June 23 -- AMARO IS MAKING HIS PITCH

BY SCOTT LAUBER

So, before last Saturday night's game, I was talking to a National League scout who has some knowledge of the Phillies' front office. The scout said he's pretty certain the Phils will acquire "at least one, maybe two" pitchers before the July 31 trade deadline.

Ruben Amaro Jr. isn't as sure.

Not yet, at least.

I talked to Amaro on the phone yesterday, and while he said that upgrading the starting rotation remains his "main focus," he said he doesn't yet have any willing trade partners. The problem, evidently, is two-fold: a) Some of the pitchers who ordinarily would be on the market (Jake Peavy, Erik Bedard, etc.) are injured; b) Some of the teams that were expected to be trade-deadline sellers (Rockies, Reds, etc.) haven't completely dropped out of contention.

"No one's out there dealing anybody or wanting to part with anybody because the pitchers who are available are, one, hurt, and two, pitching for teams that don't think they're out of the race yet," Amaro told Philled In. "I know because I've asked about every one of them."

But July 31 is still more than a month away, so I asked Amaro if he anticipates the numbers of sellers will increase over the next 5-1/2 weeks. Usually, that's how it happens, he said, although he's not counting on it. He's also not banking on being able to find a starting pitcher who is appreciably better than either of the two rookie left-handers presently in the Phillies' rotation.

"Depending on what's going to be available," Amaro said, "[J.A.] Happ and [Antonio]Bastardo may be better solutions for us based on quality."

In the Sunday MLB notes in The News Journal, I suggested that Jason Marquis may be a nice solution for the Phillies. Marquis is 9-4 with a 3.71 ERA and making a strong case for his first career All-Star Game selection. He's gone at least seven innings in nine of his 14 starts. And he's a free agent after the season, so if the resurgent Rockies decide they aren't wild-card contenders, they'll be more likely to deal Marquis.

Brad Penny, who appeared to be a possibility a few weeks ago, looks like he'll be staying with the Red Sox, especially while Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the disabled list. And while the Reds may eventually deal either Aaron Harang or Bronson Arroyo, they haven't entirely fallen out of the playoff race, either. Bedard remains an option, and the Phillies will undoubtedly dispatch scouts to some of his starts after he comes off the disabled list early next month. And if the Indians decide they want to trade Cliff Lee (doubtful, I think), the Phillies would almost certainly be interested.

So, pretend you're Amaro. Do any of those options appeal to you? If so, what would you give up to get them?

***
Sounds like Clay Condrey may be placed on the disabled list before tonight's game. Charlie Manuel said last week that Condrey has had a bad back, and the right-hander has been icing his midsection after games. He also has made only two appearances since June 13 and allowed six runs in one-third of an inning, hiking his ERA from 2.14 to 3.71.

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The Phillies held their 20th annual festival to fight ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) last night at the Bank and raised a record $867,670, surpassing last year's total by more than $100,000. Since 1984, the Phils have raised more than $11 million for ALS research. A live auction raised $107,600, breaking the previous high of $79,175 set in 1995, and the silent auction raised a record $42,065, surpassing the previous mark of $41,366 in 2007. A set of two baseballs signed by the 1980 and 2008 Phillies received the top bid in the live auction ($8,000), and Ryan Madson's game-used 2008 World Series jersey fetched $6,750. In the silent auction, Ryan Howard's exhibition-game-worn St. Patrick's Day jersey received the top bid of $1,600. Chase Utley's 2009 home-opener jersey went for $1,100.

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I have to hop a flight to Tampa in a few hours, but while I'm en route, check out this interesting story in the St. Pete Times. Evidently, some of the Rays -- even Pat Burrell -- are still wondering what could've been last October.