behind the back of Craig Counsell, who an inning earlier had swiped second with a six-run lead. While Roa says that the pitch was not intentional, he did think it was an insult to the Phillies for Counsell to steal a base with such a comfortable lead. D'backs manager Bob Brenly tried to defend his player's decision:

``If they were upset by the stolen base they obviously haven't been following our games,'' he said. ``We didn't do anything to try to incite or infuriate or rub their noses in it by any stretch of the imagination. We've been scuffling to score runs. It was still early enough in the ballgame with the guys they have in the middle of their lineup, they can put a lot of runs on the board in a hurry, too.''

Brenly obviously hasn't been following Phillies' games, either; if he did, he would know that the offense is worse than anemic right now, averaging 2.6 runs per game over the last nine. Regardless of the intent, Roa's pitch cleared the benches, allowing a little jawing to go on. Curt Schilling, the former Phillie, was left to play peacemaker -- and as only a Philadelphia paper could argue, maybe talk trade.

Even after the on-field fun was done and over with, the Phillies kept jawing -- with a fan behind the dugout. It is unclear whether words were just shared, or if something was thrown by the fan, but the arguing went back and forth for a few minutes before the Phillies had security remove the fan and his three friends.

Then again, at that point in the game -- down nine runs -- they might have been better off leaving the fan where he was. They could have used anything to take their minds off of the game in front of them.

Among the good from last night:

Jimmy Rollins had three of the team's seven hits, raising his average to .281.

Mike Lieberthal went 2 for 4, and is up to .350.

Joe Roa finally saw some action.

Rheal Cormier pitched another scoreless inning.

And the bad:

The seven earned runs and five walks were career-worst numbers for Padilla. His ERA jumped to 3.97.

Jim Thome went 0 for 4 and is down to a .227 average.

Pat Burrell returned from an off-day and went 0 for 4, with two strikeouts. He is hitting .205.

Phillies at Arizona: A preview

The Phillies will ride a two-game winning streak into the desert tonight to take on the struggling Diamondbacks in a three-game series. The Phillies have won six of their last ten, and are 4-3 through the first seven games of this ten-game roadtrip. The Phillies, to this point, have been carried by their pitching staff, especially the bullpen, as mentioned in this morning's post. Good pitching has led the Phils to a 19-13 record, 1 1/2 games behind the surging Atlanta Braves.

Arizona, on the other hand, is floundering at 13-19, nine games behind the front-running San Francisco Giants. Normally, the D'backs are carried on the backs of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling. But not this year. Johnson is on the DL for the next month after having knee surgery the other day. Before going under the knife, however, he was an uncharacteristic 1-2 with a 6.94 ERA. Schilling has also been slowed by health problems, as an appendectomy kept him out of the lineup for almost two weeks. He pitched on Saturday against Atlanta, giving up five runs in five innings of work. He, too, is 1-2, with a 5.01 ERA. With Schilling slowed and Johnson on the DL, Arizona was dealt another blow when converted reliever Byung-Hyun Kim had to be placed on the DL yesterday. So the Phillies will come into usually-pitching rich Arizona and face the not-so-imposing likes of Miguel Batista (1-2, 3.06), Andrew Good (0-1, 5.25), and Brandon Webb (1-0, 0.60). So with the pitching uncertain, can the Diamondbacks depend on their offense to carry them?

A quick look at the basic numbers would say, sure. Arizona's team batting numbers are a few steps above the Phillies in regards to average and slugging. The Phillies have drawn 35 more walks, giving them the edge in OBP. But Arizona's advantage in the hitting department is muted by the fact that the Phillies have scored 38 more runs in the same number of games. So while the Phillies are scoring runs despite a lack of consistent offense, Arizona appears to be able to put the bat on the ball, but not long enough to bring the runners around.

Individually, only Luis Gonzalez is putting fear into opposing pitchers with a .333/.410/.634/1.044 batting line. He has provided the power in the desert with eight homeruns and 20 RBI. He is the only regular hitting over .300, unless you count the three-headed catching monster of Chad Moeller (.355)/Rod Barajas (.467)/Robby Hammock (.421). Only Junior Spivey has as many as half as many homers as Gonzalez, and that is only due to a recent hot streak. Only Spivey (11), Steve Finley (12), and part-time player Carlos Baerga (13) join Gonzalez with double-digit RBI, and of Baerga's 13, seven came in one game.

Manager Bob Brenly has had to juggle his lineup due to ineffectiveness and injuries to the point that only three of his players have 100 at-bats more than 30 games into the season. A World Championship team two seasons ago, this year's version of the D'backs is not as imposing as previous versions. This is a team facing a lot of issues, and if Schilling continues to struggle and Johnson does not make a quick (and effective) return, may be facing a season that does not include a post-season invite.

Series possibilites

Good: The Phillies will take two of three from the Diamondbacks, and head home following a 6-4 West Coast swing.

Better: The Phillies pitchers keep the Arizona lineup in check, the hitters take advantage of the young starters, and the Phillies sweep the series.

Best: The Phillies sweep the series, feasting on the young pitching and sparking the so-far dormant offense before coming home to take on the Astros and these same Diamondbacks.

Week in review

So what has happened since Tuesday morning, following Brett Myers's good performance in the West Coast opener. Let's try a quick recap.

Tuesday: Los Angeles 6, Phillies 2

Randy Wolf had his roughest outing of the young season, giving up six runs on 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings. Mike Lieberthal went 3 for 4 with a home run for an offense that was otherwise rather anemic. The Phils managed only eight hits, while striking out eight times. The 'pen gave up one hit in 1 1/3 innings.

Wednesday: Los Angeles 4, Phillies 0

The offensive woes continue. Only seven hits, while striking out 11 times (34 times in the first three games of the series). The hot-hitting Mike Lieberthal is moved to the cleanup spot in the lineup, and goes 1 for 4. He's hitting .354. Vicente Padilla takes the loss (3-3), giving up four runs in six innings. The bullpen gave up only one hit in two innings.

Thursday: Phillies 4, Los Angeles 1

The Phillies managed a split in the four-game series behind Brandon Duckworth's steady performance. He lasted only five innings -- 97 pitches -- but gave up only one unearned run on seven hits. He struck out seven, and walked none. The bullpen was solid again, giving up only two hits in four innings. The offense was, again, shaky, picking up only five hits and striking out another 8 times.. The 5 through 9 hitters went 0 for 15 with only two walks.

Friday: San Diego 5, Phillies 4 (10 innings)

The offense made the most of things when they made contact Friday night, scoring four runs on only seven hits. The Phillies got six innings of three-run baseball out of Kevin Millwood, and Cormier and Silva followed with three innings of no-hit, two-walk pitching. After claiming a 4-3 lead in the top of the 10th, they handed the game over to the highly-combustible Jose Mesa, who proceeded to give up three hits and a walk in one-third of an inning, taking the loss in a heartbreaking 5-4 defeat.

Saturday: Phillies 5, San Diego 4 (10 innings)

This time, the Phillies made their 10th inning run count. Brett Myers pitched wonderfully, giving up one run on five hits in six innings, lowering his ERA to 2.09. Terry Adams struggled for the Phillies, giving up three runs in 1/3 inning, but the rest of the 'pen went 3 2/3, giving up just two hits, as the Phillies climbed to 3-3 on the West Coast swing. A struggling Pat Burrell (.211) was dropped to seventh in the lineup.

Sunday: Phillies 3, San Diego 1

They kept it at nine frames to close out the weekend, as the Phillies took another series. The Phillies continued to struggle offensively -- only five hits -- but were again carried by their pitching in this 3-1 victory. Randy Wolf (4-2) went six innings, giving up just one run on two hits. He struck out six. After Adams walked the only man he faced on four pitches, Cormier, Silva, and Mesa combined to close out the final three innings on only one hit. Placido Polanco -- activated from the DL earlier in the week -- went 1 for 4 with a run-scoring double, and scored a run, bringing his average to .319. Pat Burrell and Mike Lieberthal got the day off.

What we've learned

The Phillies are 4-3 through the first seven games of this 10-game, 10-day road trip. I thought before the trip started that six wins would be a great trip; a 2-1 series in Arizona will give them that. Some things have become apparent on the trip. First, despite their apparent struggles, the offense is still averaging three runs and seven hits per game on the trip. Not great by any stretch of the imagination, but not awful either. Secondly, the Phillies are being carried by their pitching. In seven games, the starters have put up four quality starts (six innings or more, three or fewer hits) -- Brandon Duckworth's start may have been a fifth, if he could have gone another inning. But the bullpen is carrying the team, amazingly enough. On this trip, the 'pen has thrown 19 innings, giving up only 15 hits and four earned runs. That's an ERA -- simple math in my head -- of 2.00 and a WHIP of 1.11. Those numbers include the poor outings of Adams and Mesa.

That's light years better that we ever could have expected of the bullpen in Spring Training. Rheal Cormier has not given up a run since he got blasted for five in his first outing of the year on April 3 -- that's nine games and 12 2/3 innings. Turk Wendell has come back from injury and has pitched 8 2/3 IP of shutout baseball. And while Mesa can be frustratingly inconsistant, he has nine saves in 11 chances. One has to assume that the offense will, at some point, wake up. If it does, and the pitching continues anywhere near the pace it is currently on, it could be a fun summer.

Next up: 3 in the desert. A preview later, if I have time...

First thing first...

I am back. A big "thank you" for all of you who e-mailed me or left a comment concerning my father. It was nice to know that your thoughts were with us last week. For those concerned, the surgery went as well as they could have hoped, and my father was released from the hospital yesterday. Needless to say, it was a very long week, but he is now home and resting, waiting for that afternoon game on the Extra Innings package. (Lucky bastard!)

And back to what I do best...or at least reasonably well...