Credit Phillies for bold moves

Roy Halladay spent all those years in Toronto, watching big-market, big-money American League East rivals make bold moves.

"It was frustrating to watch Boston and New York do that when we were close at the [trade] deadline," Halladay said Sunday after winning his 12th game of the season. "The teams that win, they do those things. They are aggressive."

Put another way, Halladay the Blue Jay knew firsthand what it felt like to be a Phillies player and fan for about two decades (not to mention the century before 1976). In the gaping chasm of time between World Series titles, the Phillies were masters of explaining why they were better off not taking big risks, or mortgaging pieces of their future.

For those of us who endured long, joyless seasons when low expectations were the norm (and were usually met), the 21st-century Phillies are still a novelty. When Charlie Manuel talks about wanting to improve his best-in-baseball, 64-win team, you want to record him, put it in a time capsule, and ship it back to 1987. Or 1990. Or 1996. Or 1999.

"I feel like we need to get better," Manuel said. "I feel like I want to get better. Yeah, we've got a good record. I see places we can improve. As long as I see those, I'll always talk to Ruben [Amaro Jr.] about those things. That's between us. I don't want to sit here and send no negative to some player or something like that."

Manuel has already openly campaigned for someone who can hit lefthanded pitching and said he'd welcome additions to the bullpen. But he is careful, as he said, not to make one of his current guys look like the target of his criticism. After all, he may need that guy in October.

"I'm not pointing one guy out," Manuel said.

One of his better qualities as a manager, though, is his willingness to go with the players who are producing rather than the ones who are getting paid the most. Ben Francisco was the designated replacement for Jayson Werth coming out of spring training. Francisco has virtually disappeared. And while Wilson Valdez was invaluable as a versatile infielder last year, Michael Martinez is outperforming him this year.

"Michael Martinez went in, and he's playing real good, and he's still playing," Manuel said.

With Chase Utley starting to come around, and with Jimmy Rollins having a solid year, the Phillies may be just fine without a major trade. That doesn't mean they can't improve.

"We've got guys, when we're hitting .220, .230, .240, that's not good," Manuel said. "That's not good. I don't care what anybody says, that ain't good. We should be trying to improve and get better. If it's the everyday players that we've got, they should be trying to improve. That's the way I look at it.

"I'll play with what we got."

At their current rate, the Phillies would win 104 games, most in franchise history. Factor in the return of key players from injuries, and they could improve on that a bit. But winning 107 or even 110 games won't be fully satisfying if they don't win 11 more in the postseason.

"We have the players here to do it," Halladay said. "At the same time, you would always like to get better."

"The way I look at, I'm going to go with whatever we've got," Ryan Howard said. "You make additions, you make additions. Let's go. You don't make additions, we've still got to go with what's here in this locker room."

Ah, but Howard has played most of his career for a franchise willing to be bold and go for it. He can almost take for granted what Halladay considered a key reason for accepting his trade to Philadelphia.

"It's a big part of it," Halladay said.

The weeks before the trade deadline are always a little tense. Players wonder if they'll be gaining or losing teammates and friends. Will the chemistry change for the better or worse? What's the message if the team makes a big deal? How about no deal?

These Phillies have handled that tension by winning five games in a row. They are starting to pull away in the division. They have the best record in baseball.

Once upon a time, these circumstances would have been nearly unthinkable. Now they're seen as an opportunity to improve.

"I've been here seven years now," Manuel said. "I'll play with what we got. At the same time, I think our organization, in my communication with them, we're always looking to get better. The better our team, of course, the better chance we have at the end to get in and win."

That should be the whole point. For the Phillies, in 2011, it really is.