Soft

Thank goodness the Phils are into the soft part of their schedule.

The Inky reports Charlie Manuel is completely mystified by the failure to launch by his starting lineup, intact for the first time this season. Well, frankly, he shouldn't be; nearly everyone told him this team would struggle offensively. For this lineup to produce a lot of guys were going to have to rebound from poor seasons a year ago.

None of them has.

So we continue to get outcomes like the recent losses by Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, both of whom pitched more than well enough to win their last starts.

As for Danys Baez, the loser last night, he had one good outing in a 19-inning game in which the opposition was probably too tired to swing at anything thrown their way including his hittable stuff. Surely there is someone down on the farm who can match this has-been!