So much has been made out of the Phillies’ pitching situation heading into the playoffs, it’s easy to forget that this team has one major flaw outside of a guy whose name rhymes with “Lad” and “Bridge”…

The bench is weak.

But it’s not a lost cause, either.

There are two semi-not-really-controversial moves/switch-a-roos that should be made for the NLDS.

John Mayberry Jr. over Matt Stairs

So what if Mayberry failed to live up to the spring-training hype. And who cares if he has career minor leaguer written all over him.

Matt Stairs doesn’t deserve a spot on the roster.

I know, I know … he’s a power lefty and a folk hero. He can suck 90 percent of the time and make up for lost time with one swing of a bat.  Heck, I’ll be the first to admit that the Phillies MIGHT NOT have won the World Series without Stairs’ moonshot in Game 4 against the Dodgers.

But… c’mon, this guy flat-out cannot hit any longer. He’s old, beer-belly fat and Canadian. What more prove is there that this guy just doesn’t have it anymore?

Stairs can’t even catch up with a juicy fastball — his pride and joy. What does he have, one hit since July?

I understand that you’re losing the THREAT of a pinch-hit homer in late innings… but I’d gladly take my chance with Mayberry, who has shown flashes of power, if not an inability to hit any pitch that doesn’t stay straight in the zone.

Not to mention, Mayberry can run a little bit, so he can be used in pinch-run situations if need be.

Miguel Cairo over Eric Bruntlett

Ugh. Well, this isn’t exactly a huge, earth-shattering decision. Both guys a borderline terrible, but I’d give Cairo the nod because he has shown to be a better hitter in limited action this year.

Matt Stairs' career-defining moment. Savior it forever, Phillies fans. It won't happen again (or, at least it shouldn't have the chance to happen again... not this year).

Like Stairs, Bruntlett can’t hit a lick.

Maybe Bruntlett is a better fielder… who the hell knows?

Here’s how the bench should look on Wednesday:

Outfielders – Ben Francisco and Mayberry

Infielders: Cairo and Dobbs

Catcher: Paul Bako

The Phillies lost to the Marlins, 4-3, Saturday afternoon. They cannot clinch home field advantage throughout the National League playoffs.

Good news, though, is that the Cardinals lost to the Brewers. Thus, the Phils have home field advantage in the first round ONLY.

Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com blogged Saturday that Charlie Manuel is leaning toward carrying 13 pitchers and 10 position player on the first-round playoff roster. Here’s the breakdown as far as position players are concerned:

C: Carlos Ruiz and Paul Bako

INF: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pedro Feliz, Jimmy Rollins, Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett.

OF: Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Matt Stairs and Ben Francisco.

The pitching is a whole lot blurrier. With season-ending injuries to J.C. Romero, Jamie Moyer and possibly Chan Ho Park… there are questions here. Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels will start Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS, respectively. Joe Blanton should pitch the third game. The No. 4 spot has not yet been determined.

J.A Happ and Pedro Martinez are the candidates. Happ could be moved to the bullpen because of the team’s shortage of left-handed relievers. As of now, Scott Eyre

Don't lie to us, Charlie. If Brad Lidge has another 1-2-3 outing in a meaningless game Sunday (like he did Saturday), you're gonna put him in a save situation the first chance you get, right?

is probably the Phillies’ only lefty specialist.

However, if Sergio Escalona and Antonio Bastardo pitch well over the weekend, either one could be included on the postseason roster. At this point, you’d have to think that both are long shots…

Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Tyler Walker, Brett Myers and Eyre are “locks”. I’m pretty sure Kyle Kendrick has earned the role of long reliever.

Either Happ or Martinez is guaranteed a spot in the pen. Clay Condrey is iffy because he hasn’t pitched a whole lot this season because of injuries…

The pitching roles are pretty much undefined at this point. With one day left to go in the regular season, Manuel has some crucial decisions to make.

Phillies vs. Nationals

7:05 PM at Citizens Bank Park

Cliff Lee (6-2, 3.11 ERA) hopes to regain his form as the Phillies strive for the post-season.

It’s every struggling pitcher’s dream: Back to back starts against the Nationals.

Cliff Lee will get his second chance in the past week to take down the worst team in baseball, as he looks to rebound from his latest struggles after cruising to a 5-0 start.

The 2008 AL Cy Young winner looked far from perfect in his last start, giving up five runs through seven. It definitely was an improvement however, as he had many hitters buried in the count but failed to deliver the payoff pitch.

One deterring note from that game was that Cliff gave up three doubles and two runs to the struggling Alberto Gonzalez. This makes Lee vs. Gonzalez the key matchup for the night.

Just like September 9, Lee will face Nationals pitcher Garrett Mock (3-7, 5.75 ERA). The reliever turned starter threw 106 pitches in his five inning outing against the Phils, in which he took a no decision. Mock has been in and out of AAA this season, but only allowed two XBH (both doubles) against the high powered Phillies.

Paul Bako – who almost always catches for Lee – was 0-2 against Mock last game.  It will be interesting to see if Charlie will let Ruiz catch for Lee as the playoffs approach, especially the way Carlos has been hitting lately.

Fun Phact – Cliff Lee was drafted three times. First by the Marlins then by the Orioles, opting to go college both times, until finally he was picked and signed in 2000 by the Expos.

After losing two of three games against the Pirates –arguably the worst team in the NL– there’s reason to worry if you’re a Phillies fan.

But don’t go crazy. We still have aseven game lead, which is nice at this time of year…

For whatever reason, the Pirates handle the Phils at PNC Park. In fact, the Phillies have won only one series there since 2002.

"Now you fans are probably asking yourselves, 'Hey Matt, how can we get the Phillies' offense back on the right track?'"

The Phillies never, ever hit in Pittsburgh. It’s mind-boggling and it’s frustrating to watch a World Series champion lose to one of baseball’s laughingstocks over the last two decades.

Simply put, the Phils failed miserably at the plate, which overshadowed good pitching by Joe Blanton, Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ.

 They hit .224 and, worse, only .107 with runners in scoring position, according to Phillies.com beat writer Todd Zolecki.

That is, in a word, pitiful.

If it wasn’t for Ryan Howard’s three-run blast Tuesday night, the Pirates easily could have swept.

Wednesday, in a 3-2 setback,  Happ pitched extremely well once again until with two outs in the eighth inning, new Phillies killer Garrett Jones belted a two-run homer over the center field wall. I can’t count on one hand how many mistakes Happ has made this season… but that was one of ‘em.

Sadly, once again, the Phils let the Pirates hang around. The Phils had the bases loaded with nobody out in the first inning, but plated only one run. Paul Bako, believe it or not, provided the only real highlight at the dish when he launched a solo homer over the right-field wall in the second.

Other than Bako’s dinger and Jimmy Rollins’ three-hit performance, Wednesday was another sad effort by the bats. And, unfortunately, it’s becoming an annoying pattern.

I get what the Phillies are all about. It’s no secret that they win games on offense by hitting homers. That’s just their M.O. You can’t change that.

Getting the clutch, two-out hit with a guy on third is a rarity. And it’s been that way over the course of the last two years.

It’s sad when Pedro Feliz, who’s batting .270-something, is leading the team in batting average with runners in scoring position. And his numbers aren’t overly impressive in those situations.

It’s not panic time. Not even close. It was a bad series for the offense and that’s that.

However, I can’t end this article without mentioning our favorite new Phillie, Raul Ibanez.

Yes, Ibanez got off to a torrid start, but since he went on the disabled list in June, he hasn’t done much at all. Ibanez is hitting a paltry .140 (8-for-57) with one homer, four RBIs and 20 whiffs in 15 games since Aug. 9.

Raul, we love ya, but that ain’t cutting it.

Sadly, age is catching up with the 37-year-old. I think he rushed back from injury and didn’t properly heal. Something tells me that Ibanez is due for a hot streak, but on the other hand, a devilish voice is saying to me that what you see from Raul is what you get. In other words, he peaked way, way too soon this year.

Let’s hope not.

And let’s hope the offense as a whole — save for Ryan Howard’s home runs — can get back on track this weekend versus Atlanta.

Thursday, August 6th

Phillies 3, Rockies 1

Cliff Lee was a winner in his Citizens Bank Park debut, pitching seven strong innings with a season-high nine strikeouts.

The Phillies’ new ace settled down after allowing a first-inning run.

Lee, whose 2.95 ERA ranks 15th in baseball, has pitched no fewer than seven innings in each of his last six starts.  Hescattered 10 hits, struck out 15 and allowed only two runs in his first two starts as a Phillie.

Jimmy Rollins sparked the offense with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate. J-Roll was a home run shy of the cycle.

Rollins doubled and scored in the first inning, singled in the third and tripled and scored in the fifth.  He is enjoying a 12-game hitting streak.

Paul Bako cracked his first home run since June 8, 2008, in the fifth to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead over Colorado starter Aaron Cook, who left the game after five frames due to a sprained toe.

Brad Lidge notched save No. 21 and is 8-for-8 in save chances since his DL stint in June.

Player of the Game

Cliff Lee

The Phillies rallied from a four-run deficit in the ninth inning en route to a thrilling, 8-7 win over the Pirates Friday.

Ryan Howard hit a three-run homer off Matt Capps to tie the score, 7-7. Paul Bako delivered a bases-loadedf single to win it.

Biggest victory of the year? Well, any wins against the pathetic Pirates should be kept in perspective… but it was the best comeback win of the season, for sure.

You could just sense that Howard would unleash one there. He sent a bomb to the one of the deepest areas of the park in left-center field, some 400 feet from home plate.

Good stuff, all around. The Mets and Braves won, so to keep them from gaining ground is always nice.

The comeback erased another sub-par outing by Cole Hamels, who allowed five earned

Thanks for coming, Joey.

runs over six innings of work.

Kudos to Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, for sticking around the entire game. The Vice President had a front row seat adjacent to the Phillies dugout, sporting a red Phils cap.