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.

May 7 -- MANUEL "SAD" FOR MANNY

BY SCOTT LAUBER

NEW YORK -- Charlie Manuel was Manny Ramirez's hitting coach for six seasons and his manager in 2000 with the Indians. He thinks Ramirez is one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. So, he wasn't sure how to react Wednesday upon hearing the news today that Ramirez failed a drug test and received a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball.

"When he was young, I definitely don't think he was on steroids," Manuel said. "But there again, I don't know. I'm kind of sad for him. He's a good player. When I had him as a player, I used to work with him. I know how good he was. I know his talent. I know he's a good player."

But Manuel also knows that players have to be responsible for what they put in their body.

"Major League Baseball, in those [spring-training] meetings that we have, I think they're pretty specific," he said. "I think if you don't know the rules, you better have somebody explain them to you. The material they send out and the meetings they have, they warn you and tell you what you can do and what you can't do. You're supposed to follow those rules."

Ramirez will be suspended for all seven games between the Phillies and Dodgers, including next week's three-game series at Citizens Bank Park.

More on Manny in tomorrow's News Journal.