Paul Hagen: A dilemma Phils might face, if they're lucky

Here's a little something to think about during the next rain delay. Or while waiting for the West Coast games to start during the next week.

Just for fun, let's suppose that going into the final weekend of the regular season at Atlanta's Turner Field, the Phillies and Braves have the same record. And that both have already clinched a playoff spot with a four-game lead in the wild-card standings.

So what does Charlie Manuel do? Knowing that he's going to the postseason regardless of what happens in those three games, should he:

a) Go all-out to take the series and win the division, even if it means pitching Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and/or Roy Oswalt as deep into each game as necessary? Or

b) Take the opportunity to rest the regulars and set up the rotation for the start of the Division Series and, hopefully, beyond?

The neat thing is that there's no right or wrong answer. A compelling argument can be made for either approach.

The case for holding back is pretty straightforward. Getting to the playoffs is nice, but advancing after that is what matters the most. Especially for a team that has been to the World Series each of the last 2 years.

If the ultimate goal is another world championship, and it is, then it makes no sense to do anything the last weekend of the regular season that could have a negative impact on the team's chances.

To let Halladay pitch a complete game on the final Sunday just to try to get a better seed in the postseason tournament, for example, could be viewed as more than a little shortsighted if it means he wouldn't be available until Game 2 or Game 3 of the NLDS. And that's especially risky since the first round is a best-of-five format.

Once a playoff spot is secure, the manager owes it to himself, his players, the entire organization and the fans to give his team the best possible chance to succeed once the postseason begins.

Counterpoint: Winning the division gives a team at least a chance for homefield advantage. The wild card can never have that edge. That's always important but seems especially acute this season.

The Phillies, for example, are 42-26 at The Bank but just 28-31 on the road. And that's a pretty common split among the contenders. The Braves are 44-17 compared to 29-37. The Cardinals are 41-23 at Busch Stadium but just 27-33 elsewhere. Giants: 39-24 vs. 32-33. Rockies: 41-20 compared to 25-40.

Only the Reds and Padres have records that are approximately equal home and away.

It also isn't a given that taking time off is beneficial. Players become attuned to the rhythm of playing nearly every day. Teams that clinch too early often seem to lose their edge and sometimes have a hard time getting it back.

An extreme example is the Colorado Rockies in 2007. When they polished off the Arizona Diamondbacks to win the NLCS, they had won 22 of their last 23 games. But after having to wait 8 days for the World Series to start, they were swept by a Red Sox team that had to keep the pedal to the metal just to get there. Just continuing to play hard regardless frequently ends up being more beneficial than shutting down and then trying to power back up.

Cue former manager Larry Bowa: "You can't just flip the bleeping switch!"

One thing the Phillies shouldn't do under any circumstance is base their approach on trying to select their first-round opponent. That's a too-smart-for-your-own-good approach that almost always backfires.

Of course, if they don't play better than they have in the last week, the question will be moot.

Why Phillies fans should worry:

As if it wasn't bad enough that the offense has gone stagnant again, the next three games are in San Diego against the best pitching staff in the majors in spacious Petco Park. Then they go to Dodger Stadium, where they're 3-8 during the regular season over the last 3 years. Then they have to parachute into Denver for a make-up game against the Rockies. Then they come home and, after playing 17 straight games without a day off, play seven games in 6 days.

Through Aug. 18, they had won 20 of their last 25 games. That's an .800 percentage and no team plays that well forever. As disheartening as it was to lose four straight to the rookie-laden Astros, it happens. And don't forget that the 2008 world championship team had losing streaks of three, six, four, three, four and three during the regular season.

The Phillies have played 10 games this year in which the opposing pitcher who got the decision was previously employed by the organization. After losing to Houston's Brett Myers and J.A. Happ this week they are 4-6 in those games. They also lost to Atlanta's Billy Wagner (April 20), Arizona's Kris Benson (April 23), Cincinnati's Arthur Rhodes (June 30) and the Dodgers' Vicente Padilla (Aug. 10). They beat St. Louis' Kyle Lohse (May 6), Milwaukee's Randy Wolf (May 14) and Rhodes twice (June 29, July 9).

Mike Quade, hired as interim manager of the Cubs after Lou Piniella retired, managed the Phillies' Triple A Scranton Wilkes-Barre farm team in 1994-95. But he's just one of the men who have managed in the big leagues this season with local ties. Pirates manager John Russell is a former Phillies player and minor league skipper who interviewed for the Phillies' opening when Charlie Manuel was hired. Former Phillies second baseman Juan Samuel managed the Orioles between Dave Trembley and Buck Showalter. And Angels skipper Mike Scioscia was born in Philadelphia and grew up in Delaware County.

No, Phillies play-by-play man Scott Franzke isn't limited to just radio. He and wife Lori taped a segment of "Kitchen Impossible" for the Do It Yourself Network last year that has been in the cable channel's rotation recently. It's called "Curves and Canines," a reference to the custom-built dog feeding station and the arches installed over the doorways.

The Phillies open the 2011 season against the Astros.

The sod squad:

Petco Park is hosting an international soccer game on Sept. 14 and some of the Padres players aren't too happy about what it might do to the condition of the playing field. Among other issues, the pitching mound will be removed and then rebuilt. "We have the best pitching staff in the major leagues and that mound is our office," closer Heath Bell griped to the San Diego Union-Tribune. "It should not be messed up at this time of the season . . . They're not worried about the field looking good. They're just trying to make a profit. Very interesting."

Mets reliever Bobby Parnell threw a pitch last week that was listed at 102.5 mph by the Pitch FX tool, the highest reading by any pitcher this season.

Former Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa told Chicago Magazine that he's unhappy that rookie outfielder Tyler Colvin is the latest to wear his No. 21 for the team. "That number should be untouchable because of the things I did for that organization," he was quoted as saying. "That right there shows me that they don't care about me and they don't want to have a good relationship with me."

Hmm. Part of the reason may be that Sosa was considered a diva by many of his teammates. And then there were those pesky steroid allegations.

According to the Miami Herald, revelations that the Marlins made a $37.8 million profit while negotiating a sweetheart deal for a new stadium has angered some local officials and activists. "Now you see they took us for a ride," said Miami-Dade County commissioner Carlos Gimenez.

Tampa Bay outfielder Carl Crawford will be a free agent at the end of the season. One of his closest friends is Angels outfielder Torii Hunter. They talk frequently. But Hunter insisted he's only offering his pal advice on handling the process, not recruiting him for the Angels. "Everybody and their mama's going to want Carl Crawford," he said. "So you never know what's going to happen."

"This is our team. I don't expect Jason Donald or Shelley Duncan or Jayson Nix or Trevor Crowe to overnight turn into [Robinson] Cano, [Evan] Longoria, [Matt] Holliday, Grady Sizemore or anybody like that. There is no whining, no excuses. Take it like a man," the Indians' manager said.