May 12 -- TAKING THE STAIRS

BY SCOTT LAUBER

So, the day I met Matt Stairs, last Aug. 30 at Wrigley Field, he admitted he tries to hit a home run each time he goes to the plate. I laughed. Nobody tries to hit home runs, I thought. In fact, since I started covering baseball, I've probably heard more hitters say that home runs are "mistakes" and that if you think about hitting a ball out of the park, you'll never actually be able to do it.

Then, about a week later, I was working in the press box at Citizens Bank Park a few hours before a Saturday night game when I saw Stairs take a tee and a fungo bat to home plate. He set a ball on the tee, stood in the batter's box and took a healthy cut, launching the ball into the right-field seats. It was a hilarious sight.

That's when it occurred to me. If Stairs wasn't among the top pinch-hitters in the majors, he would probably be on a slow-pitch softball team somewhere. Seriously. We've all played with a guy like Stairs, a stocky, balding, beer-guzzling, wise-cracking guy with a grip-it-and-rip-it philosophy on hitting. The difference, of course, is that Stairs has belted 256 homers in a 17-year career with 11 teams, production that has made him a fan favorite from Oakland to Toronto to Philadelphia. With the Phillies, he has five homers in only 40 at-bats, including the postseason when he hit arguably the most memorable homer in franchise history, the eighth-inning, two-run blast that landed on the right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium and won Game 4 of the NLCS.

But, at least in Philly, I think y'all are drawn to Stairs because he comes as close to being one of you as any millionaire baseball player possibly can. And with the Dodgers coming to town, I thought it was an appropriate time to look at the slugger who calls himself an "Average Joe."

"Let's face it," Stairs said Sunday. "I'm not 6-foot-2 and trim. I'm 5-foot-9, and I don't really care."

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Stairs also had one of the funniest postgame quotes ever after he hit that famous homer against the Dodgers.


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You're invited to our weekly Phillies live chat Wednesday at noon at www.delawareonline.com. Be there!

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Thanks to everyone who weighed in yesterday about where struggling Jimmy Rollins should bat in the Phillies' lineup. Personally, I like James' suggestion to put Rollins in the No. 7 spot, at least until he regains his stroke. It's not too late to make your suggestion. Please scroll down or click here and give us your two cents.

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Also in today's News Journal, Chan Ho Park prepares to face his old team, and reliever Jack Taschner talks about how Manny Ramirez changed the NL West race last season. And, on that note, here's your primer for the Phillies' big three-game series against the Manny-less Dodgers.

DODGERS (22-11) at PHILLIES (15-14)
Tonight, 7:05: LHP Clayton Kershaw (1-2, 4.91) vs. RHP Chan Ho Park (0-1, 6.67)
Tomorrow, 7:05: LHP Randy Wolf (1-1, 2.95) vs. LHP Jamie Moyer (3-2, 7.26)
Thursday, 1:05: RHP Chad Billingsley (5-1, 2.45) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (1-2, 6.17)
Hot: Dodgers 2B Orlando Hudson has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, going 16-for-47 (.340); Dodgers C Russell Martin has reached base in 14 of his last 19 plate appearances, going 8-for-13 (.615) with six walks; Phillies RF Jayson Werth is 9-for-21 (.429) with four homers and 10 RBIs in his last seven games; 3B Pedro Feliz is 16-for-46 (.348) after an 0-for-15 skid.
Not: Dodgers RF Andre Ethier is 2-for-22 (.091) in his last five games, dropping his average to .286 from .327; Dodgers 1B James Loney has gone eight straight games without an extra-base hit; Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins is in a 1-for-18 slump that has lowered his average to .195; Phillies CF Shane Victorino is 0-for-13 in the last three games after a career-high 16-game hitting streak.