BY SCOTT LAUBER ATLANTA -- After watching Pat Burrell go 0-for-5 with five strikeouts here Tuesday night, Charlie Manuel admitted that he considered taking the slumping left fielder out of the lineup.
Burrell wouldn't have blamed him.
"How can you really argue with the guy for not playing you?" Burrell told me last night. "You don't have much bargaining power."
Manuel stuck with Burrell, though. And, last night, Burrell rewarded his manager's loyalty by hitting his 250th career homer, a two-run shot in the sixth inning that broke a 2-2 tie in the Phillies' 4-3 victory over the Braves.
"It does a great deal for me," Burrell said of Manuel's confidence. "I think Charlie knows, at this point, how much I care about winning games and wanting to be a part of it. As a player, this is the time of year you really take pride in to be able to contribute and win when it counts. I do."
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Led by The Johan, the Mets won (again) last night. The Brewers lost (again) in a crushing game at Wrigley Field. I wasn't a math major, but according to my calculations, the Phillies' magic number to clinch a playoff berth is 8 and to clinch the NL East is 10.
The way I figure it, the Phillies (86-67), Mets (85-67) and Brewers (84-69) are fighting for two playoff spots. The best the Brewers can finish is 93-69, so any combination of eight Phillies wins or Brewers losses will give the Phillies a better record, clinching at least the wild-card berth. The best the Mets can finish is 95-67, so any combination of 10 Phillies wins or Mets losses will give the Phillies a better record, clinching the NL East title.
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Around the batting cage before last night's game, Burrell was chatting with Chipper Jones about the old days when the Braves won 11 straight NL East titles and the Phillies had some miserable trips to Atlanta. So, Burrell admitted that it was a strange feeling to leave here with a 9-0 record against the Braves at Turner Field this season.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Phillies are the first team to win nine straight road games in Atlanta in a single season. The Cardinals beat the Boston Braves nine straight times in Boston in 1943. But the Braves franchise hadn't been swept a season series of at least nine games at home since the Chicago Cubs went 11-0 against the Boston Doves in Boston in 1909.
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Those of you who get early editions of The Paper read about Jayson Werth, who is proving to Manuel that he's an everyday player.
"I thought I did it last year," Werth said.
Well, not quite.
Despite starting 45 of the Phillies' final 57 games last season, Werth split time with lefty-swinging Geoff Jenkins for most of this year. But, since Jenkins strained his right hip Aug. 22, Werth has started 25 straight games, batting .337 with a .452 on-base percentage, seven homers, 17 RBIs and six steals. He was batting .265 with eight homers and 30 RBIs against right-handers, .314 with 15 homers and 34 RBIs against lefties.
"He's improved a lot [against right-handers]," Manuel said. "He's got a lot of ability. He's big. He's strong. He hits the ball to all fields. He steals bases. He throws you out. He runs the ball down. He has a chance to be a big player. He's starting to put it all together. It's good to see."
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No strikeouts in Atlanta for Ryan Howard. First time all season that Howard hasn't whiffed at least once in a series.
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Time to hop a flight to Lauderdale. Back later from Dolphin Stadium with another audiofile, your series preview and a few other notes.
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