4/21 -- Frustration is mounting

With all that happened in tonight's game, plenty of good stuff was left on the cutting room floor. Here are some observations from the Phillies' latest loss, 4-3 to the Florida Marlins.

* Things are going so bad for the Phillies that manager Charlie Manuel can't even get thrown out of a game. Manuel, who stormed the field in the sixth inning to argue that Alex Gonzalez was safe at third trying to steal, threw plenty of obscenities at third-base ump James Hoye but didn't get tossed. "I thought I was going to get kicked out," Manuel said later. "I was using everything I had. I wasn't trying. But I voiced my opinion, and I said some things."

* For a second straight game, the Phillies faced a left-handed pitcher. And for the second straight game, Ryan Howard batted seventh. I understand that Manuel doesn't want to bunch three lefties (Bobby Abreu, Chase Utley, Howard) in the middle of his lineup. But this notion that Howard can't hit lefties is preposterous. He did so in the minors and got two hits off Marlins lefty Scott Olsen tonight.

* The Phillies are batting .186 (21-for-113) with runners in scoring position. Center fielder Aaron Rowand's take on that statistic: "We've had a lot of good at-bats with runners in scoring position. But how many times have we just hit the ball right on the screws at somebody."

* Reluctant ace Jon Lieber retired the first 13 Marlins before allowing two runs in both the fifth and sixth innings. But he wasn't happy with his outing. "I didn't have good stuff," he said. "If I had good stuff, maybe I put up two more zeroes [in the fifth and sixth]."

* For all that was made of Jimmy Rollins' 38-game hitting streak, Bobby Abreu is putting together an impressive run -- 9 straight games with at least one walk. Some quick research has turned up the major-league record for consecutive games with a walk: as of 2004, it was a 22-game walk streak held by Roy Cullenbine of the Detroit Tigers in 1947. I'll try to confirm that tomorrow.

That's all for now. More tomorrow, although, with heavy rain in the forecast, it's not looking like the Phils and Marlins will play.