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DENVERThe All-Star break didnt do much for Charlie Manuels mood. After four days away from all the losing, he was a little cranky when he met with reporters before the Phillies returned to action Friday night.Someone asked Manuel if he felt ready and refreshed.Yeah, Im always ready, he said with some edge in his voice. Ive been in baseball 50 years and Im always bleeping ready.
Who could blame Manuel for being a little testy? Hes in a major bind. His team lost 50 games before the All-Star break and was 14 games back in the NL East and 10 out of the second wild-card spot when it reconvened Friday.
A day that began with a 1:30 afternoon workoutfull infield-outfield and early batting practicein 93 degree heat ended nine hours later with yet another defeat. The Phillies opened the second half of this woeful season with a 6-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies, one of the few NL teams with a worse record than them (see Salisbury's Instant Replay).
Remember when Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were supposed to save the season?
Not happening.
The Phillies have lost 11 of their last 12 games, coinciding with Utleys return from the disabled list. They are 0-4 with Howard back. They are 37-51 and their deficit in the NL East is 15 games.After the game, Manuels mood was no better. Youd be cranky, too, if your team was manhandled by a rookie pitcher who entered the game with a 5.98 ERA and you had to watch your 24 million lefty, Cliff Lee, suffer another loss.I shake my head, Manuel said. I see Lee pitching and I cant believe we cant win some games with him pitching.We get outplayed. Thats kind of how it goes.It was a typical Phillies of 2012 loss: Lousy defense (they threw the ball poorly from the outfield), bad base-running (John Mayberry Jr. was picked off), bad clutch work (1 for 6 with runners in scoring position), and poor relief pitching.The Phils are 4-11 in Lees 15 starts. A year after finishing third in the NL Cy Young voting, he is 1-6.Obviously we want to win every game, Lee said. Tonight, they flat out beat us.A pair or rookies beat the Phils. Lefty Christian Friedrich, he of the bloated ERA, held the Phils to one run over six innings, while shortstop Josh Rutledge, playing in his first big-league game, drove in two runs against Lee.Utley and Howard were a combined 0 for 6 with a walk.Utley is 8 for 37 (.216) in his time back. Howard is 2 for 11.Lee left the game trailing, 3-1. The game got out of hand when reliever Michael Schwimer came in.Lee pitched well enough, but the run support was not there. With no run support, a difficult sixth inning in which he allowed three hits, a sacrifice fly, and a walk was enough to bring him down.The Phils have had a lot of bad losses this season, but this one was a symbolic punch in the gut. The Phils need to make a move quickly in the standings or management will wave the white flag on a wild-card run and start trading off talent. Thats probably what GM Ruben Amaro, assistant Scott Proefrock, Manuel and the coaching staff talked about in a lengthy meeting in Manuels office before the game. Everyone in Phillies red hoped to open the second half with a win, but all they got was another night of misery.Maybe Roy Halladay should take his time coming off the disabled list. It doesnt look like this team can be saved.We need to start outplaying teams, Manuel said before the game.It didnt happen Friday night.E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com.