June 10 -- SPELLING RELIEF

FORT LAUDERDALE -- So, I touched down in steamy Florida yesterday evening, just in time to check into the hotel and see highlights of Ken Griffey Jr. hitting No. 600 a few miles down the road at Dolphin Stadium. Great that it finally happened. Ridiculous that only 16,003 people were there to see it. Hard to blame fans down here for not supporting the Marlins, though. Every time the organization develops exciting, young players, management holds a fire sale and sends them packing. Perhaps that's beginning to change, though. Hanley Ramirez just signed a multi-year contract, and the club reportedly is discussing a deal for Dan Uggla.

But I digress...

A similarly small crowd likely will be on hand tonight to see the first-place Phillies, who have a four-game lead over the Marlins that could swell this week. There are many reasons for the Phillies' success, but really, the formula for winning has been simple: Stay close enough for the mighty offense to get a lead and the shut-down bullpen to hold it.

It's hardly a revolutionary idea. The Yankees did it in 1996 with setup man Mariano Rivera and closer John Wetteland and throughout the 90s when the likes of Jeff Nelson, Mike Stanton and Ramiro Mendoza were setting up Rivera. The Angels followed suit in 2002 with Francisco Rodriguez and Brendan Donnelly setting up for Troy Percival. Then came the Red Sox in 2004 with Jonathan Papelbon and Keith Foulke, and last season with Hideki Okajima and Papelbon handling the late innings.

That brings us to the Phillies. Before Sunday's game in Atlanta, I was talking to Brad Lidge, who was part of a Houston bullpen in 2003 that featured Billy Wagner and Octavio Dotel. Lidge believes the Phillies' bullpen, which leads the majors with a 2.58 ERA, is better than that Astros bullpen. He may be right. And in the 50-center, we examine the many personalities that make up the Phillies' bullpen.

There's Tom Gordon, the intensely focused 20-year veteran. There's Ryan Madson, the paper-thin cut-up. There's the heavily tattooed Rudy Seanez, who is considering a post-baseball career in mixed martial arts. There's Chad Durbin, an entrepreneur who recently launched a recruiting Web site for scholastic athletes. There's Clay Condrey, the stereotypical Texan who likes fishing, hunting and camouflage clothes. There's lone lefty J.C. Romero, an outfielder in high school and college who relates as well with position players as he does with pitchers. And there's Lidge, the Notre Dame-educated flame-thrower.

But for all of their dissimilarities, they've come together as the best bullpen in baseball. A few numbers that reveal their dominance:

- In 56 games since April 6, they are 16-5 with a 2.35 ERA
- Lidge is 17-for-17 in save chances with a 0.96 ERA
- Gordon has a 2.13 ERA since opening day (3.86 overall)
- Romero has a 1.59 ERA in 28 appearances
- Durbin has a 1.67 ERA in 25 appearances
- Madson has allowed two runs in his last 16 innings (3.31 ERA overall)
- Seanez has allowed runs in only four of 19 outings (2.49 ERA overall)
- Condrey has a 2.45 ERA in his last eight games (4.56 overall)

Sure, the Phils would like to add another lefty reliever to ease the burden on Romero, but lefties have hit only .241 (14-for-58) with one home run off Madson. So, for now, the bullpen is the least of their concerns.

OK, what do you think? How good is this bullpen? Good enough to pitch the Phillies deep into the playoffs?

***
Celebrity sighting: Before I left Atlanta yesterday, I had a great lunch at Ted's Montana Grill, near the Centennial Olympic Park and CNN Tower. The restaurant is owned by Ted Turner, and as I was enjoying my bison burger, The Ted came strolling through the restaurant. He was seated promptly, of course, and ordered a tasty burger of his own. I thought about telling him that I really enjoy "Frank TV" and "My Boys" on TBS, but I restrained myself. (One complaint about "My Boys," which I also had about "Everybody Loves Raymond": Being a sports writer is nothing like how they portray it.)

***
More later from Dolphin Stadium. For now, here's a little something to get you set for tonight's series-opener against the Fish.

PHILLIES (39-26) at MARLINS (34-28)
Tonight, 7:10: RHP Brett Myers (3-7, 5.13) vs. RHP Ricky Nolasco (5-4, 5.05)
Wed., 7:10: LHP Cole Hamels (6-4, 3.36) vs. LHP Andrew Miller (4-5, 5.65)
Thurs., 7:10: LHP Jamie Moyer (6-3, 4.56) vs. LHP Scott Olsen (4-2, 3.44)
Hot: Phillies CF Shane Victorino is batting .370 (30-for-81) with 25 runs scored over the last 20 games; Phillies 2B Chase Utley is batting .367 (18-for-49) with six homers and 20 RBIs in the last 13 games; Marlins 3B Jorge Cantu is batting .429 (12-for-28) with three homers and seven RBIs over his seven-game hitting streak; Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez is batting .357 (10-for-28) with five homers and eight RBIs during his seven-game hitting streak.
Not: Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins has two hits in his last 18 at-bats; Phillies 3B Pedro Feliz has two hits in his last 20 at-bats; Marlins 1B Mike Jacobs is batting .194 (7-for-36) in his last 11 games; Marlins OF Jacque Jones is 4-for-33 (.121) since signing with Florida on May 19.