Brad Lidge has a funny feeling the Phillies are about to start playing much, much better than they have played the past couple weeks.

I'm sure Phillies fans hope he's right.

The Phillies beat the Rangers last night at Rangers Ballpark, 8-6. Here's why Lidge is optimistic: the offense. The Phillies have scored 15 runs in their last two games. They had scored just 15 in their previous eight games. Chase Utley went 3 for 5 with two doubles and a home run, his first homer since June 13. He is hitting .444 (8 for 18) in his last four games. Ryan Howard hit a two-run home run, his first homer since June 16. Jayson Werth had two RBIs.

The Phillies scored three runs in the second inning to take a 3-2 lead, thanks to a Howard walk and consecutive singles by Greg Dobbs, Pedro Feliz and Werth. It's the first time the Phillies had hits in three consecutive at-bats since June 13, when they collected four in a row in the eighth inning of a 20-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

That's 12 games without stringing together three hits.

"It's about time," Charlie Manuel said.

This team is built around its offense. If it can't score, its pitching isn't good enough to carry it. So Utley, Howard, Jimmy Rollins and others need to start hitting. Lidge thinks they will. Time will tell.

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It looks like the Phillies could skip Brett Myers' turn in the rotation this week.

“He’s trying to find it,” said Charlie Manuel, who had a lengthy talk with Myers yesterday afternoon. “Everything he does, it seems like it doesn’t work. Our game is not an easy game. This game bites you in the ass every day. You’ve seen guys walk up to home plate and look like they can hit everything up there. And that same hitter a month from now, he can’t even wipe his ass with a tent pole.”

That’s Myers at the moment. Myers, Manuel and the rest of the Phillies hope that changes.

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Bob Ford offers his take on Ed Wade getting grabbed by the neck and chucked to the ground.

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In the Phillies Notebook, Geoff Jenkins talks about his 2-for-41 slump.

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In The Inquirer's Sunday baseball column, Jim Salisbury tells us what's going on with maple bats ... and more important, why are maple bats such a big deal to players? Also check out Extra Bases, On Deck, Stats 'N' Stuff and Trade Deficit.

Sometimes when you say nothing you say everything.

Brett Myers left Rangers Ballpark quickly and without a word to reporters after last night's 8-7 loss to the Rangers. He had thrown just two-plus innings and allowed five hits, five runs and four walks. It was the shortest start of his career, and just another poor start in a season that held such promise. Myers is 3-9 with a 5.84 ERA. The Phillies are 4-13 when he pitches.

How much longer can this last?

"Can I say his job is secure?" Charlie Manuel said. "I don't know what to say, if you want to know the truth. We'd have to find somebody to do his job first, I guess."

There aren't many options internally.

Double-A righthander Carlos Carrasco seems to be the team's best option at the minor-league level, but he allowed seven hits and eight runs (seven earned) in three innings last night in a loss to Akron. He is 5-7 with a 4.18 ERA for Reading. Righthander Chad Durbin is 2-1 with a 1.47 ERA in 30 appearances, so Manuel is reluctant to move him. Durbin also is just 19-33 with a 5.83 ERA as a starter, so there's no guarantee he could translate his bullpen success into starter success. Righthander Kris Benson is making his first start for triple-A Lehigh Valley tomorrow, but he needs to show much more than he has before he becomes an option.

There are others, too. But those seem to be the most obvious candidates.

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Vicente Padilla is pitching very well for the Rangers this season, but the Phillies have no regrets about trading him a couple years ago.

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This week's Q&A: Clay Condrey.

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Mike Jensen has a very interesting look at StubHub's relationship with the Phillies and MLB.

Back to Ground Zero.

The Phillies have been shutout five times this season, including yesterday's 5-0 loss to the A's at McAfee Coliseum. They were shutout just three times last season, and just three times in 2006. Obviously, that's not good. The Phillies have lost seven of their last eight games and 11 of their last 15. They have hit just .181 and scored just 15 runs in their last eight games. They have hit just .229 and scored just 60 runs in their last 15.

“We’re not playing well,” Chase Utley said. “We’re getting some decent starting pitching and we’re not swinging the bats. That will change."

That's about as bold a statement as you'll hear from Utley.

“Our bats are silent,” Charlie Manuel said. “We come, we practice, we play the game. The effort is there. It seems like we can’t get going. We didn’t get it done, and we’ve got to find a way to get it done. Good teams get it done. We need to work on it. We need to be more focused or something. Whatever it is we need to get it because we’re a better hitting team that that.”

Remarkably, the Phillies remain in first place in the National League East.

The Phillies should feel fortunate that none of their rivals have taken advantage of their poor play. Or maybe they should be upset that they've wasted an excellent opportunity to really pull away from the Marlins, Mets and Braves. That could come back to haunt them in September.

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In the Phillies Notebook: Adam Eaton does his job, Kris Benson pitches Sunday for triple-A Lehigh Valley, Tom Gordon returns to action and Manuel laughs at the contention the Phillies might have stolen signs last week from the Boston Red Sox.

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Looking to buy stocks? Follow the Chris Coste model.

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Pitching match ups for this weekend's series against the Texas Rangers.

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If you can't laugh at yourself ...

... one of the things that makes the baseball beat a grind is the travel. Case in point: today I have a 6 a.m. flight from San Francisco to Denver, where I hopefully will make my connection to Dallas-Fort Worth. Should everything go as planned, I should get to my hotel and to the ballpark with some time to spare before the clubhouse opens 3 1/2 hours before the game.

So I set the alarm on my cell phone for 3:45 a.m., which should get me up and to the airport in plenty of time. The alarm goes off, I get up, shower, pack up a few things and take the elevator to the lobby. I get out and ... the hotel bar is packed. I mean, packed. I'm like, "Huh, I didn't think the hotel bar would be open at 4 in the morning." Then it hit me. It's 1 in the morning. My cell phone remained on East Coast time, so my 3:45 a.m. alarm actually woke me up at 12:45 a.m. I had been asleep for only 1 hour, 45 minutes. Now if that's not the dumbest thing you've ever heard, I don't know what is. And in case you're wondering why I didn't just set a wake up call with the hotel, I did. But I also set the cell phone alarm in case I slept through one of them.

I took the walk of shame back to my room and slept for another couple hours.

But I distinctly remember packing up my things in my room and saying, "Man, I can't believe the hotel didn't give me my wake up call."

They did. At 3:45 a.m. Pacific like I had requested.

Enjoy your day.

Jayson Werth slides past Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki to score a first-inning run last night in Oakland.

Charlie Manuel wasn't happy that his team scored just four runs last night in a 4-0 victory over the A's, so he continues to tinker with the Phillies lineup.

Check out today's lineup against A's righthander Rich Harden:

1. Jimmy Rollins, SS
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Pat Burrell, LF
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Greg Dobbs, 3B
6. Shane Victorino, CF
7. Jayson Werth, RF
8. Geoff Jenkins, DH
9. Carlos Ruiz, C

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Here's a look at how some Phillies have been struggling lately.

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In the Phillies Notebook, Manuel explained his reasons for last night's lineup shuffle.

Got a question for Phillies relief pitcher Clay Condrey?

E-mail me here and I'll ask him.

Please include your first name, initial of your last name and city and state where you live.

Condrey is an interesting guy. Born and raised in Texas -- the guy absolutely loves his home state -- he made his big-league debut with the San Diego Padres in 2002. He pitched briefly for the Padres in 2003, but didn't return to the big leagues until 2006 with the Phillies. The Phillies sent him down to triple-A a few times last season before he ultimately finished the season with the team. He's also a avid outdoorsman, so I'm sure he can tell you different ways to skin a cat (or whatever).

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And in the Holy Crap Department, Shawn Chacon choked Ed Wade and tossed him to the ground.

Uh, yeah, that's kind of frowned upon.

Charlie Manuel is shaking things up for tonight's game against the A's:

1. Jayson Werth, RF
2. Chase Utley, 2B
3. Jimmy Rollins, SS
4. Pat Burrell, LF
5. Ryan Howard, DH
6. Pedro Feliz, 3B
7. Shane Victorino, CF
8. Chris Coste, C
9. Eric Bruntlett, 1B

Talk amongst yourselves.

Jamie Moyer did his job last night in Oakland. The offense did not and the Phillies lost, 5-2.

Don't pin this one on Jamie Moyer.

He did his job.

He pitched beautifully through six innings last night in a 5-2 loss to the A's at McAfee Coliseum. He just got no run support, which has been a trend in the Phillies' six-game losing streak. The Phillies have the worst record in baseball since they swept the Braves in Atlanta a couple weeks ago.

"We've got guys not hitting," Charlie Manuel said. "I mean swinging bad. Swinging at balls in the dirt. Chasing balls over their heads. It looks like they've never seen a baseball. Really. They can go back to square one and think about what they've always done. And that's be aggressive, but at the same time be patient enough to get good balls to hit. That right there is how we're going to come out of it."

Bob Ford thinks just like Manuel apparently. He said while it might be nice to add C.C. Sabathia, this team is built around its offense and only the offense is going to carry it into the postseason.

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Of course, they might need a little bullpen help down the road. Tom Gordon hasn't pitched since June 15 because of a "balky" right shoulder. He said he's fine. But should the shoulder act up again and again, the Phillies might need to shore up the strongest part of their pitching staff.

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In the Phillies Notebook, Shane Victorino and Kurt Suzuki - the prides of Maui - face off.

So you want C.C. Sabathia.

Who doesn't?

But do the Phillies have enough talent to trade for him -- or somebody like him? Would you trade Shane Victorino and Carlos Carrasco for Sabathia, knowing Sabathia probably won't be back next season and Carrasco is very close to contributing at the big-league level? Jim Salisbury takes a look at what the Phillies have, and what it might take to make a big splash before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Sabathia obviously would be a tremendous pick up for a team that lacks a clear No. 2 behind Cole Hamels. Sabathia started the season slowly with the Cleveland Indians, but is 5-5 with a 2.14 ERA in his last 12 starts. Could you imagine Hamels and Sabathia pitching the first two games of the National League division series this year?

The odds are against the Phillies to acquire Sabathia. In fact, I'd bet against it. But I think the Phillies are more likely to pick up a mid-level starter like Kyle Lohse in 2007 and Jamie Moyer in 2006. But this certainly wouldn't be a bad time for the Phillies to go for broke. Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard are in their primes. The National League is weak, and there for the taking. They have a potent offense -- despite what we've seen lately -- and a solid bullpen.

One stud starter could put them over the top.

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Utley continues to lead all major leagues in votes for the All-Star Game with 2,179,006 votes. Rollins ranks fourth amongst shortstops, Howard ranks fifth amongst first basemen and Pat Burrell ranks sixth amongst outfielders.

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Utley endorses EAS products. Here he talks to the company about how he trains in the off-season. And, of course, how wonderful EAS is.

Chase Utley gets a hit and scores in yesterday's 3-2 loss to the Angels. They could use more of that this week from Utley.

Like The Onion's Jim Anchower would say, "Hola, amigos. It's been a while since I rapped at ya," but I left the country this weekend for a wedding. But I'm back in the States and packing for a three-city, nine-game, 10-day road trip through Oakland, Texas and Atlanta.

What did I miss while I was gone?

Oh, yeah. The Phillies are in a nasty funk, losing seven of their last eight games. Since June 8, when the Phillies swept the Braves at Turner Field, the Phillies are 3-9, which ties them with the Astros and Blue Jays for the worst record in baseball. Fortunately for the Phillies, nobody in the NL East is really playing well -- the Mets are 7-5 while the Marlins and Braves are 6-7 since June 8 -- so they've been able to hold onto first place. But there's no question they need to pull themselves together on this road trip.

Charlie Manuel called their just completed 1-5 homestand against the Red Sox and Angels a good test.

They flunked.

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Chase Utley finally snapped his hitless streak. I think it's safe to say they really could stand for him to go on a tear this week.

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In the Phillies Notebook, what was So Taguchi thinking yesterday?