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Jamie Moyer, who had to leave Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning after injuring his elbow, is headed to the disabled list. And, by the sounds of it, he’ll be there for quite some time.

Skipper Charlie Manuel compared the injury to J.A. Happ’s—an injury that sidelined Happ since April 16th and only has him scheduled to return to the rotation on Saturday. Given Moyer’s age, it likely means we’ve seen the last of him for the 2010 season.

To take his place (and the place of the short-lived Andrew Carpenter experiment), the Phillies have called up Vance Worley from Double-A Reading, skipping Lehigh Valley to come to Philly. Worley will take a long relief role in the bullpen after going 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 19 starts for Reading.

Worley was the team’s third-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft back in 2008.

If Manuel is right and Moyer is going to miss at least a couple months because of this injury, it makes it that much more likely the Phils will soon be swinging a trade for a starting pitcher rather than pulling guys up from Triple-A to round out the rotation.

However, if trade talks fall through, it’s possible Worley could be given a chance to start in Moyer’s place this upcoming Sunday.

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With Kyle Kendrick being sent down to the minors recently, there’s an open spot this Saturday for a starting pitcher, so the Phillies need to figure out their plan of attack quickly.

In Kendrick’s stead, they brought up Andrew Carpenter, but General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. made it very clear that they see Carpenter as a bullpen pitcher. Ruben did say Carpenter could have an outside chance to start Saturday, but that really just means he’s there last resort.

Then, in typical Amaro fashion, he hinted that there could be something bigger in the works rather than just picking a name out of a hat to start Saturday.

“Happ is a possibility (to start Saturday),” Amaro said, per CSNPhilly.com. “We would consider him, and we have other balls in the air.”

“Other balls in the air,” of course, means Amaro is currently in talks for a pitcher. Who that pitcher is or what the Phillies would have to give up for him is obviously not known at this point, but I don’t think it’s likely Amaro brings in a high-priced starter, despite his view of the team as “buyers” at the deadline.

“I view us as buyers and I view us as a team that’s still going to be a contending team, but it depends on the guys in the clubhouse,” Amaro said. “It’s up to them to make it happen—as they have in the past.

“If we continue to play the way we are playing I don’t know if there’s a trade we can make to make us a playoff contender. We have to play better baseball or we’re not going to get anywhere. It’s really up to the guys swinging the bats and catching the baseballs and making the pitches. I can get Cy Young and Mariano Rivera and it wouldn’t matter. The team has to play better.”

Wow, way to say what we’re all thinking, Ruben.

That mini-rant, as well as the fact that Happ was recently yanked after only three innings of his most recent Triple-A start, all points to Happ taking the mound on Saturday and likely staying in that spot through the season, at least.

And in some good news for Phillies fans (if there is much to be found these days), Happ looked great in his last outing (3IP, 0ER/R, 3H, 3SO, 0BB) , so it’s likely he’s finally healthy and ready to show some of the stuff he had last season that had him as a runner-up for Rookie of the Year

It is likely that Amaro moves Kendrick and perhaps another guy for some more bullpen help, or perhaps a low-end starter, but even that doesn’t seem likely anymore with the way the Phillies have been playing.

Like Amaro said, there’s no reason to make moves to improve this team in the short-term when they’re not willing to improve with what they already have.

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As much as it hurts to say, it’s looking like the Phillies’ season is going to be a wash. They keep falling further and further behind the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in the NL East race, and are just as far behind for a Wild Card spot.

In fact, short of charging back and winning the division, there’s likely no chance the Phils will be able to make it back to the postseason, much less to a third straight World Series.

So it’s time now to start looking toward 2011 and beyond. And the best way to do that is to move Jayson Werth, who is the Phillies’ best piece to play with right now. In doing so, they can restock the farm system that Ruben Amaro, Jr. has left relatively bare from trades for Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

Within the next few years, the Phillies are going to need help in left field, right field (which obviously becomes more of a priority by trading Werth), third base, catcher, and pitching—not only in the bullpen, but starters as well.

Raul Ibanez only has one more season left on his deal; Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz aren’t getting any younger. The bullpen has been a mess for years, and the three, four, and five starters are always question marks.

Joe Blanton is inconsistent (to say the least), Jamie Moyer is just a guy at this point, and the fifth spot is always up in the air. Kyle Kendrick’s recent demotion most likely means the Phillies have given up on him as a starter, and J.A. Happ might have blown his chance to become a full-time starter by getting injured early in the season.

Happ has the tools to be a guy the Phils can count on, but they’re going to need to see a lot more out of him before they’re comfortable penciling him in as a starter year in and year out.

But, right now, trading for a top-of-the-line starter is not necessary, nor is it wise. Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren are two names being kicked out, but both guys are very pricey and would likely be the only thing the Phils can get if they trade Werth.

It would be great having another starter, but at this point, I would rather have three or four very good prospects, as opposed to one very good pitcher. Blanton, Moyer, and Happ can carry the load for another season or two. Hopefully, one of the guys they pick up in the Werth trade can develop into an Oswalt/Haren type of player.

And the best thing about all of this is the Phillies could probably trade Werth, call up Dominic Brown, have him platoon with Ben Francisco for a while, and still be good enough to make a late push and win the division—that is, if everyone can figure out what’s causing their funks.

But, with or without Werth, it seems as though that would take a miracle.

So instead of treading water for the rest of the season with a guy like Werth in right field, simply collecting a check until he can jump ship in free agency, why not move him while they can and get some quality guys for the future?

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Kendrick got blasted by the Cardinals for four homers.

It’s not getting any prettier for the Phillies after the All-Star break as now not only are the bats suffering, but the pitching is starting to slide as well.

The latter has become most evident after Roy Halladay got knocked around Sunday night and Kyle Kendrick got knocked around even worse on Monday night.

Kendrick, who only pitched five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, gave up seven runs—four of them home runs, and five of the seven runs coming in the fifth inning. Up until that point, Kendrick had been an impressive 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA against the Cardinals.

I’m not exactly a math whiz, but something tells me that ERA will be going up a little bit.

“My command was off all night,” Kendrick said after the game. “I got behind, I left pitches up. They should be hit where they hit them.”

Kendrick, however, isn’t the only guy to blame. He did give up a 3-0 nothing lead the Phillies’ bats gave him in the first inning, but it’s also worth noting that the Phils wound up with only four runs on the board when it was all said and done.

Jayson Werth, who could have only about 10 days left as a Phillie, continued his struggle with runners in scoring position. In the first inning, he had guys on second and third with only one out, and couldn’t even manage hit a ground ball and get a run home.

Instead, Werth hit a weak pop-up to Albert Pujols at first base. Shane Victorino came up afterward and hit a shot back in the middle to bring both guys home, but had Werth done that and gotten on base, Victorino’s hit could have brought him home and put four runs on the board right out of the gate.

Later, Werth decided to get cute over at first base and take a monstrous lead. Yadier Molina would have none of it, stood up, and gunned Werth easily.

It doesn’t even look like he’s trying anymore.

Also figure in that Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco went a combined 2 for 10 and you’ve got a lot of hits coming with the bases empty and not a lot of RBI opportunities. If someone doesn’t grab Rollins by the neck and convince him to stop swinging for the fences, his average could soon fall below .200 and the Phils could soon fall below .500.

Jamie Moyer (9-9, 4.88 ERA) takes on Chris Carpenter (10-3, 3.16 ERA) Tuesday night in game two of the series, so it’s either going to be a 2-1 Phillies win or a 13-1 Phillies loss. There really is no in between with Moyer on the mound, is there?

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Things have certainly not been going well. It might be the Year of the Pitcher somewhere, but not in Philadelphia.

I’m sorry. Perhaps that wasn’t supportive. Let’s petition to focus only on the positives.

I’ll start: Jimmy Rollins is the current active leader in consecutive steals, Placido Polanco is back from the DL with his team-leading batting average, and Ryan Howard leads the league in RBI.

Jayson Werth, however, has developed an unexplained aversion for touching his bat to the ball.

Someone should tell him it won’t make you blind.

Here’s another petition: stop the Tweet-volume graphs on the game recaps. There’s nothing more irrelevant to the game. It’s no secret that the volume of twits tweeting about the Phils is directly proportional to stuff happening during the game.

It’s just as circumstantial as the level of disgust rising in my house when my husband uses the john.

It’s not rocket science.

Supposedly things are so bad people are petitioning to get Pat Burrell back.

Fat chance. He feels right at home peeking over at old teammate, Aaron Rowand, in center field in San Francisco. But Pat’s move to the Bay Area has people wondering about those rumors that he got married—to a girl.

Or maybe I just made that up.

Now the Phillies have three more chances to turn it around against the newly-crowned NL Central kings fresh off their six-game winning streak.

Perhaps under the lovely shiny arch the Phils will figure out why the early season hitting explosion had an expiration date. Like a Viagra pill for batters, maybe they’ll find something that makes a big, stout piece of wood more effective.

How ‘bout putting Marisa Miller on the mound?

Or just paint her on the center field wall?

Now, you usually only have to glance at stats to tell when a team stinks, but in this case it makes no sense. The Phillies lineup leads the division in runs, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, intentional walks, extra base hits, and fielding percentage.

They also lead in stolen base percentage because they think like I do: If you don’t steal, you won’t get caught.

And Jayson Werth leads the team with 92 strikeouts—most of which he’s earned since the All-Star break.

That might seem like a rather dubious honor but other players who’ve appeared on the annual “Special K” list are: Babe Ruth, Mickie Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Michael Schmidt, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, Adam Dunn, and Ryan Howard—not long before he signed a bank-breaking contract.

It’s also possible that those other guys led their league in another important hitting category that Jayson’s failed to conquer. I’d love to investigate this further but I have dishes to do, a cat box to clean, and re-runs of Hawaii Five-O on at three.

Besides we’re staying positive: The Phillies are a better second half team.

The only reason that’s a scary statement is because the current first place team, Atlanta, leads the division in only one stat: on-base percentage. They’re like the Rudolph Valentinos of the NL East. They could sweet talk a girl out of her pants with a timely hit, a little hustle, and enduring patience.

Matter of fact, for their next stadium giveaway they’re handing out EPTs.

Even without extraordinary stats, they’re contenders. And trading off the slacking Yunel Escobar for the slugging Alex Gonzalez is a sure indication that they know this. As long as Brian McCann is the McMan, Chipper Jones continues to take his retirement advice from Brett Favre, and the Mets find the formula to forgo flunking late in the season, it’s going to be a tough semester.

So while the Phillies search for the MLB equivalent of the Bunsen burner, I looked for the magic stat that could determine who the next division champ would be. As much as I tried to sway my decision to Philadelphia, the only conclusion I’ve come to is this: The devil wears Prado.

Martin Prado is on course to having a career year. He leads Atlanta in endurance and studliness, and was one of five Braves who made Charlie Manuel’s All-Star roster even though the skipper couldn’t say his name.

Hey, five team members on one All-Star roster? Doesn’t that sound like the 2009 Phillies?

I hate to say it, but if I’ve struck stat gold, Phillies fans might have to settle for good baseball, sexy facial hair, and appealing camera angles this year. Die-hards should be asking themselves if they can survive a season unadorned by pennants or trophies or even postseason TV.

Hey, if it’s any consolation, I heard Kim Kardashian has decided to just appear naked in her next season on E!. And Survivor is having a reunion—only breasts and penises are scheduled to compete.

Or maybe I just made that up.

Stay positive.

See you at the ballpark.

Copyright 2010 Flattish Poe all rights reserved.

View this blog on my page at http://tinyurl.com/devilwearsprado or catch life one-liner at a time on Twitter http://twitter.com/ABabesTake

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Skipper Charlie Manuel wouldn’t say his team got lucky in their wild 4-1 win over the Chicago Cubs, but that was plainly obvious to anyone watching.

Geovaney Soto certainly isn’t a scrub and is not a guy who will make many mistakes, so when he drops a perfect throw that would have allowed him to tag out Brian Schneider by a good 10 feet or so, a lot of it is luck.

But, as is usually the case, the Phillies made their own luck. Poor base-running prevented them from scoring for eight innings, but good plate discipline and clutch hits allowed them the opportunity to steal a game for once, and they milked their luck for all it was worth.

They gave Carlos Marmol fits as they watched every “please-swing-at-me” pitch go right past them to run up the count and eventually get the walks they needed. Then they got the clutch hit they needed out of Polanco and third-base coach Sam Perlozzo wasn’t about to let the team’s lucky streak go to waste.

“One of those where you pretty much have to send him, and I didn’t feel good about it,” Perlozzo said. “That’s the beauty of the game. Sometimes the ball bounces your way, and sometimes it doesn’t.

And the ball continued to bounce the Phillies’ way when Soto wasn’t able to corral a wild pitch that went off the tip of his glove and bounced around the backstop, allowing Ross Gload to come home and give the Phillies a 2-1 lead that they would eventually build on.

All of this, by the way, was done with two outs.

Their was no quit in this team. They decided they were going to play out all nine innings, while the Cubs felt as though they could wrap the whole thing up after eight.

Playing hard and playing until the end is how teams create their own good luck, and complacency is how teams fall onto the bad luck the Cubs experienced.

“It just goes to show the game’s not over until it’s over.”

Sure does, Charlie. Sure does.

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I drive a Honda CRV.

It might be the first of its kind; it could be the prototype. There is nothing modern about it. The only gauge I have measures gas; mileage stacks up via flipping digits, and mechanical failures are indicated when the appropriate circle lights up red.

Some people call them idiot lights. That’s because when they glow, idiots wait a few weeks to see if they’ll go out—all by themselves.

I think Ruben Amaro Jr. has a few on. The problem is there’s one that won’t go out all by itself.

Admittedly he’s concerned about pitching. And admittedly he has what it takes to get what he wants.

That can only mean two things: Jayson Werth should keep the beard to accent his sex appeal for a trade and the love affair with Cliff Lee continues to be the quintessential story.

Where do I begin to tell the story of how great a team can be a great love story about the man they call Cliff Lee.

Another year with a World Series victory.

The way I understand it, Cliffy’s “Dear John” letter traded him to a soggy AL port so Ruben could restock a farm system with guys a lot like the ones he traded for a Cy Young winner he hoped could pitch as well as the Cy Young winner that earned him the only two wins of the last Series.

Did I get that right?

Well, anyway you say it, it broke my heart.

It was like missing a blue light sale by an aisle.

It was like watching any movie by Nicholas Sparks.

And it was like fumbling for your ID at the liquor store and hearing the clerk say, “I won’t be needing that.”

Now the media is teasing Cliffy because he got flustered when someone whispered the name of his ex World Series partner upon his arrival in Texas. That caused him to commit the faux pas of saying he was a Mariner when he was actually obligated to the Rangers.

Cliff, that’s why you never specifically speak a name when you’re in bed together.

I know I’m not alone in wanting him back, and as a devoted fan I’d like something more concrete than reports that Philly is missed by Cliff.

Even a cheesy commitment will do. Something with no legal basis like a promise ring—or a clanky oversized class ring with a tacky stretch of yarn encircling the bottom.

My point is, I don’t care how you do it, just get the job done.

I miss his behind the back defense, the way he quick pitches cocky batters, and his ability to yawn while fielding a ball.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Roy Halladay. He throws with surgical precision, he’s devoted and proven, and he tossed the perfect game. But in my book there are two perfect number thirty-fours: Cliff and Roy. Call them 34a and 34b if you like, just don’t call them by the wrong name.

Obviously with all the recent whining Ruben’s been doing about his desire for pitching, he knows this too. So when he considers improving his rotation, he should remember one thing: It takes two.

The Phillies and Cliff Lee were meant for each other.

That’s the only way to make that idiot light go out.

See you at the ballpark.

Copyright 2010 Flattish Poe all rights reserved.

Catch life one-liner at a time on Twitter http://twitter.com/ABabesTake

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For the second game in a row, the Philadelphia Phillies have pulled off a 1-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds. With the win, Philadelphia also capped off their first four-game series sweep of the Reds since 1975.

And for the second game in a row, it came down to great pitching and a clutch base knock by Jimmy Rollins. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as an 11th inning walk-off hit, but Rollins came through in the third inning, driving in what turned out to be the winning run.

Not surprisingly, it was Carlos Ruiz coming home from third with two outs. If anyone was doubting Rollins’s impact on this lineup, they’re not anymore.

But even more important than Rollins was Cole Hamels and his rough-looking-but-effective 7.2 scoreless innings. He scattered six hits, with three strikeouts and three walks, in 112 pitches.

Hamels was around the plate all day, but wasn’t getting a lot of the calls and had to work himself out of a jam a couple times. He then gave way to Jose Contreras for the final out in the eighth inning with a man on second. Contreras walked the first man he faced, then forced a ground ball to get out of the inning.

Then in the ninth, a perfect combination of J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge finished off the game.

Romero came in to face first the first batter, left-hander Jay Bruce, and struck him out in four pitches. Charlie Manuel then made a decision that was unpopular with the sellout crowd at Citizen’s Bank Park. Manuel took Romero out to make way for Lidge, who faced two consecutive right-handed batters.

But the crowd got behind Lidge as he struck out Drew Stubbs and got Miguel Cairo to fly out on the very first pitch, ending the game and completing the four-game sweep.

Great teams win the close games, but the Phillies bats are still a cause for concern. Four hits will not get the job done on a normal day. They’ve benefited from outstanding pitching the last 21 innings as the staff held the Reds scoreless. But sooner or later, this team is going to have to win with their offense.

That’s how they’ve won in the past, and that’s how they’re going to have to win this season.

Hopefully Chase Utley and Placido Polanco can come back strong and this lineup can be complete for more than a couple weeks, and start making their annual late-season push.

But without a lot more offense than we’ve seen over the past week or so, the Phillies will struggle to stay in the middle of the pack in a competitive NL East.

But for now, it’s at least good to see the Phightin’ Phils back to their winning ways.

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It took a full eight innings for the Phillies to even get a man on base, but they needed only four hits and one run to take their third straight game from the Cincinnati Reds, all of them coming in walk-off fashion.

Rookie pitcher Travis Wood took a perfect game into the ninth, but watched it evaporate as a fresh-off-the-DL Carlos Ruiz hit a leadoff double.

And because Roy Halladay also had a shutout going with only five scattered hits allowed, Wood was pitching to avoid the loss.

He got out of the jam by stranding Ruiz at third, and a scoreless tie would send these two teams into extra innings for the third game in a row.

Brad Lidge, not surprisingly, had the bases loaded at one point in the 10th, but worked his way out of it.

The Phillies weren’t able to get anything going in their half of the 10th, but after Jose Contreras shut the Reds down in the top of the 11th, Jimmy Rollins and Ruiz went to work.

Ruiz, for the second time in the night, hit a double into the gap in left center to get things started for the Phils’ offense. Wilson Valdez drew a two-out walk and it was all set up for Rollins to become the hero.

This is the situation in which superstars are supposed to come through, and Rollins didn’t disappoint, as he hit a base knock into right field allowing Ruiz to come around from second to end the game.

It marked the third consecutive walk-off win in extra innings, the first time in franchise history that has been done.

The Phils have one more game in the series against the Reds on Sunday before the All-Star break, but hopefully the streak won’t continue and the Phils can simply take care of business in the first nine innings.

Halladay continues to show why he truly is the best pitcher in baseball, but he’s not going to be able to pitch like that every time.

The Phils still need to start getting the bats moving a whole lot sooner than the ninth inning, or they’re going to start dropping a lot of games.

With anyone other than Halladay on the mound, the Phils would have lost this game.

So while the win is great to have and was exciting to watch, they still need to realize how inept their bats truly were during regulation and make a greater effort to resolve the problems once and for all.

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As if the 2010 version of the Philadelphia Phillies wasn’t aggravating enough, the thinned-down and beaten up version of the Phillies is enough to drive a man insane.

Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley, J.A. Happ, Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge, and others have all seen time on the bench or the DL. In fact, the only guy to see time in every game this season has been Ryan Howard—that’s it. One guy.

And due to the mix of injuries to big-name guys, it’s likely the Phillies could miss out on the playoffs altogether, much less repeat as NL East champions for a fourth consecutive season or NL champs for a third consecutive season.

The Braves sit atop the NL East right now and don’t appear to be slowing down. They’re winning the close games when they have to and are doing all the little things they need to do to stay atop the standings.

Then there’s the Mets, who look like they’re just a few weeks from hitting a real stride and perhaps challenging the Braves for the division. Or, as the Mets are known to do, completely fall apart.

Quite honestly, there’s just no telling with that team.

The Phils are only four games back right now, but I expect that number to go up now that they’re without a couple key players.

And then with teams like the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, and Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s likely the Phils wouldn’t even be able to win a playoff spot as the wild card team.

I would expect the Cardinals and Dodgers to win their divisions, which would leave the Phils in a wild card battle against the Mets, Reds, Padres, and Rockies. And honestly, they’re just not going to be able to compete with those teams in their current state.

Everyone is expected to be back this season, but it could be too little too late. Utley is gone for two months and it’s obviously going to be very difficult to replace their best hitter and a guy who has been a rock in that No. 3 spot in the lineup.

Polanco could struggle with that elbow all year long and could eventually wind up getting shelved altogether. Happ has looked awful in his rehab starts, and Ruiz is still bouncing around from specialist to specialist trying to figure something out with his head.

And even with Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Jamie Moyer all pitching well—along with a decent season out of Kyle Kendrick but a struggling Joe Blanton—the bats can’t get enough run support for the guys on the mound.

Even when they only allow two or three runs, it’s just too much for this depleted unit to put together. In fact, it appeared to be too much while everyone was healthy, so it’s not exactly a surprise.

The Phillies have become to beacon of hope for Philadelphia, and I understand that, but it might be time to temper the expectations and take this team for what it is this year—just a middle-of-the-pack squad who might get lucky and get hot at the right time.

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