Where Are We Now?

While the baseball world is still abuzz with the amazing accomplishment of the Phillies' ace pitcher, a disconcerting trend in the team's batters box is certainly keeping hitting coach Milt Thompson and his manager Charlie Manuel up at night.

"I used to think I got to the park early," Phillies hitting coach Milt Thompson said of Halladay this spring. "But I get here at 6:15 [a.m.], and he's already on his second shirt."

Milt might be out-sweating Halladay pretty soon if the Phils don't start hitting. In 6 out of their last 8 games the Phils have NO earned runs-- even the lone run they mustered in Hallday's perfect game, 1-0 win was unearned.

They are now 4 wins and 8 losses in their last 12 games and have scored a sum of 5 runs in those 8 losses, a staggering 1.6 runs per game for one of the most menacing lineups in baseball!

Granted, injuries to Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco and even Chase Utley's flu haven't helped, but things have gotten totally out-of-hand. Even Charlie Manuel's closed door meeting last week didn't seem to make a dent in the armor of offensive futility.

The Phillies knew they'd be reliant on hitting this year, even before injuries to key pitchers Joe Blanton, J.C. Romero, J.A. Happ, Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson.

The exciting success of Roy Halladay thusfar and the reassuring commitment to Ryan Howard for the next several years shouldn't cloud the goal: to win baseball games and pennants.

Are we in the next era of team greatness or the post-achievement chapter of individual accomplishments?

Is this season about winning or about the Phils twin towers of 'H' power: Halladay chasing the Cy Young and Howard going for (literal) gold?

What made the Phillies so endearing and so near to our hearts was the nucleus of home-grown organization guys making good, culminating into a surprisingly talented and capable core: Rollins, Hamels, Utley, Howard, Burrell, Ruiz, Madson, Myers and Shane Victorino (save 36 games) had only ever played major league ball with the Phils. These guys jelled and emerged at the same time to form a fierce new Phillies attitude of winning and enthusiastic competitive edge.

Now, a little older and with nothing left to prove, they have to dig deep and find motivation once again.

This time 2 years ago, from May 25th-30th, the 2008 Phils were on a 5-game winning streak. That streak concluded with a 12-3 pounding of Florida and included a 20-5 stomping of Colorado, who had knocked them out of the playoffs the year before. That Phillies team scored 60 runs in those 5 games (12 per game) and won 12 of 14 during this stretch exactly 2 years ago. They went on to win the World Series, ending the worst drought among professional sports cities. I was there when they clinched the title. It felt like fate, like the culmination of enthusiastic competition blended beautifully with talent. It was the transformation of heartache and losing into something wonderful, totally fresh and new.

The 2010 Phillies, some richer and some new, have 113 games to define themselves and their season. Is this team hungry for more glory or an echo in the tailspin of the glory days?

3 Pitchers, 1 Night

3 Starting pitchers took the mound for their respective teams in 3 separate MLB games Friday and the results may be telling about the future of the Phillies' season:

1) Barry Zito for S.F., 2) Cliff Lee for Seattle and 3) Kyle Kendrick for the Phillies.

1) Stacked Deck:

Barry Zito is off to the best start of his career and with Friday's 8 inning, 2 run win over Colorado improved to 4-0 with a 1.53 ERA. What could that possibly mean to the Phillies, who were playing nearly 3,000 miles away in a different time zone? What Zito means for S.F., if he can maintain anything resembling this pace, is presently the premiere rotation in the NL with Lincecum (2008 & 2009 CY Young, 4-0, 1.27), Cain (1-1, 2.84), Jonathan Sanchez (2-1, 1.85) and Zito (4-0, 1.53). That spells trouble for the competition, especially in a postseason series, where no 5th starter is needed.

2) Remember Me?

Cliff Lee, the 2008 AL Cy Young Award winner, struck out 8, walked none, went to a three-ball count just twice in 25 batters and threw a first-pitch strike 19 times in his season debut for Seattle. The Phillies who chose to look over their shoulder at their former comrade got a glimpse of the professionalism and control they gave away for a few 2nd-run prospects, a move former Phil and future Hall-of-Famer Curt Schilling called, "The stupidest thing the Phillies have ever done." If the playoffs started today, instead of Halladay-Lee, which they had in their hands, the Phillies rotation would be: Halladay (5-1, 1.47), followed by... Cole Hamels (2-2, 5.28)... ? In short, Friday's season debut was a reminder to Philly fans how much gold the Phils flushed away in Clifton Phifer Lee, last year's postseason superstar and World Series Yankee killer. Remember, whether the Phils' front office wants you to or not, Lee's '09 postseason performance: 5 games, 2 complete, 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA, 33 S.O. and 6 BB.

3) The Case of the Wrong Kyle:

Kyle Kendrick was slaughtered by the Mets Friday for 4 runs in 5 innings ballooning his ERA to 7.61. Curiously, the Phils chose to turn back the clock in re-employing Kendrick as a starter after pulling the plug on him late in '08 and banishing him to the minors for the '09 season. Rather, they could be looking to the future with rising star Kyle Drabek, who they traded this off-season. Drabek dazzled with 5 2/3 innings of scoreless work in his latest minor league start and did not allow a hit until the 4th inning. Drabek struck out 7 and allowed 2 hits to pick up his 3rd win this year. Kyle Kendrick has none.

note: Madson's Postgame Outburst Costly

Madson injured the toe after he blew a save Wednesday in San Francisco. He said he slipped walking down a flight of stairs leading from the dugout to the clubhouse. He then kicked a metal folding chair. He said he felt like he stubbed his toe, but realized it was worse when he woke up Thursday morning and had difficulty walking.