With tonight's start by Brett Myers kicking off the 12th trip through the rotation this season, it's time to consider a question that will likely follow the Phillies throughout the season.

Is the rotation strong enough to propel the Phillies to a second division title?

(The question isn't: can this rotation pitch the Phils to a World Series? Let's just worry about the regular season first. Anything can happen once the postseason arrives, so don't even think about it right now).

Here are the numbers as of today:

1) The Phils rotation is 12th out of 16 National League staffs with a 4.59 ERA.

2) Phillies starters have allowed opponents to score 181 runs, the third worst mark in the league.

3) Opposing batters are hitting .282 off of Phillies starters. Only Pittsburgh has a worse mark.

4) Phillies starters are giving up an average of 1.43 walks and hits per inning pitched, ninth in the NL.

5) Phillies starters have combined for 17 wins, tied for eighth in the NL.

On the other hand. . .

Phillies starters have pitched more innings than every NL club except St. Louis. So as mediocre-to-poor as their numbers may be, the fact remains that they are staying in games, and they are handing the ball to the bullpen with a chance to win.

Here's a stat that I find fairly impressive: since losing to the Nationals 11-6 on Opening Day, the Phillies haven't allowed an opponent to score double digits in runs. Conversely, the Mets, who have one of the better staff ERA's in the league, have allowed opponents to score in double digits six times. The Braves, also among the NL Leaders, have done so three times.

To me, that means Phillies pitchers are keeping the team in games.

Is that enough?

I think it could be, given these prerequisites:

1) Cole Hamels continues to be Cole Hamels: I think there is a high probability of this. He's the one guy you don't really have to worry about, save for an injury.

2) Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick continues to do what they do: What they do is this -- limit damage, avoid crooked numbers, consistently give the Phils a chance to win (They've won seven of Kendrick's last eight starts). I'd say there's a pretty good probability of this as well.

3) Brett Myers improves: The Phillies entered the season hoping he'd be a second ace. Now, they are just hoping that he can get his ERA down into the mid-4's.

4) The fifth spot doesn't implode: This team could make the playoffs even if Adam Eaton's ERA creeps back up into the 6's -- see last year -- but it won't be a comfortable ride. But if Eaton can be the guy we've seen his past two appearances, I think they'll get enough production out of the No. 5 spot to improve on last season's win total. The wild card, of course, is Kris Benson.

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Tonight, Myers goes up against Mark Hendrickson, a former Sixers draft pick.

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Weather is supposed to be in the 80's and sunny all afternoon, so it should be a good night for baseball.

Shane Victorino isn't a patient hitter. It kind of fits with his personality. But over the past couple weeks, he appears to have become more disciplined at the plate. When he was struggling early in the season, he was swinging at any pitch that came close to the plate. The result were strikeouts, and a lot of weakly hit balls that went for easy outs.

But after going 3-for-4 last night, he has a 10-game hitting streak. He has reached base 50 percent of the time over the last two weeks. He has struck out just once during that timeframe.

I talked to a few different people about Victorino's progress at the plate. Charlie Manuel brought up Jimmy Rollins' name. Early in his career, Rollins only had a sliver of the plate discipline that he has today, and his numbers illustrate that.

Keep in mind that Victorino is only in his third season as a regular major league player. His numbers are actually better than Rollins' were in his third full season in the majors.

I'm not saying Shane Victorino will be the National League MVP five years from now. It's just interesting.

Here's the story in today's paper.

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The way this offense has been hitting the ball, there is probably no good time for an off day. That said, a day of rest before quite possibly the biggest series of May isn't a bad thing.

Chase Utley had one of the most impressive home runs of the season last night, crushing a fastball down the middle into the second deck in right field.

Adam Eaton picked up his first win. And though he wasn't as sharp as he was six days ago against Houston, Charlie Manuel seemed pleased with the performance.

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As of about five minutes ago, Chase Utley was 100,000 votes ahead of Chipper Jones for the lead among all major leaguers in fan All Star balloting. So either Utley's hot start to the season has raised his national profile, or he's got a reallllllly big group of family and friends who all have access to the internet.

Either way. . .

As one intrepid commenter has already pointed out, Chris Coste is not starting tonight. Manuel said yesterday Coste likely would start tonight. But Ruiz got the start instead. No rhyme or reason. As the kids say, it is what it is.

. . .Pat Burrell's back in the line-up. His official injury was announced in the press box, and relayed to you, as "left neck stiffness." Which begs the question: was that his throwing neck, or his non-throwing neck? Burrell seemed fine today. He joked that his dog had the pillow two nights ago, leading to the stiffness. I think he was joking, anyway.

I will fully admit to being skeptical of Kyle Kendrick prior to the start of this season, and I know I wasn't the only one. He'd pitched just a half a season in the big leagues, and his numbers were hardly dominant. But a third of the way through this season, perhaps it is time to re-examine that skepticism.

So here we go:

-Opponents are hitting .299 against him.

-His 4.84 ERA is nearly a run higher than it was last season.

-He is allowing 1.53 walks/hits per inning pitched, tied with Jamie Moyer for the worst figure among Phillies starters, and 48th among 66 NL starters with at least 40 innings pitched.

But. . .

-The Phillies have won seven of his last eight starts and are 8-3 in games he pitches this season.

-Since allowing 11 runs in 7 1/3 innings in his first two starts of the season, Kendrick is 3-1 with a 4.65 ERA and has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.6-to-1.

-He hasn't recorded a loss since April 16.

-He's allowed fewer than four runs in five of his last six starts.

Kendrick has said repeatedly this season that his main goal is to put his team in a position to win. And, for the most part, he has done that. With 11 starts under his belt, he's essentially a third of the way through the season. Combined with 20 starts last year, he has close to a full major league season under his belt.

Is it time to put the worries about Kendrick to rest?

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Chris Coste will likely start tonight at catcher, Charlie Manuel said yesterday.

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Pat Burrell's neck condition was simply a stiff neck, something like you'd experience after sleeping on it wrong. It's easy to see how something like that would affect a major league hitter. I'd guess he'll be back in the line-up tonight, though Greg Dobbs had a solid performance in his stead last night.

Just received word that Pat Burrell has been scratched from tonight's line-up with left neck stiffness, so if you are wondering why Greg Dobbs is in left field, there you have it.

Game just is underway here. . .

After a couple of set-backs that appeared to put him severely behind the curve in his quest to make it back to the big leagues, it sounds like Kris Benson is progressing steadily again. The Phillies just sent word to reporters that the veteran right-hander will likely make his first minor league start on Sunday for Class A Clearwater. I didn't talk to assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. directly, but it sounds like this is a very, very encouraging step. Benson threw 75 pitches today in an extended spring training game, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 4 while walking 1.

"It was encouraging for him and it was encouraging for us," Amaro said.

Benson was originally expected to contend for a spot in the Phillies rotation in may. But after a bout with biceps tendinitis and a strained groin, he seemed stuck in a perpetual "day-to-day" state. There's no word on when he might be ready to seriously contend for a major league start. A lot will depend on Sunday, I'm sure.

By the way, Amaro said Benson's velocity was between 86 and 90 miles an hour, which is better than it has been. Previously, he'd been topping out at 88 miles an hour.

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Other notes from pre-game interviews. . .

Carlos Ruiz is starting at catcher, while Geoff Jenkins moves back to right field. Chris Coste and So Taguchi both started and played well last night.

Down in the dugout yesterday, Charlie Manuel was asked by one of my brethren what it would be like for this Phillies team to actually cement itself into first place. Every one laughed. The good thing about this franchise is that it has been in contention for the better part of the last four seasons. The bad part, of course, is that you've never seen them really catch fire and put some distance between themselves and the .500 mark.

I mention this because last night's win improved them to 29-24. A win tonight would put them six games over .500 for the first time this season. With nine more games at home, including three against the NL East leading Marlins, now would seem to be a good time for the Phillies to make a move that would give them some breathing room for the rest of the first half of this season.

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I got into this a little in the game story last night, and I think I'll try to explore it a little more today: It's all well and good when Chase Utley hits 6 RBIs, but the only way this offense can rattle off nights like the past couple is when someone besides Rollins is hitting at the top of the order (Victorino) and someone is hitting at the bottom of the order (Feliz). If you look, the upswing in the offensive production of Victorino and Feliz has mirrored the upswing of the Phillies offense. . .

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Just a quick shout out to Jamie Moyer. Seems like every time he pitches, he gets overshadowed by a huge offensive night. First it was Jayson Werth's three home run night. Now it's the 20-spot the Phils hung on the Rockies. But Moyer has quietly put together three really good starts in a row.

Every time he pitches, Manuel seems to compliment him by saying he turned in another "Moyer like" performance. Are "Moyer like" performances going to win a World Series by themselves? No. But if he can keep them up, the Phillies will at least be in a position to win most games he throws.

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Yesterday morning I rambled a little bit about Cole Hamels performance at night versus his performance during the day. I won't re-hash it all here, but I talked to him yesterday and he really didn't have much of a theory to offer. Essentially, both he and pitching coach Rich Dubee told me that it is too early in his career to really make any definitive statement about what may or may not be a trend. Bronson Arroyo of the Reds has said repeatedly he doesnt react well to day games, but Hamels said it doesn't make a lick of difference to him. Here it is in the notebook. . .

I've noticed an alarming trend at Citizen's Bank Ballpark this season. Countless young married couples - most of whom seem like good people - have fooled themselves into thinking that it is socially acceptable to wear his and hers Chase Utley jerseys to Phillies games.

I just took a random poll around the press box, and my feelings have been confirmed: it's pathetic.

Hey, I know what it's like to be young and in love. Actually, no I don't. But I can imagine what it is like. And I'm sure it makes you do crazy things like frolicking through fields of wildflowers and walking hand in hand and, of course, quilting.

But I draw the line at his and hers jerseys.

HUSBAND: Honey, the Phils have a big series against the Rockies tonight. We should go.

WIFE: Babe, we were supposed to watch the season fianle of A Wedding Story together.

HUSBAND: But it's Memorial Day! And the weather is beautiful! I can almost smell the hot dogs now!

WIFE: Well, OK. But only if I can completely embarass you by making you wear the same Chase Utley jersey as me!

I'm not judging you, fellas. I'm just warning you: it's a good way to get your Man Card permanently revoked.

Besides, she looks cute in the jersey.

You don't.

About a half hour before game time here. A military brass band is playing. Feels like Memorial Day. Quite possibly the best weather we've had for a home game thus far this season.

First, the line-up:

Only real big change is So Taguchi starting in right field for the first time this season. Geoff Jenkins has been hot, but he doesn't hit lefties well at all, and the Rockies have Jorge De La Rosa tonight. Then again, just about everyone has hit Jorge De La Rosa well this season.

1. Jimmy Rollins SS

2. Shane Victorino CF

3. Chase Utley 2B

4. Ryan Howard 1B

5. Pat Burrell LF

6. Pedro Feliz 3B

7. Chris Coste C

8. So Taguchi RF

9. Jamie Moyer LHP

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Chuck Notes. . .

No real big news to come out of pre-game. Manuel said he made the switch to Taguchi in order to get him some more at-bats. Taguchi has struggled this season, but he has fewer than 50 at bats, so he hasn't had a real chance to get in a groove. His last start came May 8 in Arizona.

Manuel on the opportunity in this 10-game home stand as far as making up some ground in the NL East race: "Actually I’d like to see us get about a five, six, seven game lead and see what we can do. I’d love to see that. We’ve never got out front. It’d be great to have a lead sometime and see how good we can play.

We've nver been 10, 12, 15 games over .500. I'd like to see us get there one time early."