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Putting in 2 cents on Phillies-Braves series

ON THE LIST of meaningful things you could be doing this weekend, watching the Phillies play the Braves ranks just ahead of organizing your penny collection in chronological order. The last time a Philadelphia sports franchise traveled to Atlanta for a sporting event this irrelevant, the Soul lost to the Georgia Force, 63-62. (Where have you gone, Arena Football?)

ON THE LIST of meaningful things you could be doing this weekend, watching the Phillies play the Braves ranks just ahead of organizing your penny collection in chronological order. The last time a Philadelphia sports franchise traveled to Atlanta for a sporting event this irrelevant, the Soul lost to the Georgia Force, 63-62. (Where have you gone, Arena Football?)

But while the Phillies, who have already clinched homefield advantage throughout the National League playoffs, might not have a lot to play for, that doesn't mean their final regular-season series is without any intrigue.

In addition to a chance to spoil the Braves' hopes for their first playoff berth since 2005, the Phils have three games to get themselves ready for what they hope is their third straight run to the World Series.

Here are three things we'll be watching:

1. Kyle Kendrick's

last hurrah

The 26-year-old righthander will be making his career-high 31st start tonight. That alone is an accomplishment, given that he was preparing to start the season at Triple A Lehigh Valley before before an oblique injury sidelined Joe Blanton for the first month.

Kendrick has recorded a decision in each of his last 10 starts, a stretch that has served as a microcosm of his season. In four of those starts, he pitched at least six innings and allowed fewer than four earned runs. In three others, he pitched fewer than six innings and allowed five earned runs.

Since May 1, Kendrick has posted a 4.32 ERA in 25 starts. In those starts, the Phillies are 15-10. That's production a team can live with out of its No. 5 starter.

While the Phillies might not have a lot riding on tonight's game, you can bet that Kendrick will be looking to make good use of it. He is likely headed to the bullpen for the playoffs, unless the Phillies decide to send him to the instructional league to stay sharp for a potential emergency start.

In two starts at Turner Field this season, he has held the Braves to one run on nine hits in 15 innings.

2. The Legend

of Starter Vance

Here's a question: Could a 23-year-old rookie with four big-league appearances under his belt convince the Phillies to keep him on the playoff roster? Vance Worley hopes so. The righthander could see some action this series, perhaps even as a starter tomorrow or Sunday. In his only big-league start, he held the Marlins to two runs on six hits with five strikeouts in five innings of a 7-1 loss on Sept 6. Since then, he has been used sparingly. Nevertheless, he has pitched well in three relief appearances, logging three scoreless innings while striking out four of the 11 batters he has faced.

3. Final tuneups

Expect the Phillies to use at least one of these three games as the equivalent of a third NFL preseason game. Last year, when they were in a similar situation, Charlie Manuel used his regular starting lineup in the second-to-last game of the year, a 4-3 loss to the Marlins. He said that he expects third baseman Placido Polanco, who had a cortisone injectio in his sore left elbow on Wednesday, to play in at least one and maybe two of these games. He also said that closer Brad Lidge and setup man Ryan Madson, both of whom pitched scoreless innings in a 7-1 win over the Nationals on Wednesday, will likely pitch on Sunday. Throw in a tune-up outing by lefty Cole Hamels either tomorrow or Sunday and the Phillies will have some star power on the field against the Braves.

It might not be the season-ending series many envisioned when the Braves entered September leading the Phillies by three games in the National League East. Still, at the very least, it is more compelling than fiddling with loose change.

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

http://twitter.com/HighCheese.