NEW YORK - Chris Coste is well aware of the perception: Put him in the lineup a couple of times a week, and he is fine. Ask him to pinch-hit, and he is fine. But as his playing time increases, his production decreases.

That's the rap. And during the past few weeks, as he's struggled through his first extended funk of the season, he's aware that he may be feeding a notion that he considers incorrect.

"Not helping my team is the most disappointing," said Coste, who has just two hits in his last 28 at-bats, "but secondly is the false image of the more he plays, the worse he does."

Coste began the season strictly as a backup, but as starter Carlos Ruiz has struggled at the plate, Coste has seen more playing time. Heading into last night's game, he had appeared in nine of the Phillies' previous 12 games, with six starts. That stretch has also coincided with his slump, during which his average has fallen from .317 on July 2 to .276. But Coste said the rough patch has nothing to do with his playing time.

"Purely coincidental," he said.

Also coincidental is the fact that he is 2-for-15 since colliding with Cardinals outfielder Chris Duncan during a play at the plate on July 8. Coste bruised a shoulder, but said he hasn't experienced any lasting effects that might impact his productivity.

The great Burrell debate

Manager Charlie Manuel defended his decision to make a defensive substitution and remove Pat Burrell from the Phillies' 11-inning, 3-2 loss to the Marlins on Sunday. Burrell admitted being frustrated with the decision to pull him in the bottom of the eighth with the Phillies up, 2-1.

Had Burrell remained in the game, he would have batted in the 11th instead of Eric Bruntlett, who replaced him in leftfield.

"What you are saying is if I leave him in the game, he's going to hit a home run and we are going to win the game," Manuel said. "I'm telling you if I knew that, I damn sure would have left him in the game. There would have been no problem, because I definitely would have left him in the game . . . But when you get down to it, he hit in the eighth inning . . . and I figure that the best defense we can throw on the field, we better do that."

The rumor mill

Fans and media members aren't the only people who have heard about the now-dead deal with the Rockies that had the Phillies looking to acquire outfielder Matt Holliday and lefty reliever Brian Fuentes. Shane Victorino heard it, too, and took notice, because his name was mentioned as part of the package. The centerfielder said yesterday the best approach is to block out the trade talk. "You try not to pay attention."

No grudge against Utley

Apparently, Chase Utley's salutation to New Yorkers during the All-Star Game barely registered in the Big Apple. Utley, who apologized after an ESPN microphone caught him dropping an expletive in response to booing from the Yankee Stadium crowd, was introduced to a mild response last night. As usual, Jimmy Rollins drew the most boos.

Jenkins OK

Geoff Jenkins was available to play last night, 2 days after he was struck on the right shoulder by the barrel of his bat in the sixth inning of the Phillies' loss to the Marlins. Jenkins, who said yesterday that the shoulder feels fine, was on deck to pinch-hit in the ninth, but was replaced by So Taguchi after a pitching change.

Phillers

Greg Dobbs' single in the ninth inning gave him 19 pinch-hits this season, the most since Greg Gross in 1982. It also snapped his longest pinch-hit drought (0-for-5) of the year . . . In their last two games against the Mets, the Phillies have scored a total of three runs in the first six innings, and 14 in the final three . . . Brad Lidge has converted 25 consecutive save opportunities dating back to Sept. 25 of last season, tying his career best. His 22 consecutive saves as a Phillie ties a team record set by Billy Wagner in 2005. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.