Jim Salisbury: Phillies' test starts with Mets

Because it seems the Nationals are about the only club the Phillies can beat consistently.

The Phils are 10-2 against the Nats this season, and congratulations to them for that. That's what good teams do to bad teams. They play bully. They beat them. Often.

But good teams also beat other good teams, and for the last month the Phils haven't done enough of that.

Dominate the pushover clubs. Struggle against the formidable ones. That is becoming the Phillies' MO, and if it's going to change, the time is now, starting with the 10-game homestand that begins tonight against the New York Mets.

In some ways, the Mets are the perfect opponent to cure the Phillies - 13-22 at Citizens Bank Park - of their home woes.

Like the Phillies, the Mets have had problems with injuries, only to a greater extent. Offensive threats Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, and Carlos Beltran are on the disabled list, and so is setup man J.J. Putz.

In other ways, the Mets might not be the best team for the Phils to see right now.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel had a little meeting with his boys after Tuesday night's loss in Milwaukee. After weeks of dropping hints that general manager Omar Minaya needed to upgrade the offense with a bat, Manuel took a different tack: He told his team that it had enough talent to win. He encouraged his players to stay after it, believe, and get the job done.

The next day, the Mets beat Milwaukee, 1-0, behind Mike Pelfrey's 72/3 shutout innings.

Yesterday, the Mets went into Pittsburgh for a one-shot afternoon makeup game. They fell behind by 5-0, came back to take the lead, saw it evaporate in the ninth, then won, 9-8, in 10 innings.

Character win. Maybe Manuel's little pep talk had an impact. Maybe it carries over into Philadelphia for the holiday weekend.

Why would Manuel, who had lobbied for trade help, change his tune?

Maybe he just came to terms with the fact that Minaya was content to sit and wait until his injured posse returned from the DL.

Or maybe he took a look at the Mets' arch-rivals and realized that the Phils are so inconsistent, so imperfect that this division race is anyone's ball game and a little TLC might help as much as anything.

Coming into the season, four teams appeared capable of winning the NL East, and that is still the case on the eve of Independence Day. The Florida Marlins have surged into a first-place tie with the Phils.

They hung tough into the second half of last season before running out of steam. They have likely learned from that experience and could be very dangerous in the second half. The Mets and Atlanta Braves are both right in the thick of it.

It didn't have to be this way, of course. The Phillies were on their way to putting the clamps on the division before losing 14 of 18. Amazingly, they hung on to first place. The Phils were chewed up by American League clubs in interleague play. They were 11-15 in June.

Everyone played a part in the swoon. The offense experienced two no-hit scares in the last week. The pitching has been inconsistent all season. Injuries, most notably to Raul Ibanez, have hurt. So has Jimmy Rollins' swan dive from elite-player status to frequently benched mystery.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is trying to trade for a pitcher, and we believe he will. But for now, he's looking to triple A and veteran Rodrigo Lopez, who was signed to a minor-league contract in spring training. Who knows? Lopez could be Paul Byrd, a onetime waiver claim who pitched well for the Phillies. Or he could be Paul Abbott. Either way, Amaro needs to get this team another arm. Or two.

Lopez starts tonight. Jamie Moyer goes tomorrow afternoon and Joe Blanton on Sunday. That's one guy who hasn't started in the majors in nearly two years and two guys who have a combined ERA of 5.55. And lest we forget, the Phils have had trouble pitching at home, where their ERA is a run higher than it is on the road - 5.37 to 4.39 entering last night - and Johan Santana pitches Sunday for the Mets.

The Phils survived a similarly brutal June and won the World Series last year. While that could be comforting, there is no guarantee this season will right itself like that one did. It's up to the players to play better and management to plug some holes.

We'll have a better read on how things are going to shake out after this important homestand.

If it doesn't go well, start the countdown to Sept. 8.

Jim Salisbury: Meet the Mets (On the DL)

The New York Mets come to town tonight to begin a three-game series against the Phillies.

The Mets have been hit hard by injuries to top players, including CF Carlos Beltran, 1B Carlos Delgado, SS Jose Reyes and setup man J.J. Putz. They have made a combined nine all-star teams.

Beltran has been replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Fernando Martinez; Delgado by Daniel Murphy and Nick Evans; and Reyes by Alex Cora.

Pos.    Name             Injury    Date to DL

RHP    John Maine         right shoulder      June 12

RHP    J.J. Putz            right elbow         June 5

OF    Angel Pagan         right groin         June 1

SS    Jose Reyes         right hamstring    May 21

1B    Carlos Delgado      right hip            May 11

LHP    Oliver Perez         right knee         May 3

LHP    Billy Wagner         left elbow         April 6