Aug. 28 -- NO RELIEF

BY SCOTT LAUBER

CHICAGO -- Ryan Madson sat at his locker and stared out at nothing. He was dazed. And confused.

Madson inherited a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning here tonight and allowed a leadoff home run by Mike Fontenot. If it had stopped there, well, nobody would've remembered one homer. But Alfonso Soriano crushed a double. Ryan Theriot dunked a single into right field. Madson said later that he was "pulling every ball," noting a mechanical flaw. And after Madson, replaced without recording an out, gave way to Chad Durbin, Derrek Lee walked and Aramis Ramirez slugged a grand slam that was hit so hard and so far that Shane Victorino didn't move in center field.

6-4 Cubs. Game over.

As much exhilaration as they felt after Tuesday night's 13-inning, eight-run comeback in an 8-7 victory over the Mets, that's how despondent the Phillies were after this loss. Durbin was sullen. Charlie Manuel spoke in quiet tones. With 28 games remaining, the bullpen, the Phillies' only consistent source of strength all season, suddenly is faulty and unreliable.

You can read Madson's and Durbin's comments in Friday's News Journal (that's called a promo), but here's what Manuel had to say before the game (that's called being prophetic) about how much the Phillies miss Tom Gordon: "The thing that bothers me is we're asking Durbin and Madson to be consistent in the eighth inning for us at times, and I don't know if that's fair," Manuel said. "People say, 'What's the difference.' But that's like closing the game in a way. It does make a difference, and it's new [for them]. That's the thing about Gordon. He had experience as a closer and a setup guy. I think they can do it, but it definitely shows up. Once they get a little more comfortable in that role, I think they're going to be fine."

Can the Phillies afford to wait for that, though?

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Before the flood of e-mails invades my inbox, yes, Manuel considered leaving Hamels in the game in the eighth inning. But, after 108 pitches, Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee said Hamels appeared "spent." And, in fairness, Madson entered with a 3.16 ERA in 61 appearances. Durbin had a 1.95 ERA in 56 appearances. Between them, it was reasonable to think they could get three outs to set up a ninth inning for Brad Lidge. It didn't happen.

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Hamels has made 19 quality starts (at least six innings, no more than three runs) this season. He has won only nine of them. He also has four losses and six no-decisions.

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This is the song that plays after every Cubs win at Wrigley. Fans sing along. It's really very catchy. Well, unless you're the Phillies and you just blew a three-run lead.