Aug. 20 -- THREE QUESTIONS

PITTSBURGH -- A few thoughts come to mind this morning, as I wait for US Air 3306 to board. And, since the Phillies are off today, I figured I'd bounce a few questions off you.

1. Still can't believe I just watched the Phils lose back-to-back games in which they were leading 4-0 -- and to the lowly Pirates, no less. Playoff teams don't do that. Before the last homestand, against Florida and Atlanta, GM Pat Gillick made headlines by saying a 3-3 record would be acceptable. The Phillies went 4-2. To a man, they expected to go at least 4-2 last week against NL patsies Washington and Pittsburgh, and as they left the clubhouse here yesterday, they were unhappy with going just 3-3. So, now, the Phils are returning home, where they've won 20 of the last 29, for 10 straight games beginning tomorrow night against three playoff contenders -- the Dodgers, Padres and Mets. What would be an acceptable record during this homestand? You'd think they'd need to go at least 6-4, probably even 7-3, wouldn't you?

2. If you didn't watch Ryan Howard every day and simply looked at his numbers (33 homers, league-leading 99 RBIs), you'd think he was having another MVP-caliber season. We, of course, know better. Yes, for a 54-game span over two months from May 25 through July 26, Howard batted .312 with 23 homers, 62 RBIs and a 1.122 OPS. But in his 29 games before that, he batted .204 with six homers, 23 RBIs and an .809 OPS, largely because he was hampered by a strained left quad. And, in his last 22 games since Chase Utley broke his hand July 26, he's batting .185 with four homers, 14 RBIs and a .688 OPS. The one constant has been Howard's frequent strikeouts. He has whiffed 149 times and is on pace to break Adam Dunn's single-season record of 195 Ks, set in 2004. So, what do you make of all this? Are you happy with Howard's production, or do you want to see more?

3. Most people in the organization didn't think Kyle Kendrick was ready when he got called up in June from double-A Reading. But Kendrick, who starts tomorrow night against the Dodgers, has posted eight quality starts (at least six innings, three earned runs or less) in 12 outings. He's lasted at least six innings nine times and has a 3.94 ERA. But do you think he's done enough to merit a guaranteed spot in the rotation next season?

Hopefully that's enough to get you through a Monday without a Phillies game. Once I get home, I'll be checking on Utley's appointment with hand specialist Dr. Randall Culp. It's possible Utley will get clearance to begin swinging a bat, which, obviously, would be huge news. Utley said Saturday that he's hoping to be back before the Aug. 27 series-opener against the Mets. Now that they're five games behind New York in the NL East race, the Phils certainly could use his help.