Pennant race is new territory for these Phillies

By Bill McFarland

Who could have known?

This season began with so many question marks that it would have been impossible for anyone to predict just what has happened to this year's Phillies. Despite the June swoon, when the club went 12-16, Philadelphia has collected 50 wins at the All-Star break and still has sole possession of first place in the National League's Eastern Division.

"It's nice to have a one-game lead at the break, but we still have a long way to go," said Larry Bowa, as guarded as always with his words.

The manager was talking to the media moments after the Phils took two of three from the Orioles in Baltimore — both on last-inning home runs by Travis Lee. Bowa also knew that he would be talking with general manager Ed Wade during the break about possible player moves. The retooling of the pitching rotation has already begun.

Bruce Chen is trying to iron out his problems in the minor leagues and could be on the trading block. Randy Wolf, who had been demoted to the bullpen, regained his spot after a strong outing against the Braves in Atlanta last Thursday. And Bowa had announced that change before the little lefty picked up a win by cranking out two perfect innings in Sunday's finale at Camden Yards.

The second-half rotation will begin with David Coggin, Omar Daal and Nelson Figueroa for the upcoming Toronto Blue Jays series. Robert Person and Wolf make five, which leaves out Chen and Amaury Telemaco. Coggin and Figueroa will get the ball every five days until they don't do the job. In the meantime, expect the team to make a serious attempt to acquire a veteran hurler as the July 31 trading deadline approaches.

This team has been both fun and frustrating, at times, to watch, but it hasn't been in a pennant race at the All-Star break in years. There could be a couple of moves in the next few weeks if the team stays in contention.

Aside from pitching, the club might consider a veteran catcher. Johnny Estrada and Gary Bennett have filled in admirably for Mike Lieberthal, but an experienced backstop could provide an edge for a young staff that doesn't know the hitters as well as a seasoned vet would.

This is not a perfect world, so to get something of value, the Phillies will have to give something up. The organization has prospects that other teams want, but my guess is that a major move would also include a pitcher and/or one of the starting eight. What do you think?



There were two things of note about my weekend trip to Baltimore. The combined attendance for the three-game series was 136,368, including the 49,072 on Saturday that set a new Camden Yards record for a regular-season game. Based on the reactions to Lee's game-winning homers, close to half of those fans had to be from Philadelphia. This could be good news for the new stadium. Maybe the old saying is true.

"If we build it, they will come."

Also, Cal Ripken demonstrated once again that he is a consummate team player. The Orioles trailed, 1-0, on Saturday when the third baseman came up to bat in the sixth inning with two on and no outs. Ripken had a hitting streak going and had been retired twice by then, but he still gave himself up to bunt the runners over to second and third. Both eventually scored.

Ripken singled in his next trip to the plate to extend his streak to 12 games. He also homered and was named the MVP in Tuesday's All-Star Game, the 18th — and last — of his career.

This column was published on July 12, 2001, in the Northeast Times in Philadelphia, which owns the copyright. It may not be reproduced anywhere else without permission.

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