Sept. 7 -- PITCHING IN

Came across a great stat yesterday. Before Wednesday's games, teams had taken a six-run lead or more into the eighth inning 517 times this season. Their record in those games: 517-0.

So, when the Phillies blew an 8-2 lead against the Braves by allowing four runs in the eighth inning and three in the ninth, they became the first team to lose this season when leading by six or more runs in the eighth.

Yikes!

Point is, a loss like Wednesday's isn't easy to forget. When the Phils came out flat Monday in Atlanta, I wrote about the possibility that they were "hung over" from squandering a five-run lead the previous day in Florida. And, if baseball hangovers exist, the one the Phillies have from Wednesday is a doozy.

Judging from this picture that's circulating on the Internet, J.D. Durbin knows how to cope with hangovers, and it'll be his job tonight to pitch the Phillies past the Marlins. Durbin calls this "personal redemption for myself." In his last start, Saturday night in Florida, the Marlins blitzed him for seven runs in the first inning. He was unable to record an out, and his ERA with the Phillies skyrocketed from 4.07 to 5.20.

But, in talking to Durbin before Wednesday's game, I sensed that he understands that the entire pitching staff needs to be better over the final 23 games if the Phillies are going to make the playoffs for the first time since, all together now, 1993. And, when it comes to the Phillies' fortunes, it really is all about pitching.

Since the wild card was instituted in 1995, 48 NL teams have made the playoffs. Only three -- the 1995 Rockies (4.97), the 1998 Cubs (4.50) and the 2006 Cardinals (4.54) -- have had a team ERA of 4.50 or higher. The Phillies' team ERA is 4.86. During their six-game winning streak that included the four-game sweep of the Mets, their team ERA was 3.27. In losing four of the next five games, it's 7.56. If they can consistently stay somewhere closer to 3.27, they'll be in great shape. If not, spring training is only five months away.

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Some familiar folks are vying for the Astros' GM job. Former Phillies GM Ed Wade interviewed Wednesday and current assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. was in Houston yesterday. If Amaro gets the job, it'll have an interesting impact on the Phillies. It's widely believed Amaro is the successor to Pat Gillick, whose contract expires after next season. But the competition is stiff. Yesterday alone, Astros owner Drayton McClain met with Cardinals assistant GM John Mozeliak, Indians director of player personnel Steve Lubratich and Amaro. On Wednesday, he talked to Wade, Royals special assistant Muzzy Jackson and former Expos GM Jim Beattie. And now, it appears MLB dean of discipline Bob Watson is interested. Watson was the GM who helped the Yankees win the World Series in 1996 and built the team that won it again in 1998. Courtesy of the Houston Chronicle, here are some thoughts from Wade and Amaro:

Wade: "There's a lot of players there that I'm sure the Phillies are happy to still have. And certainly over the course of time when I was general manager there was ... actually some pressure at different times to trade some of those players. We felt that in order to really be a successful organization you had to plan for the future. Yeah, we fell short of reaching postseason play while I was there, and certainly that contributed to my dismissal. At the same time, we stayed the course and had the focus for the long term. And hopefully Philadelphia will benefit because of that."

Amaro: "I felt like they got to learn a little bit more about me, and I obviously got to learn a little bit more about their organization."

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A day off yesterday gave me a chance to catch up on some reading, especially Sports Illustrated, which lately has included lots of Phillies stuff. This week's issue, with Michigan-Appalachian State on the cover, includes a feature on Jimmy Rollins.

In the same issue, Shane Victorino is included in "The Pop Culture Grid," a weekly staple in the front of the magazine. Here are his answers ...

I'm Superbad when I ... Get around women.
In your pockets right now ... Cellphone, wallet, Trojans
Favorite comfort food ... Ice cream
Least favorite exercise ... Running
Boxers or briefs ... None. I go commando
Person I'm dying to have dinner with ... Jessica Biel