Pepper

Blogging isn't a license to be irresponsible, but there's nothing in the unwritten code that prohibits prejudice.

Jayson Werth, Saturday night's goat, was one of Sunday's hero. He's now batting .301 with 16 home runs and 58 rbi's for the season. His OBP is .392.

So much for statistics. Werth is the most awkward swinging, least clutch .301 hitter I've ever seen. Ah, but statistics don't lie. He'll make a lot of money when he becomes a free agent. His good streaks will appear to have outweighed the bad ones in the end. Phillies fans will shed a collective tear when he departs. I will not.

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Domonic Brown has fallen back to earth but hardly with a thud. He's getting fooled mostly by big league breaking balls but he looks like a kid who will adjust. He stung at least one ball hard today going the other way with it but right at David Wright, who was pulled way over toward short in a shift. Brown has looked sharp in the outfield with a strong, mostly accurate arm. He doesn't appear to get too high or low. Naturally, we'd all like to see him hit .400 with two home runs in his first two major league at bats, but how often do those flashes pan out? He looks like a real solid kid with a bright future. The trouble for him will come when Victorino returns; then, the outfield will be crowded. Look for the Phils to give Greg Dobbs his second demotion or release of the season. I'd rather have Brown on the bench.

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The best sign of Cole Hamels' maturity is that he is taking the Phils pitiful run support in stride. As my wife is forever telling me about young people, they do grow up!

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Raul Ibanez deserves the comeback of the second half award at this juncture. Carlos Ruiz is a close second. What most impresses me about Ibanez is that he remained the same person throughout his struggles. No one was harden on him in electrons than I was. My apologies, Raul.

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Four different innings. That's how many times the Phillies scored the entire weekend. They were shut out in 23 innings against the Mets but still took two of three. That shows either one of three things: 1) Good teams find a way to win; 2) The Mets are lousy. 3) The Phillies are still scuffling offensively.

Since those three categories are not absolute, I guess there is at least one other possibility: 4) The Phillies are just good enough given their injury problems. The three game sweep in Florida suggests such is the case.

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Chase Utley and Ryan Howard will never have been as fresh as they will be in September. Of course in Howard's case he usually comes on strong in September, so the layoff may not be that beneficial. Utley, on the other hand, is usually dragging by September. If history is any guide, he should come out of the gate in great shape.

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Ross Gload and Wilson Valdez never could have imagined how much playing time they'd get on this team. The best part about their good fortune is they have capitalized on it and played well. They may have turned out to be among Ruben Amaro's best signings.