Phillies Notes: Manuel stays the course as Phils continue to roll

WASHINGTON - It was brought to Charlie Manuel's attention hours before Friday's game against the Washington Nationals that should the Phillies play merely .500 baseball for the remaining 40 games, they still will still finish with 100 victories.

The Phillies manager, sitting in the visitors dugout at Nationals Park, smirked. Then he looked up.

"If I'm sitting here talking to my guys hitting," Manuel said, "and they ask what I'd like to do, I'd be thinking about hitting that Coca-Cola sign up on the scoreboard. And if I came up a little bit short, everything will work out pretty good."

That's the mentality Manuel has preached to his teams in the past, but never before have they enjoyed their current position. The Phillies reached 80 wins in 122 games, the second fewest needed in franchise history. (The 1976 Phillies achieved the mark in 121 games.)

The postseason is all but assured. Other than keeping everyone healthy, what motivation remains?

"If I'm running a mile race and I've got 300 yards to go - if I look back, more than likely I wouldn't let up," Manuel said. "I have to think that guy might still catch me, and that way I know I'll win."

The team record for wins in a season is 101, achieved in both 1976 and 1977. That's motivation Manuel need not utilize yet because nothing has been clinched. But once the Phillies reach the reality of meaningless games, the wins record can serve as the final goal.

Even if the Phillies were to go 18-22 in their final 40 games, they would finish with 98 wins, one more than last season.

The idea of coasting is foreign to a Manuel team. His squads usually flourish in the second half, when wins often are required to ensure a postseason bid. Under Manuel, the Phillies are a National League-best 291-179 (.619) in games after the all-star break.

Going well above the record of 101 wins is far from out of the question. So Manuel was asked why he wouldn't aim for farther than the Coca-Cola sign.

"That enters my mind sometime," he said, then laughed. "It depends who's pitching."

Cole Hamels (shoulder inflammation) will toss a light bullpen session Saturday. Pitching coach Rich Dubee said the lefthander will throw another side session of a normal length before starting his next game. His return could come next weekend.

Originally, Dubee and Hamels said he would throw Friday off the mound, but that apparently was pushed back a day. Dubee denied saying that was the plan. Hamels played catch on the grass before the game.

An important step in the recovery process of Jose Contreras will come Saturday when the 39-year-old righthander throws off a mound for the first time since receiving two platelet-rich plasma injections at the end of July.

The Phillies have no idea what to expect from Contreras for the remainder of the season. His elbow troubles have persisted since the end of April. He will require a handful of bullpen sessions before even contemplating a minor-league rehabilitation assignment.

"Time will tell," Dubee said.

First baseman Ryan Howard (right hand) and catcher Carlos Ruiz (groin) returned to the lineup Friday. . . . Third baseman Placido Polanco (sports hernia) is eligible to be activated Monday, but that appears unlikely. He reported progress from his activities Thursday, but the Phillies are in no rush to play Polanco, who is far from 100 percent healthy. . . . The Phillies finished 2011 with a 23-9 record against the National League West, the team's best mark since Major League Baseball switched to a six-division format in 1994.