If these are the two best teams in baseball, then they are so with blemishes — particularly Philadelphia — though they have the ability to polish themselves by October.
Here’s a look at some issues with the good, bad, and ugly Phillies:
■ Cliff Lee, the free agent prize, was 4-5 with a 3.94 ERA after getting demolished by the Nationals, 10-2, on May 31. In four starts since then, he is 4-0 with a 0.27 ERA. After a complete-game shutout of the Cardinals Wednesday, he’d thrown 23 straight scoreless innings.
■ Roy Oswalt says his back hurts when he sits, walks, and sleeps, and he has gone on the disabled list. He is very troubled about his future, as are the Phillies. This could be a devastating loss.
■As of Friday, Cole Hamels (who started yesterday) and Roy Halladay (scheduled to start today) were both 9-3 with a 2.51 ERA. They have lived up to their billing.
■ After closer Brad Lidge and setup man Jose Contreras were lost, there was real concern. Philadelphia considered trading for a closer, but Ryan Madson saved the day. He has a 2.03 ERA and is 15 for 16 in save situations, surprising everyone who thought he didn’t have it in him to close. New set-up man Antonio Bastardo has a 0.96 ERA and has allowed 11 hits in 28 innings. He has held opponents to a .120 average. Madson, though, has come up with a sore hand and will miss some or all of the Boston series, so Bastardo and Mike Stutes may be used to close.
■ Early in the season, there were complaints that the Phillies’ lineup — like Boston’s — was too lefthanded. Some believe this has resulted in an inability to generate much offense (they are 10th in the National League in runs), especially against strong lefthanded starters and good situational lefties. All of Ryan Howard’s 16 homers were against righthanded pitchers (though he is hitting a respectable .264 vs. lefties) and we saw what Giants lefty Javier Lopez did to him in the playoffs last season. Heading into the weekend, the Phillies had scored three or fewer runs in 39 of their first 74 games.
