Carlos Ruiz did all he could to put the Phillies on his back Wednesday night in Atlanta, but it was not enough. Getty Images.

Well, last night was certainly not without plenty of entertainment, right?

The Phillies had an ugly meltdown in Atlanta, with Roy Halladay showing a rare glimpse of ugliness, Jimmy Rollins botching a potential double play ball in the field, and Charlie Manuel willingly bat a relief pitcher in the 11th inning despite having two bench players and Johnathan Papelbon available in the bullpen.

Things started off well for the Phillies, who chased Braves starter Tommy Hanson early on and saw Carlos Ruiz record seven runs batted in in the clutch. Ruiz smacked a three-run home run in the seventh inning to give the Phillies the lead back after the Braves chased Halladay and took an 8-6 lead in the sixth. The Phillies tacked three more runs on the board in the eighth inning before the bullpen had their own meltdown in the bottom of the inning.

Joe Savery and Antonio Bastardo did their job well in relief of Halladay, but Jose Contreras was tagged for four runs in just one-third of an inning, allowing two hits and walking one in the eighth inning. Michael Schwimer could not stop the bleeding, allowing one run to score and taking the blown save in the same inning, as the Braves took a 13-12 lead in to the ninth inning. Jimmy Rollins misplayed a grounder up the middle that normally would have resulted in at least one out, if not two before the Braves rally got started.  He was not happy about it...

Damn I can't make that mistake on Chipper's ball!!! Pissed........

— Jimmy Rollins (@JimmyRollins11) May 3, 2012

Juan Pierre, used as a pinch hitter, drew a walk to lead off the ninth inning and he would come around to score with two outs on a Shane Victorino single. With the game sent to extra innings, Charlie Manuel was running low on bullpen relief but he was able to get a couple innings out of Brian Sanches, recently called up to fill a roster spot. Chipper Jones ended the wild night of baseball with a two-run home run to right center field, just pitches after sending one deep down the right field line, but foul.

In the end, the Phillies once again failed to get over .500 this season and will have to turn things around quickly with the series finale scheduled for this afternoon at noon.

After the game, perhaps in a symbolic gesture (or jester I suppose) of sorts, Phillies.com went down.

Jim Salisbury says questions are being raised about Halladay. As well they should. This is three straight games in which Halladay started that the Phillies did not celebrate a victory. Velocity issues? A diminishing strikeout ratio? Yes, he was due for an outing like this.

One can only imagine how much Matt Swartz would embarrass the WIP afternoon show with the logic behind this. If you weren't following the back-and-forth on Twitter last night, eventually WIP challenged Swartz from FanGraphs.com to come on air and continue their Halladay discussion. Basically WIP is stepping in to a gun fight with a pocket knife when it comes to this level of baseball discussion. Swartz agreed to come on, but I'll wager WIP will back down on the invite.

While the Phillies and Braves went in to extra innings that seemed more appropriate for a game in Wrigley Field in it's heyday, there was plenty of other stuff going on around the league.

Jered Weaver tossed a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins last night while most of us were sleeping, causing just about everybody to use the headline Dream Weaver. The folks at Monkey With a Halo were sure watching though.

This blown call by Tim Welke in yesterday's Dodgers-Rockies game sure strengthens the argument for expanded instant replay in baseball.

Speaking of the Dodgers, they are in the process of possibly adding a Gold Glove outfielder.

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The inner-LEGO nerd in me finds this to be a fascinating new item, now available in the Majestic Clubhouse Store. Now you can field an entire team of Phillies with your old (or current?) LEGO collection with the new collection from OYO Sports Toys.

That's right, for $12.99 each you can build and assemble your very own Phillies roster, complete with bendable knees (unlike standard LEGO mini figures), glove and team cap.  Here's a look at the full assortment of Phillies players, complete with personalized looks...

Following Monday night's late-inning victory against the Chicago Cubs, to salvage a four-game series split, the Phillies announced that reliever David Herndon was being added to the 15-day disabled list. Herndon is listed with inflammation in his throwing elbow. No pitcher has been called up yet but a move will be made today prior to the Phillies opening a road trip with a game in Atlanta.

Corey Seidman writes on CSNPhilly.com that one option could be to call up Jake Diekman from triple A Lehigh Valley. Diekman has a 0.82 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 11 innings so far this season.

Michael Stutes and Justin De Fratus are already on the disabled list, along with Cliff Lee, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Lee will not come off the disabled list in time for his next scheduled start, which would take place in Washington this weekend against Stephen Strasburg. Kyle Kendrick will remain in his spot in the rotation.

Howard has begun his training in Clearwater, and Utley is expected to join him soon.

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We all know that Larry Andersen is never shy to show his passionate and intense side when covering a baseball game on the radio. Yesterday, though, saw something 

In the bottom of the first inning, after Willie Bloomquist sent a double in to left field Aaron Hill popped up behind the plate on an 0-2 count from Cole Hamels for an out, but with Willie Bloomquist running toward third and turning toward home plate, the Phillies failed to go for an appeal at third base. According to Andersen, Placido Polanco was looking right at the batter and should have picked up on the need to appeal to the umpire for an automatic out. Video replay did show that Andersen knew exactly what he was talking about.

Andersen caught it immediately as the play was developing, interjecting with the play-by-play from Phillies radio announcer Scott Franzke, saying "They gotta throw to third... Throw to third, he went around the bag and didn't touch it."

As Andersen continued to be frustrated about the Phillies not going for the appeal he says "I don't know how to tell them to appeal it." A thought quickly came to mind, as Andersen was heard putting down his headset, getting up from his chair and screaming from the radio booth down to the field "Appeal it!"

Audio source: 94 WIP, via SoundClick user The Dork Knight

The Phillies would go on to win yesterday's game by the score of 7-2. It was another fine outing for Cole Hamels, who has now win three straight games since his season debut went sour. The offense took advantage of some sloppy play by the Diamondbacks and Michael Schwimer made his season debut in the ninth inning to close things out in a non-save situation, giving Jonathan Papelbon an extra day off.

The Phillies are off today but return home for a four-game series with the Chicago Cubs starting Friday night.

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Now that is more like it.

While Tuesday night's 8-5 win in Arizona showed that the Phillies still have some pop in their bats, it was just one game. Was Hunter Pence essentially putting himself in the lineup and promptly hitting a two-run home run in the first inning a positive sign? What about Laynce Nix hitting his first home run with the Phillies, pushing the fourth inning lead to 4-0? What, if anything, should be made of Pete Orr's three runs batted in? Shane Victorino hit his team-leading fourth home run as well

The Phillies have been lacking on offense this season, largely due to missing Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. On Tuesday the team matched a season-high for runs scored (scored eight runs April 15 vs. New York Mets) and snapped a three-game losing streak. Now the Phillies have a chance to salvage a series before heading home for four games with the Chicago Cubs. It has been a tough west-coast road trip for the Phillies, who dropped a series in San Francisco and split in San Diego. Roy Halladay took his first loss in San Diego over the weekend and Cliff Lee pitched ten shutout innings last Wednesday in San Francisco, only to see his offense fail to pick him up and be placed on the disabled list.

But on Tueday night, things just seemed to click once the lineup got a chance to see Diamondbacks starter Josh Collmenter. Vance Worley continued to show some very good things on the mound, allowing five hits and one run in six innings of work. Worley struck out six batters and the only run allowed came on a Cody Ransom solo shot to lead off the fifth inning. It was a stark contrast to the performance by Kyle Kendrick the night before. As I mentioned yesterday, Worley has a swagger and has confidence that he belongs on the mound as a starter. Kendrick does not appear to have that same starter's mentality. The difference is night and day between the two arms.

The Phillies have announced that young reliever Michael Stutes has been placed on the disabled list for 15 days, retroactive to Saturday. Stutes is said to have inflamation in his right shoulder. Michael Schwimer from triple A Lehigh Valley has been called up to fill the spot in the bullpen in the meantime.

Stutes heads to the DL with a 6.35 ERA after giving up three runs in his last appearance in San Diego.

How soon will Ryan Howard make his return to the Phillies lineup? We could be getting more of a sense for establishing that timeline.

After visiting the mysterious wund specialist, the Phillies have confirmed that Howard's suture wound is starting to diminish, which means Howard could be getting ready to take part in baseball activities in the somewhat near future.

"After seeing the wound specialist in Philadelphia yesterday, Ryan Howard’s wound has gotten smaller and is healing," a statement from general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. says. "We’ve been advised to limit his activities for one more week to allow it to continue to heal. We hope that he will be able to re-start his baseball activities thereafter."

Yeah, we hope a lot fo things right now Ruben. But wait, there's more!

"Additionally, Hunter Pence will undergo a precautionary MRI on his left shoulder (non-throwing) here in Phoenix," the statement continues. "We hope to have the results later this afternoon."

Well, OK. We already knew Pence was banged up and given the history of the Phillies and their key players with injuries, it makes perfect sense to get everything checked out as much as possible. What this means for Pence remains unknown at this stage, but the lineup really cannot afford to lose another bat right now. can it?

Cross your fingers Phillies fans. Cross your fingers.

Vance Worley gets the start tonight in Arizona as the Phillies look to snap a three-game losing streak. First pitch is scheduled for 9:40 p.m.

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Kendrick blasted Monday night in Phoenix, Phillies lose 9-5

Forgive me readers, for I was wrong.

AP Photo

Back in February when the Phillies signed Kyle Kendrick to a two-year extension I was supportive of the move, believing that Kendrick plays an unheralded position on the Phillies as a long-reliever capable of making a spot start or two when called upon. I figured for a total of $7.5 million through the end of 2013, there were worse ways to spend that money. Weren't there?

Then Cliff Lee was thrown on the disabled list, tying Charlie Manuel to use Kendrick in the series opener last night in Arizona. Kendrick was shelled early, as though the Diamondbacks were taking batting practice, and lasted just three innings. Arizona, who before this week had scored ten runs in a recent five-game losing streak, jumped all over Kendrick with extra base hit after extra base hit, tacking on four runs in the first inning, two more in the second inning and one final run in the third inning. Of course, when your offense is showing a lack of ability to produce runs, Monday night was one of those nights you turn the TV off early and get some sleep.

I have been under the weather and battling a nagging cough, so thank-you Kyle for that.

I will suggest that Kendrick be given a second chance on the mound as a starter before he is totally blasted. While his 9.39 ERA and 2.478 WHIP are astronomical early on, Kendrick was thrown in to a tough spot Monday night. Filling in for Cliff Lee is a pressure situation, especially when the offense failed to score a run in ten innings Lee's last time out. The offensive struggles should not be used as an excuse for allowing all of the hits and runs Kendrick gave up, of course, but Kendrick does seem to be the type of pitcher that finds it difficult to handle the pressure. Having watched Kendrick dating back to 2007, he has shown a knack for getting rattled on the mound as a starter and reliever. He may be coming off his best season with the Phillies (8-6, 3.22 ERA, 1.221 WHIP in 2011, all career bests), but history has proven Kendrick to be a far more effective reliever than starter.

Heading in to the season I expected April would be tough. But even I never imagined this.

The Phillies are so lost on offense you might be ready to start placing their pictures on milk cartons. Never was this more true than on this early-season west coast trip, which has seen the bats remain dull with Cliff Lee throwing ten shutout innings and Roy Halladay losing a game in San Diego, home to the worst team in Major League Baseball. April is starting to wind down and the Phillies find themselves in unfamiliar territory, the cellar of the National League East.

As the week begins the Phillies are five games back of the NL East leading Washington Nationals with a 7-9 record that has seen a pair of extra inning losses on the road and plenty of missed offensive opportunities. There is no other way to say it. This team is frustrating to watch right now.

The problem is the Phillies made moves to improve their bench with the additions of Ty Wigginton, Juan Pierre, Laynce Nix and Jim Thome. Instead of being able to call those players off the bench late in the game when the team needs a run, the Phillies have been forced to play these guys more regularly with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard on the disabled list and Placido Polanco struggling offensiveli at the start of the season. Wigginton and Mix have come up small in the field and Thome, to put it kindly, has looked his age at the plate.

So how long are fans expected to wait before it becomes OK to panic about this team's chances of claiming a sixth straight NL East division crown? Given this organization's track record I'm not so sure it is time to press the panic button, but it is more than fair to show concern about where this team is heading.

The Phillies have traditionally been a slow starting team, so I'm not terribly upset about the team's record at this point knowing that they have always played better as the season progresses. But never has this team been without two of their top bats in the lineup, even if they are diminishing in production or value. The fact is, having Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the lineup is much more desirable for this team than the current assortment of options.

So here is where I am with this team, as it is made up right now.

Jim Thome's mission for a World Series ring has led him back to Philadelphia in 2012, much to the delight of the fans who always adored the big first baseman. While Thome is not quite the same power hitting fixture in the lineup he was the first time he was in town, Thome's impact on the team is expected to payoff over the course of the season. He may have lost a bit with his offensive abilities in his older age, but he still can be a threat coming off the bench in the later innings.

Business Insider also says Thome is currently the best player in Major League Baseball to never win a World Series. According to a new story put together by the site, of the top 25 players in baseball history, 21 have won at least one World Series. Thome is currently 0-for-9 in the postseason when it comes to championships, including a loss to the Phillies in 2009 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

As you might suspect for a franchise that has been around as long as the Phillies has with just two championships, the Phillies do have a player listed on the ranking. Hall of Fame pitcher Robin Roberts is ranked eighth on the list, with one World Series loss (1950).

Other notable players on the list include longtime Houston Astro Jeff Bagwell (No. 10), Carl Yastzemski (No. 7) and Ty Cobb (No. 2). Barry Bonds tops the list of all-time players to not win a World Series. Bonds only played in one World Series, with the San Francisco Giants, and lost to the Anaheim Angels.

Everyone in Philadelphia is hoping Thome can get off this list of course.

Photo: Getty Images

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