The Phillies couldn't make a deal before today's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline, although they were close to acquiring a No. 4 or 5 starter in a three-team trade that fell through with about an hour to go.

They didn't get the lefthanded relief pitcher they badly wanted. The didn't get the righthanded bat they could have used, either. But if there is some silver lining for Phillies fans it's that the Mets and Marlins remained quiet, with the Marlins adding only lefthander Arthur Rhodes.

"I'm not disappointed," Charlie Manuel said. "We'll take what we got and work with it. Right now ... we can fight it out with those other two teams. If one of those three teams had made a big deal, it could definitely have made [that team] the strongest team. I think all three of us are pretty even. I've said it all summer. I said it about Atlanta, but they've had a lot of injuries and everything. All three of us can win. We all have weaknesses and it's going to come down to the team that plays the best. We're very similar and very close."

Manuel was asked how this team compares to last year's team for the stretch run.

"I think we're kind of similar, but last year, I thought we generated more offense, especially from the bottom of our lineup," he said. "We had a different lineup."

The offense has shown signs of life recently. Maybe that's a sign of better things to come. First, they try to sweep the Nationals tonight before a challenging series this weekend in St. Louis.

I know you're looking for a trade update, but so far there is none to report. But there is an update on Pedro Feliz, who is on the 15-day DL with lower back inflammation.

Feliz had a MRI on his back yesterday and was examined by team physician Michael Ciccotti. Back specialist Todd Albert at the Rothman Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital then examined Feliz today, when he had an epidural injection. Feliz has a mild disc bulge in his back. He will not take part in any baseball-related activities until sometime next week.

Feliz can be activated from the DL on Aug. 9 against Pittsburgh, if he's ready.

It looks like Chase Utley's hip is fine. He homered again last night against the Nationals.

Hey, anybody know when the trade deadline is?

Oh, it's today?

At 4 o'clock?

Thanks, I hadn't heard that. Jim Salisbury takes a look at what's on the table for the Phillies, and what's not on the table. Not on the table: Manny Ramirez. On the table: a lefthanded reliever. Keep an eye on San Francisco's Jack Taschner, Kansas City's Ron Mahay and Pittsburgh's John Grabow. Pat Gillick would like to improve the bullpen for the stretch run, and he seems to think a trade is possible -- though not probable. Phillies fans might have to settle for Joe Blanton, whom the Phillies acquired during the all-star break.

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Jamie Moyer pitched well again last night in an 8-5 victory over the Nationals, which put the Phillies back in first place in the National League East.

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So because Jimmy Rollins didn't talk to reporters over the weekend in Philadelphia, everybody assumed that Rollins is fuming over his benching last week in New York. But Rollins said that isn't the case. He said his relationship with Charlie Manuel is fine, and the past is the past.

"If there was a rift, I think it would affect the team," Rollins said. "I'm not going to affect the team in that way. It's not even worth it. For what? What would come of it?"

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In the Phillies Notebook: the trade deadline, including Pudge Rodriguez, and Kyle Drabek returns to the mound and more.

Brett Myers needs to pitch like this 10 more times.

Whew.

The Phillies badly needed Brett Myers to pitch well last night against the Nationals at Nationals Park. Ruben Amaro Jr. said Monday that Myers is "going to have to perform well. We're trying to win our division, so we're going to try to put the best starters out there we can to win. We're not locking ourselves in with anything. We believe he'll stay in the rotation, but we have to keep our options open, and we will." Charlie Manuel said yesterday afternoon that "right now I feel like we've got to give Brett a few more starts to see where he's at."

Myers allowed one unearned run in seven-plus innings in a 2-1 victory over the Nationals.

It's a step in the right direction.

There's no question the Nationals are a bad team. In fact, they have the worst offense in the National League. But Myers did exactly what he is supposed to do against the worst offensive team in the National League: he dominated them and won. The Phillies hope it's something to build on before his next start Sunday against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Phillies still believe Myers can be the No. 2 starter in their rotation to compliment Cole Hamels. Last night was an important step toward getting there, but he's not in the clear yet.

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In the Phillies Notebook: J.A. Happ is in the bulllpen (for the moment), Ron Mahay could be headed to the Phillies, Pedro Feliz is on the DL and Chase Utley's sore right hip looked OK.

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We get the question all the time: whatever happened to Julio Mateo? It appears he's been hanging out with the Fratellis, who had a nice little counterfeit operation going in Astoria, Ore.

Could Kansas City Royals lefthander Ron Mahay be headed to the Phillies?

Maybe, but I spoke with a Phillies source earlier today and he said they are not close to a deal with the Royals. In fact, he said there is no proposal on the table. That could change with the Phillies looking for a lefthanded relief pitcher before Thursday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. ESPN.com reported that double-A Reading shortstop Jason Donald could be part of a deal for Mahay, who is having a great season and is signed for $4 million in 2009. But again, there apparently is no deal on the table.

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The Phillies have recalled lefthander J.A. Happ to take righthander Adam Eaton's spot in the bullpen.

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The Phillies placed third baseman Pedro Feliz on the 15-day disabled list with lower back inflammation. He returned to Philadelphia today, where team physician Michael Ciccotti will examine him. The Phillies don't know how much time Feliz might miss, but he is eligible to be activated Aug. 9 against Pittsburgh. Triple-A Lehigh Valley infielder Mike Cervanek has been recalled and will take Feliz's place on the roster.

Don't bet on Manny Ramirez coming to the Phillies.

Pat Gillick thinks the Phillies have a chance to make another trade before Thursday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline.

He used the words "cautiously optimistic."

Can you really be cautiously optimistic? Isn't that an oxymoron? I mean, if you're cautious about your optimism, how optimistic are you? Yes, we're deep thinkers here, so chew on that one for a while. But Phillies fans shouldn't get their hopes up for Manny Ramirez, Matt Holliday or Brian Fuentes. Gillick indicated yesterday that none of those players will be wearing red pinstriples anytime soon.

But he still hoped they could add another lefthanded pitcher to their bullpen. If they don't find a lefthander from outside the organization, the Phillies could convert lefthander J.A. Happ into a reliever. In fact, he could be announced today as Adam Eaton's replacement in the bullpen. Happ was pulled from Sunday's start after just 2 2/3 innings. Mike Arbuckle explained why, "We pulled him as a precaution. We really don't know what's going to happen at the trade deadline, and we didn't know if we were going to need him in the big leagues or weren't or whatever. We just wanted to keep all our options open, and we thought the best way to do that was limit his outing just so that he might be ready in case we needed him or there was a trade. A lot of different things could happen over the next couple days."

In other words, they might need him tonight in DC against the Nationals and they might need him as a trade chip and didn't want to risk injury.

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Eaton is scheduled to start Thursday for single-A Lakewood. He isn't expected back to the big leagues until Sept. 1, when rosters expand. There's no question at this point that he has been one of the worst free agent signings in franchise history. Why not just cut him? Well, for the simple reason that he's under contract and making $8.5 million next season. I also think the Phillies will keep him around -- I can't imagine anybody trading for him unless the Phillies eat almost his entire contract -- because they might want to have an extra arm in spring training. Who's knows what the future holds for Jamie Moyer and Brett Myers? Moyer could retire. Myers might not be successful as a starter and could become a full-time reliever next season. They might want to create some competition in the rotation next spring, even though Eaton hardly has provided much of that.

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Myers goes tonight. The Phillies desperately need him to pitch well. If not, the Phillies have said they can't sit around and do nothing.

"He's going to have to perform well," Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "We're trying to win our division, so we're going to try to put the best starters out there we can to win. We have to keep our minds open with what we're going to do. We're not locking ourselves in with anything. We believe he'll stay in the rotation, but we have to keep our options open, and we will."

Could we see Myers in the bullpen at some point? It's possible. But that wouldn't be good. The Phillies think an effective Myers is the second-best pitcher in the rotation and gives them a better chance in the postseason. If Myers moves to the bullpen and Happ takes his place, who's the No. 2 starter come the postseason?

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Chase Utley has "mild soreness" in his hip. It's not serious, and doesn't require surgery.

First, Brett Myers.

Now, Adam Eaton.

The Phillies just announced this morning that Eaton has been optioned to the minor leagues. Eaton had the right to refuse the option, but accepted it. It's uncertain where he will pitch because the Phillies haven't worked out his schedule, but that should come shortly. The Phillies also haven't announced who will take his place in the bullpen, but they said they will make that move before tomorrow night's game against the Nationals at Nationals Park. Triple-A Lehigh Valley lefthander J.A. Happ could figure into those plans. The Phillies pulled him after just 2 2/3 innings yesterday.

But the fall of Eaton continues. He signed a three-year, $24.5 million contract before the 2007 season, and it's safe to say the signing has been a failure. He lost his job in the rotation and now must try to figure out things in the bullpen in the minor leagues. Eaton pitched poorly in his first two relief appearances, picking up a 9.00 ERA with opponents hitting .538 against him. Clearly, the Phillies couldn't continue to keep him in the bullpen if he had no chance of getting anybody out.

Here's the kicker: Eaton will make $8.5 million next season.

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Bob Ford thinks the Phillies definitely need to improve their pitching for the stretch run.

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The Phillies' offense bailed out the bullpen in yesterday's 12-10 victory over the Braves.

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Talked with Pat Gillick today. Chase Utley has been bothered with some irritation in his hip, which could be bothering him at the plate. Utley is hitting just .253 with 12 homers and 45 RBIs in 269 at-bats since May 5. That includes a .332 on-base percentage and a .457 slugging percentage. He was hitting .362 with 13 homers and 26 RBIs in 130 at-bats to start the season. That included a .441 on-base percentage and a .769 slugging percentage.

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The Red Sox are looking to trade Manny Ramirez, but it seems unlikely he ends up with the Phillies.

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In the Phillies Notebook: Shane Victorino's collision at home plate.

Brad Lidge shows the grip to his "slide piece."

Brad Lidge has one of the best sliders in baseball today.

Jim Salisbury takes a look at how Lidge throws it, and why it's so effective:

Lidge's "out pitch" slider breaks so unusually that some folks don't know what it is. Jamie Moyer said it looks like an "accelerated curveball." Former major leaguer Fernando Vina, an analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight, routinely calls it a splitter. A splitter will break downward, but it does so with more of a tumbling effect. Lidge's slider breaks down with a more intense bite.

A longtime NL scout who didn't want to be named said Lidge has the best slider he's seen this season.

But even the scout wasn't sure it was a slider when he first started seeing it.

"If you walked into a park, you'd say, 'Oh, he's throwing a split,' " the scout said. "For years I thought he was. But it's a slider. And it's a great one. He's throwing it for strikes. Last year, he wasn't. That, along with his fastball coming back, have been the key for him."

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This isn't exactly how they planned it, but the Phillies will take yesterday's 10-9 victory over the Braves.

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Bob Ford tells us that yesterday was a good time to remember how good Cole Hamels has been this season. He also makes this observation about Jimmy Rollins:

"And the team needs to get Jimmy Rollins' situation settled.

"Rollins blew off reporters again yesterday. ("What a game. That's my quote," he said as he left the locker room.) But that's the least of it. Since being benched for getting to Shea Stadium late on Thursday, Rollins has made a point of showing up just in time to beat the manager's arrival deadline, and he affects a body language that indicates he doesn't much care what anyone thinks of it. If his teammates aren't tired of the act, you can be sure the front office is. It doesn't take much to mess up the mechanism of a baseball team. Rollins could do it all by himself.

"That is a combustion for another day, however. The Phillies are letting it simmer now and hoping the heat dissipates. Good luck."

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In the Phillies Notebook: Greg Dobbs tied the franchise record with 20 pinch-hits in a season. Doc Miller also had 20 pinch-hits in 1913.

After getting benched for showing up late against the Mets, Jimmy Rollins was in the starting lineup for the series opener with the Braves.

Charlie Manuel had the Phillies' clubhouse cleared at about 4 p.m. yesterday at Citizens Bank Park.

He wanted to meet with his underachieving team, which is 13-21 since June 13. That's the third-worst record in baseball in that span. Only the San Diego Padres (9-26) and Washington Nationals (11-23) have been worse.

(Fortunatley for the Phillies, they play the Nationals and Padres 15 times in their remaining 59 games.)

Manuel's timing made sense. The Phillies had dropped out of first place in the National League East on Thursday, the first time they had been out of first place since May 31. Manuel also had benched Jimmy Rollins on Thursday for showing up late to Shea Stadium, which kind of became a big deal. Manuel wouldn't get into too many specifics about the meeting, but it sounds like this wasn't a hell raiser of a talk. He just wanted to get the team to refocus on things as it enters the final two months of the season.

But the Phillies lost last night to the Braves, 8-2, to drop them two games behind the Mets and into a second-place tie with the Florida Marlins.

Once again, the offense came up short.

"I feel like we're definitely going to score some runs," Manuel said. "It's very important that you stay upbeat and stay positive. I know who we've got, and I have a lot of faith in our guys. I know we're much better than how we've been playing, and we're going to do better."

But at what point does we're-going-to-do-better turn into this-is-what-they're-going-to-do? Manuel said he's not there yet. He still has faith, but while he waits the Phillies continue to waste good pitching performances and lose ground in the standings.

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In the Phillies Notebook: more on yesterday's team meeting.