The numbers for April aren't very impressive. The Phillies finished 10-14 in the first month and had a team batting average of .250 for April. A 1-6 start last season seemed like a disaster at the time, but the club did battle back and held one of the top two spots in the Eastern Division until the 1-10 homestand in August dropped the Phillies from contention.
Of the starting eight, third baseman David Bell (.205) and first baseman Jim Thome (.203) were particularly disappointing in April. On the mound, starters Vicente Padilla (0-3) and Randy Wolf (1-3) struggled. Padilla is coming off an injury, so he might just need some time to find his rhythm. Wolf claimed he simply was not pitching well.
In the bullpen, setup man Tim Worrell was a major problem. In 11 April games, the reliever lasted just 8-2/3 innings and gave up 14 hits and seven earned runs — a far cry from the outstanding season he had last year.
On the plus side, Jon Lieber has been a pleasant surprise, and Brett Myers hurled strong games in four of his first five outings. Offensively, Pat Burrell (.303) and Chase Utley (.308) are hitting well, but the biggest surprise comes from the center-field platoon of Kenny Lofton (.373) and Jason Michaels (.375). (Stats are through Sunday's game.)
Lofton came to the Phillies with a lifetime average of .297, so he was expected to hit. Michaels came into this season with a career average of .283. He's enjoying the hottest streak he's ever had in the big leagues.
"I'm just getting good at-bats," said Michaels after collecting two more hits in Sunday's 8-6 victory over the Florida Marlins. "I'm seeing the ball well, and I'm working to put myself into some good counts to get pitches that I can hit."
Working the count is what patient batters do. Utilityman Placido Polanco and former Phillie Jeremy Giambi are two of the best hitters that I've seen do this while wearing a Philadelphia uniform. A batter with a good eye will lay off close pitches and force the pitcher to come in with a strike.
"It's just something that I've had to learn," Michaels said about working the count. "I can't control getting a hit, but I can try to have a good at-bat, and whatever happens happens."
His approach seems to be working. Unless left fielder Burrell or right fielder Bobby Abreu is lost with a serious injury, Michaels is stuck in a platoon with Lofton in center field, but he's certain that he can be an everyday player if only he had the opportunity.
"I know I can," said a confident Michaels, "but this is just the way things are (with the Phillies) right now, and I'm happy to be out there (whenever I get a chance to play)."
I've always admonished others for second-guessing a manager's decision, but I must admit that I broke one of my own rules when Charlie Manuel called for Billy Wagner with just one out in the eighth inning of Sunday's game. (Worrell had given up three straight hits and a run.)
Using the closer for more than one inning will wear him out as the season progresses, I told a fellow reporter. Furthermore, the No. 9 slot was slated to lead off the bottom of the eighth, so Wagner would have to bat if Manuel also expected him to pitch the ninth.
Wagner made it all moot when he faced just one batter in the eighth. Florida pinch-hitter Mike Lowell grounded into a double play to end the frame. Then Wagner ripped the first pitch that he saw in the bottom half into the right-field corner for a long single.
It turned out to be the main topic of the good-natured ribbing after the game, beginning with Manuel's address to the press corps.
"Billy couldn't get a double, could he?" the skipper asked. "He hit the ball all the way to the corner, and all he got out of it was a single."
"That was just luck," Wagner said of his first hit since 1998. "I haven't had a hit in seven years, so I'll take it."
"It could have been a double," suggested another reporter.
"Yeah, if (Marlins right fielder Juan Encarnacion) bobbled the ball and fell down," Wagner quipped.
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