July 15 -- GETTING OFFENSIVE

Happy Sunday, everyone.

By now, you've read it in the 50-cent edition and on the Blog about a zillion times. The Phillies need pitching. Desperately. But there isn't much pitching available on the trade market, and there won't be before the July 31 deadline. So, their best chance to win the NL East and make the playoffs for the first time since 1993 may be to do what they've done the past two games against the Cardinals.

Knock the cover off the ball.

The Phillies have scored 23 runs and picked up 37 hits in the last two games. Tough to lose when you never stop scoring. But, is there any way they can keep up this offensive pace for the rest of the season? Pat Burrell said it best: "History will say no, probably. If we score 10 runs a night, we're going to be tough to beat. But, realistically, that won't happen."

Of course it won't. And that's why the Phillies' pitching staff -- and its 4.88 ERA, highest in the NL -- needs to get better. Of the 48 NL teams that have made the playoffs since 1994, only three have finished the season with a team ERA of 4.50 or higher. Only six have finished in the bottom half of the league in ERA.

Get the picture? Pitching wins, no matter how powerful your offense is.

But the Phillies, still on the precipice of becoming the first pro sports franchise to lose 10,000 games, are about to make one kind of history. Maybe they'll be able to make another, too.

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Big day for Tom Gordon. If he aces his bullpen session today, he could be activated before tomorrow night's game in LA. I'll post a pregame update (check back at about 6 p.m.) to let you know how he did.

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Big week for Brett Myers. After throwing another strong 25-pitch bullpen session yesterday in Clearwater, Fla., he'll pitch to live hitters Tuesday. Then, he'll begin pitching in minor-league games. I still think July 24, Myers' targeted return date, is a tad optimistic. But there's no reason, barring any setbacks, that he can't be back during the homestand that begins July 24.

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Burrell is swinging the bat considerably better, raising his average from .201 to .227 in the past seven games. Find out why.

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The News Journal's Sunday baseball notes includes a section on Justin Germano. Is he the one that got away or a four-start wonder for the Padres? Also, this isn't how Randy Wolf and Mike Lieberthal planned to greet the Phillies in Tinseltown.

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Has it really only been a week since the Phillies rescued the grounds crew at Coors Field from a runaway tarp?

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Trivia: Jimmy Rollins set a single-season franchise record yesterday with his fifth leadoff homer. Which three Phillies shared the previous mark of four? Answer tomorrow. No cheating.