This tag was the result of a beautiful Shane Victorino throw.


Charlie Manuel considered benching Shane Victorino before Saturday night's game against the San Diego Padres because of his struggles as of late against right-handed batters. But Manuel, loyal to a fault, decided to keep Victorino in the lineup and give him one more chance to get out of his funk.

Victorino backed up Manuel's decision by going two for four with two RBIs, a run scored, and an impressive throw from center field that quickly had Nick Hundley questioning his decision to round third and try for a run.

The Flyin' Hawaiian was having none of it and got Hundley by a mile. Brian Schneider applied the tag and that was that.

Victorino's performance, along with a fantastic outing by all four of the pitchers the Phils used Saturday night, gave the Phillies their second consecutive win over the NL West-leading Padres.

That's right. The team that couldn't squeeze out a single win against the Houston Astros has now won two games back-to-back against the Padres, arguably the best team in the NL this season.

But, that's the Phillies for you.

Joe Blanton scattered six hits over six innings, walked one and struck out three. Blanton has suddenly found his groove and has looked great in back-to-back starts, and this time, with some backup from Victorino, he was able to turn it into a win and even himself out at 6-6 for the year.

Jose Contreras, Ryan Madson, and Brad Lidge all pitched one perfect inning to end the game.

They allowed no hits, no runs, and each struck out one guy. Lidge, coming off an embarrassing balk that resulted in his fifth blown save of the season, got his 18th save of the year by retiring the side in order.

Lidge, another guy Manuel has been 100 percent loyal to, also seems to be justifying the faith Manuel has in him. He just has to cut down on the silly mistakes that really get him into a pinch.

Cole Hamels takes the mound Sunday afternoon for the Phils, so without even seeing the game I can safely surmise that the Padres will win 2-1 after Hamels takes a no-hitter into the sixth and has it blown up by a solo home run.
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Manuel needs to get this team back on track ASAP.


If it's not one thing with these Phillies over the past two weeks or so, then it's another. If the pitching is spot on, then you can be sure the offense will struggle to muster a single run.

And then once the hitting finally gets going, the pitching and defense begins to struggle and you're stuck with that Padres game from Sunday.

The Phillies had no business losing that game the way they did, especially since the offense lit it up in the first two innings. Granted, the Padres quickly pulled Kevin Correia, their starter, after the second inning, but there's no reason for San Diego's bullpen to be as shut-down as it was.

They've turned themselves into a pretty decent team and the bullpen isn't anything to scoff at, but this Phillies lineup should be able to hit any bullpen in the league -- especially when they're forced to eat up eight innings.

But, then again, perhaps I'm being too optimistic by thinking the hitting is coming back. Perhaps Correia was simply that bad. Maybe if the Phillies had actually been on, they could have tagged him for 15 runs and not five.

I'm just not sure. Right about now, you're basically reading the thoughts of a man who has absolutely no idea anymore. First I thought it was just a funk they'd get out of, then I thought it was about complacency, and now I'm telling you I have no idea and I'm not sure anyone in the organization does, either.

The players, the coaches, and the front office seem truly stumped. The only thing they can tell us is that they're sick of talking about it as Shane Victorino recently told the media.

Well, Vicky, I'm about as anti-Philly media as they come, but if even one of the eight of you would start connecting with the ball like we all know you can, there would be no questions about why in the world the most talented lineup in the National League is struggling.

And then as far as the pitching goes, there doesn't seem to be much of an answer there, either.

One thing I do know, however, is that when every aspect of a team is beginning to fall apart, it's time to look at the coaches. No, I'm not going to start a "Fire Charlie Manuel" campaign, but it's on him to get this team headed back in the right direction.

Given his track record, I believe he will, but he's certainly taking his sweet time about it.
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