Phillies striving for consistent offense

WASHINGTON - It was uttered for the first time yesterday, in the visiting manager's office at Nationals Park, in response to a question about the Opening Day performance of shortstop and leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins.

"Consistency," Charlie Manuel said.

He did not need to say more. Because if you were forced to pick a word to describe the essence of baseball greatness, consistency would be it. And if you were forced to pick a word to describe the Phillies' quest this season?

Again, consistency.

There is no disputing that the Phillies' offense looked great on Monday afternoon. Every member of the lineup registered a hit. Rollins reached base four times. New third baseman and No. 2 hitter Placido Polanco knocked in a career-high six runs.

But anybody can look great once every 162 tries. Greatness lies in repetition.

"You can have 1 good day and then go a couple days and be right back at square one," Manuel said.

The Phillies are no strangers to offensive explosions. But over the past couple of years, they have had trouble following them up.

The first time the Phillies scored 10 or more runs in a game last season, they followed it by scoring three runs. The second time, they followed it by scoring one run. The Phillies scored 10 or more runs in 20 games last season, and lost the next game nine times. In 2008, they lost five of 10.

It is the paradox of this offense. Score 10 runs one game and two runs the next, and you are averaging six runs per game. But you would have a much better chance of being 2-0 if you had scored six runs in each.

Therein lies the reason for the Phillies' decision to replace Pedro Feliz with Polanco during the offseason. Over the last two seasons, Polanco has gone hitless in back-to-back starts a mere 11 times. He might not drive in six runs every game, but he is a consistent contact hitter who the team believes will help prevent some of the prolonged offensive slumps the lineup has been known to endure.

Or, as Rollins put it Monday, "Not just a righthanded bat, but a guy who can actually move the ball around and be big for us in situational at-bats."

One blowout win over a Nationals team that lost 103 games does not prove that this Phillies team is any different from the last two. To put things in perspective, the Phillies hit .293 with an on-base percentage of .375 in their 18 matchups against Washington last season. In those games, they averaged 6.4 runs. They scored nine or more runs against them four times.

Nevertheless, the Phillies believe they are a different team this year.

"One through eight, we've got a team of guys who can do some damage," rightfielder Jayson Werth said. "Going forward, as long as one guy shows up every day, we'll be tough to beat."

Today, they begin the process of proving it.

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