The wait is over.

The eight months of buildup from the time players reported until spring training through the long, winding road that is the major league baseball regular season is over. The favorites to represent the National League in World Series - and the likely favorite to win that World Series - will begin the 2011 postseason early Saturday evening at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phils will play host to the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of the NLDS at 5:07 p.m. on Saturday. Roy Halladay will take the mound for the Phillies; the Cards starter is currently TBD, but the best bet is it's lefty Jaime Garcia.


The Phils and Cards will meet at Citizens Bank Park again on Sunday for Game 2 at 8:07 p.m. That will be Cliff Lee's first playof game as a Phillie since Game 5 of the 2009 World Series against the Yankees.

There is no time for Game 3 (Cole Hamels' start) on Tuesday in St. Louis, because by that point, one or both of the American League Series could be over... or could be still going on. So don't expect those game times until it's clear how many games will be played on Tuesday. (If both AL series are finished, the Phils would almost certainly be back in the prime time slot, after 8 p.m.).

If a Game 4 (Roy Oswalt) is necessary in the Phils-Cards series, that will be played in St. Louis on Wednesday, with a Game 5 on tap for Friday at Citizens Bank Park (should that be necessary, too).


If you really want to look ahead:

The NLCS begins on Sunday Oct. 9 at the team with home field advantage. Game 2 of the NLCS is the next night, Monday, October 10.

Game 1 of the World Series will take place Wednesday, October at the highest National League seed left standing.


But let's not get ahead of ourselves; the Philiies will have their work cut out against the Cards.


There are lots of great story lines, including Ryan Howard going home (he's a .368 hitter with a 1.207 OPS, 9 home runs and 35 RBIs in 26 career games at Busch Stadium), old Houston buddies and veterans without World Series rings Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman going head-to-head (they were teammates for 9 1/2 years with the Astros up until two Julys ago) and, of course, the matchup no one in Philadelphia is excited to see, Brad Lidge against old playoff nemesis Albert Pujols.

Personally, I'm looking forward to what we'll see early on in Game 1: the best pitcher of the last decade (Halladay) against the best hitter of the last decade (Albert Pujols).

Again, Game 1 starts at 5:07 p.m. Pack a sweatshirt, it's supposed to cool down this weekend in South Philly.

If you're not going to the games, they will be televised on TBS.


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I know most of you care about the Phillies and only about the Phillies, but if you want the other game times for the first few games, here goes:

Friday, Sept. 30: Game 1, Rays at Rangers at 5:07 p.m.
Game 1, Tigers at Yankees at 8:37 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 1: Game 1, Diamondbacks at Brewers, 2:07 p.m.
Game 1, Cards at Phils at 5:07 p.m.
Game 2, Rays at Rangers (on TNT) at 7:07 p.m.
Game 2, Tigers at Yankees at 8:37 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 2: Game 2, Diamondbacks at Brewers, 4:37 p.m.
Game 2, Cards at Phils at 8:07 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 3: Game 3, Rangers at Rays at 5:07 p.m.
Game 3, Yankees at Tigers at 8:37 p.m.

Has there ever been a wilder finish to any regular season in the long, storied history of the game of baseball than what went on September 28, 2011?

Does Bud Selig really think an extra playoff round and an extra wild card would improve the game?

Anyway, I digress.

The Phillies knocked the Braves out of the playoffs on Wednesday night and sat and stood, huddled around the big screen TV in the visiting clubhouse at Turner Field, watching the end of the Boston-Baltimore game. They roared when Baltimore tied the game and then won it.

The Boston Red Sox, thought to be the AL favorites to get to the World Series once upon a time, won't even be in the playoffs.

The Phillies, the NL favorites to get to the World Series, will face the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series, beginning Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. (Game times had not been announced as of 1 a.m. Thursday morning).

Here's a little from Ryan Howard following tonight's game.


"This last day of the regular season has been just absolutely crazy," Howard said. "You never knew who was going to do what, but it’s good to see that it’s clear now, who we’re going to play so we can get focused on it. It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be a fun series, so we’re ready for it."

Any more special to play St. Louis for you since that's home?

"I don’t think it’s really set in yet, but I think it will once we actually get it going and get it back to St. Louis," Howard said. "I remember what it was like when I won the Hank Aaron award back in ’06 and I was there to get the award when they were playing Detroit. There was a lot of energy in St. Louis. It’s going to be an exciting series and it’ll be fun to be able to go home."

They're the hot team right now. Is that a good challenge?

"They’ve been playing some great ball," Howard said. "They had to scratch and claw to make it to this point at the end of the season, so they’re a very dangerous team. You can’t take them lightly. For us we just need to do our thing, just focus on ourselves, pitch well, hit well, play good defense."

It's the third time this year, following the all aces cover in spring training and Chooch cover over the summer.

And it's another Gary Smith story. Should be a good one.

Updated: Here's Smith's story, the third installment of his season-long series on the Phillies.






- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

When the Phillies begin the 2011 playoffs on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, Roy Halladay will take the mound. When the Phillies begin the 2011 playoffs on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park, Cliff Lee will take the mound.

So which of those two sentences is correct?

You'll have to read tea leaves or the minds of the Phillies coaching staff to figure it out.

But it's probably a safe guess to assume Roy Halladay will take the ball in Game 1, with Cliff Lee following in Game 2.


For the last month, it's been Halladay followed by Lee. Halladay had his most recent start, Sunday at Citi Field, cut short at 77 pitches.

With just four days away from Game 1 of the NLDS, Charlie Manuel wasn't ready to announce it. Then he said he shouldn't have to.

"I think if you’re good baseball people you should able to see how we’re setting it up," Manuel said. "I shouldn’t have to answer that."

So Halladay, right?

Halladay threw a no-hitter in Game 1 of the NLDS last season. He started Opening Day this year, with Lee following in the second game of the season.

Unofficially, Halladay is the ace of the Phillies ace-laden pitching staff. But the numbers for Halladay and Lee this season have been frighteningly close.

In 32 starts, Halladay is 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA in 233 2/3 innings. He has a 1.04 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched), 220 strikeouts and 35 walks, and he leads all NL pitchers with a 6.29 K/BB ratio and with eight complete games. He also has one shutout.

In 32 starts, Lee is 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA in 232 2/3 innings. He has a 1.03 WHIP, 238 strikeouts, 42 walks and a 5.67 K/BB ratio. He has six complete games and a NL-best six shutouts.

In September, Halladay is 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA in five starts. In September, Lee is 2-1 with a 1.42 ERA in five starts.

Even if Lee is arguably the hotter hand right now, it's pretty close and probably not worth having him hop ahead of Halladay in the current order of the rotation.

But it is interesting that the decision hasn't been made yet.

"We don't even know who we're playing yet," pitching coach Rich Dubee said on the delay. "It’s a real tough decision. But I don’t know if it’s a tough decision as much as it’s a good decision."

With two games remaining in the season, the Phils most likely first round opponent is the Arizona Diamondbacks. That matchup would become official if the Braves and Brewers win tonight and the Cardinals and D-backs lose.

If you're curious, Halladay is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in one start against Arizona this season (you may recall it was the game he lost a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning). Lee, meanwhile, was 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts vs. the Diamondbacks this season.

The Phillies have lost eight straight games for the first time since Terry Francona's final season as manager.

In the 2000 season, the Phillies lost 97 games. It was one of the worst teams in the long, losing history of Phillies baseball.

The 2011 season has seen the Phillies run away with the best record in baseball and collect their 5th straight NL East division title with relative ease.

For the 2000 Phillies, losing eight straight was almost expected. For the 2011 Phillies, who hadn't lost more than two games in a row in a three month stretch this summer, dropping eight in a row is crazy talk.... especially a week before the playoffs begin.


A team once on pace to cruise past the 100-win plateau and surpass the franchise record of 101 wins, set in 1976 and '77, has been stuck at 98 wins for the last week.

With that, here is Charlie Manuel, unedited, following back-to-back losses to the Mets.

"I’m sitting there watching it. I don’t know what I can do about it. I’d say our team is out of sync. We’re definitely out of focus. You guys see how we’re playing. The teams we’re losing to, if you look at our record against them this year – there ain’t too much going our way right now.”

“I don’t know what to say. I sit there and watch and I put the lineup in. We’ve had – actually when you start messing with your lineup – I’ve said this over and over and you guys have heard me for five years – always talking about rest players, do this, do that – all of a sudden we want to get our guys who are hurting well, stuff like that. All of a sudden we start giving them two and three days off, on one, off one, start deciding when to play them. Look around, and pretty soon you lose your mojo. You lose your time and you lose your rhythm. I know what I’m talking about. I’ve been in the damn game for 50 years. I know exactly what I’m talking about. I preach about it every day. People hear it but they look at me like I’m stupid or crazy. Maybe I am.

But that’s what’s happening. That’s what you’re seeing. We’re out of sync. We’re out of focus. We’re searching and nothing’s going right. We jump out there tonight and get six guys on base the first two innings and we score two runs. The other night we got five straight hits and we scored two runs. What the heck? We’re supposed to be scoring three or four runs in a situation like that, but we make mistakes. When we do score two or three runs, then our pitching falls apart. We’re way better than that. Really. We’ve showed we’re better than that. We’ve got 98 wins. We were set to have the biggest year of any Philly team and we got out of sync.

If you want to know the truth with our lineup? It’s like you’ve got seven relievers down there and you keep changing relievers and everything, they’ll find somebody to beat. Does that make sense? That’s kind of like our lineup is. We keep bouncing around, we keep doing things, we keep getting well and all of that – we’ve played all year with people hurting. Every day you play the game of baseball, you hurt. Somehow, you hurt. You have aches and pains – ankle, knee, elbow, whatever. Headaches. Believe me. You can ask anybody who ever played this game. I played this game for 20 years, I can tell you. When you lose focus and you get out of sync, you’ve got to get it back.

Do we have time? I don’t know. We’ll see. But also, too, it’ll be a test of how good we are. How about that? This will be a good test. This is the first time this year that we’ve actually gone bad. And it’s not a real good time to go bad. But at the same time – we’ll see. This is a good measuring stick for us. You might not like it, but it is. We created that ourselves, so we’ll see. That’s all I’ve got to say."


Wheeww. Take a breath.

You can't watch video of the majority of Manuel's soliloquy right here.

Hunter Pence had played in every inning of every game since joining the Phillies two months ago. Charlie Manuel planned on keeping that streak alive on Tuesday, when the Phillies hosted Washington in a day-night doubleheader at Citizens Bank Park.

But in the sixth inning of the matinee with the Nats, Brandon Moss pinch ran for Pence in the sixth inning of a scoreless game. Pence sat out game Game 2, too.

The diagnosis: left patella tendinitis.


Pence will have a precautionary MRI today. He appeared to have tweaked his left knee while running out an infield single in the first inning of Tuesday’s matinee against the Nationals.

“I’ve had patellar tendinitis for forever so it just flared up a little bit,” Pence said. “They want me to go get an MRI. I didn’t really feel it necessary, but I’m going to do what they want me to do.”

Pence believes he can return as soon as tonight.

“It’s fine,” Pence said. “This is the first day in Philadelphia it’s flared up – it’s one of those things. It’s part of the game. I don’t even really like to talk about it because there’s a difference between injuries and being hurt. Pain is something that you deal with and you don’t talk about. It’s not that big a deal.”

Pence's first time out of the starting lineup resulted in the Phillies fourth straight loss. It's the first time all season they've lost four straight at home.

The Phils haven't lost five straight anywhere - home or away - this season.

Without Pence - or Ryan Howard, who remains sidelined after getting an anti-inflammatory shot on his ailing left foot Monday - the Phils were shut out for the second time in three days. They've scored three runs or less in 12 of their last 13 games.

"I don’t think any of us like the way it’s going right now," Pence said. "Hopefully it’s a little bit of a wake-up call and I think that could ultimately be a good thing to go through this now and come out of it. We’re going to find a way to make it better."

"There’s intensity. We’re not the best losers here. The Phillies, they want to win. Charlie wants to win – all these guys. I think it’s going to pick up here pretty soon because ultimately it’s embarrassing to go out and play like that."

Hunter Pence legged out an infield single in the first inning of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Nationals.

Immediately after the play, Pence appeared to be hobbling a bit. When he went out to play right field in the top half of the second, Pence still did not to appear to be at full strength.

But Pence remained in the game until the sixth inning, when Brandon Moss pinch ran for him.

In between games, Charlie Manuel said his starting right fielder was fine.

"He's a little tight and sore. He said he's fine," Manuel said. "He's all right. His knee is a little sore or something from sliding and things."

So will Pence play in Game 2?

"Yeah, he'll be in there," Manuel said.

About 90 minutes later, when the lineups were unveiled, Pence's name was not in the Phillies starting nine. It was the first time he has not in the starting lineup in 49 games since arriving to the Phillies on July 30.

Before he came out of the first game in the sixth inning Tuesday, Pence had played every inning of every game (428 2/3 innings) since joining the Phillies.

Pence, who went 2-for-3 in the matinee game, gave reporters the thumbs up in between games, saying he was fine.

Since the Phillies have clinched a playoff berth, the NL East and home field advantage, it really doesn't make any sense to play anyone if they don't have to at this point. So perhaps it's no big deal.

Stay tuned.

To the victors go the spoils.... and the chance to rest their starters before the playoffs.

But Charlie Manuel's lineup on Sunday, the day after the Phillies clinched their fifth straight NL East division, was full of regulars. In part because he wants to keep his players sharp and in part because the Phils want to give the Cardinals, who are vying for the Wild Card, their very best.

But the Phillies lineup had one notable exception: Ryan Howard.


Howard was out of the starting nine for the fifth time in the last 12 games and the sixth time since August 23 with left foot bursitis.

Since there is 13 days before the playoffs begin, the Phils are attempting to rid Howard of the problem once and for all: Charlie Manuel said Howard will have an anti-inflammatory shot Monday.

"He'll probably miss two or three games," Manuel said. "That should help him some for the rest of the season."

Since the first time he was out of the lineup because of his left foot, Howard has hit .222 (16-for-72) with a .912 OPS, seven home runs, and 17 RBIs in his last 22 games.



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Here's tonight's lineup:

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Shane Victorino, CF
3. Chase Utley, 2B
4. Hunter Pence, RF
5. Raul Ibanez, LF
6. Placido Polanco, 3B
7. Ross Gload, 1B
8. Brian Schneider, C
9. Cole Hamels, P

The pitching.

It's always been about the pitching.

From the first days of spring training, when Roy Halladay threw on a mound next to Cole Hamels, when Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt traded pitching and hunting stories, until the the time the 2011 season officially comes to an end, it will be about the pitching staff the Phillies have showcased in arguably the best summer in the franchise's 129 years of existence.

Roy Oswalt, the only name of the above quartet that isn't on the short list for the National League Cy Young Award consideration, threw seven shutout innings as the Phillies steamrolled over St. Louis 9-2 on Saturday night and clinched the National League East crown for the fifth straight season.

The Phillies 3.00 team ERA leads baseball. Their starting pitchers' combined ERA of 2.86 also leads baseball (it's a good ways ahead of San Francisco's 3.18 ERA).

But what about just the quartet of Halladay and Lee (two former Cy Young Award winners) and Oswalt and Hamels (two former postseason MVPs)? That foursome is 56-29 with a 2.66 ERA in 110 starts this season.

They've combined for seven shutouts and 17 complete games.

Three of Phillies starters - Hamels, Lee and Halladay - rank in the top seven in the NL in ERA. That same trio ranks first, third and fourth, respectively, in the NL in WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched).

The Phillies have played 150 games. In 110 of those games, they've sent an ace to the mound.

It's just as they drew it up in spring training.

“I think they’re better than what was advertised,” proud pitching coach Rich Dubee said Saturday night. “It’s one thing sot say you’re capable of doing certain stuff. But the way these guys have been gone at it the whole year, they’ve gone beyond those expectations and taken it to a new level.”

"They’ve lived up to the hype and more,"said Raul Ibanez, who capped Saturday's win with an eighth-inning grand slam. "They have been phenomenal. One day we’ll be able to tell our grandkids we were a part of a team with a staff like this."

Throw rookie Vance Worley into the mix and the numbers are just as stellar: the fivesome of Halladay, Hamels, Lee, Oswalt and Worley is 67-31 with a 2.69 ERA.

Ryan Howard has been bothered by bursitis in his left ankle since early August.

On Friday, he was out of the Phillies starting lineup for the fourth time in the last 10 games.

While he said the days off help, Howard doesn't believe his ankle will get completely better until he has a full offseason to rest. And he didn't rule out the possibility of getting a cortisone shot before the postseason begins in two weeks.

"That cold be a possibility," Howard said. "Right now it's still early enough to where hopefully we can clinch (the NL East) and we'll discuss that and see if it's the best option. "The pain is probably the most constant thing. Some days the range of motion in my ankle will be looser some days than other days. The pain is probably the biggest constant."

Howard's game-winning RBI double in the 10th inning Thursday night gave the Phils a 2-1 win over Florida. Howard had been hitless in 16 at-bats before that at-bat.

Howard is hitting .255 with a .950 OPS, four home runs and 10 RBIs in 15 games this month.

Click on that image to make it bigger. Click on it twice to make it even BIGGER.



In interleague play, the Phils will host Boston (May 18-20) and Tampa (June 22-24). They'll travel to Baltimore (June 8-10), Minnesota (June 12-14) and Toronto (June 15-17).

For the third straight year, they close out the season on the road: three game in Miami, then the final three at Washington.

They'll open 2012 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh on Thursday, April 5.


The big winner here? Baltimore. I don't believe the Phils have played there since 2006.

We've seen Phillies fans take over Washington in recent years. It's safe to say a weekend series at Camden Yards will do pretty good business for Peter Angelos and Co.

Michael Martinez and Pete Orr will start at shortstop and second base, respectively, when the Phillies attempt to finish off a four-game sweep at Miller Park today.


The backup second baseman today? Third baseman Placido Polanco. The backup third baseman? Catcher Carlos Ruiz. The backup shortstop? Jimmy Rollins.


Rollins, whose last start came three weeks ago today, made his first appearance in a game in 20 days on Saturday night. He replaced Wilson Valdez in the top of the 10th inning, two innings after Valdez suffered a left hamstring injury.

The plan for Rollins is to return to the starting lineup Monday in Houston; he's available to play today, but Charlie Manuel wanted to give his starting shortstop one more day.

Valdez may also be available tomorrow. He was in good spirits Sunday morning.

"I think maybe tomorrow," Valdez said of when he's be able to play.

Of course, Chase Utley isn't even with the team; he's back in Philly - and may remain there for the rest of the trip - following Wednesday's concussion.

If anyone out there thought way back in spring training that Michael Martinez and Pete Orr would start at second and short on Sept. 11, when most teams are in the middle of a pennant race, well.... no one thought that.

Following Saturday night's extra-inning win over the NL Central-leading Brewers, the Phils hold a 12-game lead in the NL East - the largest lead of any division leader in baseball. Because of that, they can afford to continue to play it safe with an assortment of injuries. (Ryan Howard has rested his left foot in two of the last three games).

And this is pretty funny, too: the Phils can clinch a spot in the postseason with a win and a Cardinals loss today... with Martinez and Orr at short and second.

Magic number to clinch a playoff spot: 2

Magic number to clinch NL East: 7

While the Phils prep to play their second game of a seven-game road trip in Milwaukee, Chase Utley remains in Philly.

Utley will have an ImPACT test on Saturday, which will test the severity of the concussion he suffered when he was hit by an Eric O'Flaherty pitch on the side of his helmet on Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Although GM Ruben Amaro Jr. initially said he thought it was a "very, very mild" concussion, the Phils clarified Friday that they won't know the severity until they get results from the ImPACT test.

In addition they said Utley has not experienced headaches on the night of or in the days since the injury.

A report on CSNPhilly.com earlier today said Utley might not rejoin the Phillies until next weekend, when they start a four-game series with St. Louis at Citizens Bank Park.

Since the Phils enter Friday with a magic number of 4 to make the playoffs and 11 to wrap up both the division and home field throughout the playoffs, there is obviously no need to rush a concussed player back onto the field.

The Phillies, the best team in baseball, begin a four-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers, the second best team in the National League, tonight at Miller Park.

But before we go on with the "PLAYOFF PREVIEW" angle, let's consider this: Brewers ace and former Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke will not pitch in any of the four games.

But before you go feeling like the Phils must be living good because of that, let's look at today's lineup:

1. Shane Victorino, CF

2. Wilson Valdez, SS

3. Placido Polanco, 3B

4. Hunter Pence, RF

5. John Mayberry Jr., 1B

6. Carlos Ruiz, C

7. Ben Francisco, LF

8. Michael Martinez, 2B

9. Cole Hamels, P

Yup, no Chase Utley, no Ryan Howard and no Jimmy Rollins.... because of a concussion, left foot bursitis and a right groin injury, respectively.

According to assistant GM Scott Proefrock, Utley is not likely to play at all in Milwaukee. Utley was hit in the head with a pitch Wednesday night.

He is getting checked out by a concussion specialist in Philly today. And he also needs to have an impact test, which are done 48 hours after the injury. So stay tuned for an update on Utley's status sometime this weekend.

Rollins was activated off the DL today, but he isn't 100 percent back from his groin injury. Charlie Manuel said he has Rollins as his disposal to hit in the pinch tonight, but he would have to use a pinch runner for Rollins.

The Phils activated him just to have an extra body with Utley out.

As for Howard, he's been suffering from left foot bursitis for the last month. Since the Phillies are facing a left-hander (Chris Narveson), Manuel figured it was a good day to get Howard off of his foot.

Howard is 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks in his career against Narveson. Howard has struggled against left-handers in general all season.

Howard in 121 games vs. right-handers: .261 BA, .920 OPS, 28 home runs, 80 RBIs.

Howard in 85 games vs. left-handers: .233, .652 OPS, 3 home runs, 28 RBIs.

Thanks to our research staff (David Hale of the Wilmington News Journal), it's the first game that Howard, Utley and Rollins have been out of the lineup since the last game of the 2009 regular. Since that game wasn't exactly meaningful, the last time before that was on Sept. 12, 2004.

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If you're already looking ahead to the big series in Houston - we kid, the Astros are the worst team in baseball - it should be a fun first two games.

On Monday, Roy Oswalt's first career game as a visitor in Houston will come against long-time Phillies pitcher Brett Myers.

On Tuesday, it's an all-lefty affair: former Phils pitcher J.A. Happ vs. Cole Hamels.

From Jack McCaffery:

PHILADELPHIA --- Chase Utley left the Phillies' 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves Wednesday with a possible concussion, and he will not play for at least the next two games, according to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr.
“The way to describe it is that he didn't really feel 100 percent after getting hit,” Amaro said. “He felt OK right afterward. Then he started feeling a little fuzzy. And so we took the precaution to get him out of the game.”
Utley was hit in the sixth inning, but played in the field in the seventh and eighth before being pinch-hit for by Ben Francisco.
The Phillies will begin a four-game series in Milwaukee tonight. Utley did not make the trip, according to the Phillies, and will see a doctor Thursday.
“He's going to be out a couple of days at least,” Amaro said, adding, “we think this is very, very mild, but we are going to be very cautious with him, obviously.”
Amaro said the Phillies will reactivate Jimmy Rollins (groin) from the disabled list, but are planning to utilize him only as an emergency infielder while Utley undergoes impact tests.



“As I told Chase,” Amaro said, “we're not going to mess with the heart and we are not going to mess with the head. When you get a 90-plus-mile-an-hour fastball off your melon, it's not going to be good. You have to be cautious about it, regardless of what kind of gear you are wearing.”

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Nearly an hour after the Phillies began their game with the Braves and almost three hours after the game was supposed to begin, the team issued an oddly-times press released.

The Phillies announced they had accepted the resignation of assistant general manager Chuck LaMar. LaMar, who joined the organization as the director of pro scouting in October of 2007, has worked for the last three seasons as one of three assistant GMs under general manager and senior vice president Ruben Amaro Jr.

LaMar, a former general manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, oversaw the player development and scouting departments as an assistant GM with the Phillies. Benny Looper and Scott Proefrock are Amaro’s other two assistant GMs.

‘We had a meeting this morning, Benny, Chuck and I,” Amaro said during the fourth inning of Tuesday night game’s. “After that it seemed for Chuck the best situation for him was to go ahead and re-sign.”

Amaro didn’t elaborate much further on the details of LaMar’s departure.

“He’s had some solid contributions to our organization over the last several years,” Amaro said. “I guess the feeling was we gave him the opportunity to pursue other pursuits, either in the game or outside the game.”

Amaro said the Phillies plan on filling the vacancy, but they’re not in any rush.

One name to keep an eye on is Mike Ondo, who has risen through the player development side of the organization’s baseball operations wing. Ondo is currently the team’s director of professional scouting.

Amaro wouldn’t comment when asked whether either the team planned on having LaMar in the organization beyond the 2011 season, labeling such questions as “speculative.”

Here is how instant replay rule is defined by MLB:

Instant Replay Rules: Instant replay applies on home runs calls – fair or foul, where the ball left the playing field or whether a fan interfered with the ball.

The decision to use replay is made by the umpire crew chief, who is also responsible to determine whether or not a call should be reversed.

The standard used by the crew chief is whether there is clear and convincing evidence that the decision on the field was incorrect.

When Cole Hamels was asked about what happened in the Phillies game Saturday night, his answer was pretty typical... and the end of the answer was also pretty revealing.

"I think we have a ton of confidence in the bullpen, but sometimes it doesn’t happen. When you play 162 games, it’s going to happen," Hamels said. "You don’t want to see it, but that’s the way it goes. We’ll get back on it tomorrow, and with Doc pitching, we’ll probably see nine (innings).”

The Phillies are very aware when Roy Halladay's turn is coming up in the rotation and it's hard to imagine any team (save the Detroit Tigers with Justin Verlander) that has more confidence going into a game than the Phillies do with Halladay.

Of course there's good reason for that, namely the two Cy Young Awards that top a decade-long resume of dominance.

But there's more: Halladay prevents losing streaks. Since joining the Phillies, he has been the very definition of a stopper.

Entering Sunday, Halladay has taken the mound 27 times this season. In more than half of those games (14), the game was preceded by a loss.

The Phillies are 12-2 in Halladay starts following a loss. They've won nine straight games when Halladay pitches following defeat. (The last loss: April 15 at Atlanta).

In the two years they've had him atop the rotation, the Phillies are 20-6 in Halladay starts following a loss.

It's not hard to figure out why the Phillies have lost more than two games in a row just twice this season: they send one of their aces to the mound at least four times in a week. That formula begins with Halladay.

Overall, the Phillies are 21-6 in Halladay starts this season.

The Phillies are 43-17 (.717) in the 60 starts Halladay has made since arriving from Toronto 21 months ago.

Halladay will try to add to those gaudy numbers this afternoon in the Phillies final game at Sun Life Stadium, which is being replaced in 2012. Of course, Halladay has had some success in this ballpark, too.

The Phillies will take the field tonight at Sun Life Stadium with 88 wins in their first 134 games - it's the fastest to 88 wins in franchise history.

To put that number into perspective, consider the Phillies of 10 years ago.

In 2001, under first-year manager Larry Bowa, the Phils won finished with 86 wins - 20 more wins than they had in 2000. Bowa was voted National League Manager of the Year.

It was really the turnaround season, the year that was the first chapter to an 11-year run where the team finished 1st or 2nd in the division in 8 of 10 seasons. It was the first time in eight seasons that the Phils had a winning record.

And those Phillies won 86 games, two fewer than the current Phillies had entering Saturday night.

But let's stay with the 2001 season for a minute. The same summer that saw Bowa mold the Phils into winners, Lou Pinella's Seattle Mariners reeled off 116 wins.

In order for the Phillies to reach 116 wins this season, they'd have to win every game from here on out. Beginning tonight, they would have to win 28 straight games.

Through their first 134 games, Seattle already had 96 wins and held an eye-popping 18-game lead in the American League West.

Mike Cameron, who is starting for the Marlins tonight, was the center fielder on that Mariners team, which lost to the Yankees in the ALCS.

"They won't catch it," Cameron laughed Saturday. "I see some of the similarities over there (Phillies). I think the biggest thing for us in 2001, we had about four guys that had career years offensively. Over here, these guys are just dominating on the mound every night, so they only have to get a few runs every night.

"Their starting pitching is a little more strong because they have the power pitching advantage. We only had one guy that was a power pitcher, Freddy Garcia. That played a big factor in everything. I just don’t see anyone that can match up with them."

The Phillies club record for wins in a season is 101. The Phils can play .500 baseball for the rest of the season (14-14) and srtill reach a franchise record 102 wins.

If they win their next two games, they'll return home for a three-game series with the Braves with 90 wins.

Jimmy Rollins took time out of his Thursday morning to catch up with an old friend.

Dontrelle Willis was four years behind Rollins in school; both graduated from Encinal High in Alameda, Calif.

Rollins, who lauded Willis' toughness as a skinny kid on the basketball court playing with older guys as a kid, was disappointed he didn't have the chance to face Willis for the first time in a regular season game since 2007.

But Rollins is in no rush to return from a right groin strain.

Rollins has been taking light ground balls and batting practice this week in Cincinnati. But he hasn't gone through any fielding work that requires him to move to the left or right... and he did some jogging Wednesday, but hasn't run yet.

Rollins is eligible to return from the DL Tuesday.

"Is it possible? Anything is possible," Rollins said of returning Tuesday. "But it's not likely."

Like general manager Ruben Amaro said earlier this week, the goal isn't to get Rollins on the field by any particular date; the goal is to get him back on the field when he's healthy.

With 20 games left before the postseason, the Phillies can't afford to have any setbacks with their Gold Glove-winning shortstop. With a 7 1/2 game lead in the NL East, they can afford to be patient.