Sept. 10 -- BOPPERS & BREWERS

BY SCOTT LAUBER

A few numbers to digest with breakfast while we wait for Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee to choose between the lesser of three evils -- Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ or (gulp) Adam Eaton -- for Sunday and wonder how ageless wonder Jamie Moyer will fare while pitching on short rest Thursday:

Ryan Howard: 20-for-56 (.357), 14 runs, 7 HR, 17 RBI in last 14 games
Chase Utley: 25-for-74 (.338), 14 runs, 1 HR, 10 RBI in last 20 games
Jimmy Rollins: 26-for-64 (.406), 8 runs, 2 HR, 12 RBI in last 15 games

Ordinarily, you can tell how the Phillies' offense is going by looking at the Big Three. And while it appears that all three are hot, the number that strikes me is that Rollins has scored only eight runs in his last 15 games despite reaching base well over 40 percent of the time. Obviously, that isn't good enough. One reason: Utley hasn't been driving the ball. He hasn't homered since Aug. 22 in Los Angeles, and 18 of his last 20 hits have been singles.

***
With the Brewers coming to town tomorrow, it's fair to wonder if the wild card is the Phillies' best path to the playoffs.

Well, they're 2-1/2 games behind the Mets in the NL East and three behind the Brew Crew in the wild-card race. And while the Mets have Johan Santana and Carlos Delgado to prevent a repeat of last season's epic collapse, the Brewers have a history of second-half meltdowns. In fact, if it wasn't for the Mets blowing a seven-game lead with 17 to play last season, we'd be talking more about Milwaukee, who led the NL Central by 8-1/2 games on June 23, 2007, before going 40-48 and missing the playoffs entirely.

The Brewers 34-40 after the All-Star break last season, 31-41 after the break in 2006. Will they fall apart again?

***
Couldn't agree more with good friend John Finger's take on Billy Wagner. Love him, hate him or both, Wagner is always entertaining. And, really, isn't that what baseball is about?