Stan Hochman | Taking the pulse of the bandwagon riders

THE PHILLIES wobbled into the All-Star beak at 44-44. Dead even or dead in the water? The owners caught seven kinds of hell for owning, the general partner got vilified for spin doctoring (sure, Dave, if they played in the NHL they'd have made the playoffs many times based on winning percentages, but if they played in the NHL, Pat Burrell couldn't outskate the Kate Smith statue).

The manager was scorned because he occasionally stammers and more than occasionally must summon someone out of his beleaguered bullpen. And the leftfielder looks more like the Kate Smith statue every day.

But a baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. It says so, right on the dashboard of the 2007 Daily News Bandwagon. Right above the sign that says no smoking, no cursing, no jumping from the vehicle while the season is in motion.

So how are the riders holding up? Cups still half-full?

Rose-colored glasses firmly in place? A random survey brought some surprising results.

"I really feel for the guys who are knocking themselves out," wrote Lois Childs. "They play their hearts out and then the bullpen comes in and gives the game away. I really don't see how Pat [Gillick] can get us a really good pitcher . . . Unless he can get someone from Japan, someone who's not already in the majors.

"And here comes my bandwagon mentality . . . you know, crazier things have happened in baseball."

For a bandwagon guy, Dan Kravitz sounded gloomier than a hearse driver. "My friend," Kravitz wrote, "is more true bandwagon than I, and he's informed me that they played at a .580 clip the last few seasons after the All-Star break and that's reason for optimism. I know it is very un-bandwagon-like, but I am getting the same feeling about this team that I got from the Buddy Ryan Eagles, that they will waste the productive years of incredible talents like Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Cole Hamels, just like the Eagles wasted the great defensive production of those years."

Kravitz has to perk up, or move to the back of the wagon.

Nick Ritrovato was a little more upbeat. But not much. "It's never a good sign to pull up even at the halfway point," Ritrovato wrote. "They would have to go some ridiculous number just to win the wild card at this point.

"I don't understand the media's obsession with the 10,000 losses. OK, they will be the first ones to reach that, but eventually, all the teams will get there at some point."

The longest and most impassioned answers came from an academic and loyal fan named Matthew Mitchell. "Loyalty is loyalty," Mitchell wrote, "and it's a character trait to be encouraged.

"The organization is doing things right, despite the baying from reporters wanting a more colorful story to cover. The stars of the team and even the role players, all have a positive attitude, and are the kind of people you don't cringe at when your children talk about what they did [unlike Iverson and half the NBA].

"While the front office might be able to slightly improve the team [and temporarily please the media] by signing some well-paid and talented attitude problem, they understand the long-term consequences on the rest of the team and on the team's image and fan base . . . They win enough [though not as much as any of us would hope], but more importantly, they give an honest effort and respect the game and the fans."

The last word goes to Gene Giello, the host of "Sports Chatter" on WPEN (950-AM) who helped organize the highly successful Bandwagon night at the ballpark.

"One reason to say the glass is half-full," Gielo wrote, "is because the Phillies have hung in there with the worst relief pitching I've ever witnessed. They do have the ability to score runs in bunches.

"If the Mets and Braves continue to struggle and Pedro Martinez doesn't shore up the Mets' pitching staff, we still have a shot if and when Gordon and Myers come back healthy and stay that way. All BIG IFS, but that's why Bandwagon members follow the Phillies. Even with a flawed team, they are exciting to watch."

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