May 18 -- MOYER, SERGIO & SWEEPING THROUGH DC

BY SCOTT LAUBER

Well, that was a crazy weekend, wasn't it?

Let's see, it all began Friday with the Phillies, losers of six of eight games and sagging back to the .500 mark, reaping the last of their World Series championship spoils by spending a few hours with President Obama. Then, in the span of about 46 hours, they played 36 innings, scored 33 runs, sat through one 90-minute rain delay, and notched their first four-game sweep on the road in 14 years. (Where were you June 19-22, 1995? I had just returned home to Jersey after my freshman year at Boston University.)

Anyway, there's nothing quite like facing the Nationals to cure all your problems. Well, most of them. After blowing a save Friday night, Brad Lidge finally pitched a scoreless inning in the doubleheader-opener Saturday, then needed only two pitches to record a game-ending double play Sunday, his fourth appearance in as many days. So, that was a positive. Same goes for the offense, which batted .327 (49-for-150) and averaged 8.25 runs per game against the Nats' woeful pitching after batting .176 (27-for-153) and averaged 2.80 runs per game in the previous five games against the Braves and Dodgers.

And then there were the back-to-back first major-league victories for Drew Carpenter and Sergio Escalona, a couple of kids who will never forget their portion of the weekend in DC. Escalona, in particular, couldn't stop smiling yesterday. Before, during and after the game, he was elated simply to be at Nationals Park and wearing a uniform. And if you couldn't see his face, surely you could hear it in his words: "Oh my God. Amazing. First game. First win. What can you say?" As I wrote in the game story in today's News Journal, Escalona still had 14 still-unheard voice mails on his cell phone about a half-hour after the game ended. He had the baseball with which he recorded the final out of the seventh, and Lidge gave him the ball from the final out. Something tells me Escalona will keep those forever.

***
About 90 minutes before yesterday's game began, I found Rich Dubee in the dugout and asked about struggling Jamie Moyer, whose next start has been pushed from Tuesday to Wednesday in Cincinnati. The decision was two-fold: a) It gives Moyer an extra day to fix his command problems; b) It lines him up to face the Marlins next week at the Bank, and we all know how much Moyer dominates the Marlins. But I asked Dubee the obvious question about a 46-year-old pitcher with a 13.86 ERA in his last three starts and an 8.15 ERA in eight starts overall, the highest ERA he has ever had this far into a season: Has age finally caught up to Moyer?

"I don't think he's doubting himself at all," Dubee said. "He's run through stretches like this. Heck, everybody wanted his head chopped off before the World Series, and he pitched a gem for us. He got through that, and he can get through this."

***
Rumor has it former Vice President Dick Cheney attended yesterday's game, although I didn't see him. I also didn't see a large section of fans ducking for cover.

***
Back home today, catching up on a few things before flying to Cincinnati bright and early tomorrow morning. Check back here later today for a preview of the series against the Reds, and maybe, just maybe, a surprise.

May 14 -- OFFENSIVE!

"What is losing?
Losing is a disease... as contagious as polio.
Losing is a disease... as contagious as syphilis.
Losing is a disease... as contagious as bubonic plague...
attacking one... but infecting all.
But curable."

BY SCOTT LAUBER

OK, so who remembers the scene in "The Natural," when the team shrink comes into the clubhouse and talks to Roy Hobbs and the slumping New York Knights about losing?

Well, Raul Ibanez put his own twist on that philosophy today.

Ibanez has only been with the Phillies for a few months, but he already has raved about the offense, which, generally speaking, had been rolling along until about a week ago. But after today's 5-3 loss to the Dodgers, the numbers have gotten downright ugly. Over the past five games, the Phillies are 27-for-153 (.176) and have scored only 14 runs. Jimmy Rollins is 4-for-25. Shane Victorino is 1-for-27. Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are both 3-for-23.

So, I asked Ibanez how an entire lineup, especially one as potent as the Phillies', can go into a funk at the same time. It was a problem that plagued the Phils last summer when they went into a 10-week, team-wide offensive malaise.

"It's like a yawn," Ibanez said. "One person yawns in a room, and all of a sudden, everyone starts yawning. I'm not smart enough to explain that. I don't know why it happens. But it's a gifted group of hitters. It's inevitable this team will hit."

Losing is a disease ...

***
Charlie Manuel made an interesting -- and, I'm sure, intentional -- observation after the game when he said, "I know what our guys can do. We can talk about it. We talked about how we played last year, and we talked about bringing it every day. We've got to get back in that pattern, and guys have to start getting after it."

A manager doesn't merely drop phrases like "bringing it every day" and "getting after it." I think Manuel has some concerns about the Phillies resting on their laurels early in the season. Keep in mind: They have rallied to win the NL East in each of the past two years. Howard, Jayson Werth and others often have talked about how the Phillies play their best late in the season. But Manuel knows late-season rallies can't be counted on. If you don't play well enough in April and May, September can be a lost cause.

***
On the bright side, Cole Hamels finally is looking more like Cole Hamels.

***
Talk to y'all tomorrow from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Any messages you want me to deliver to President Obama?

April 12 -- GAME 5 WRAP: GETTING OFFENSIVE

BY SCOTT LAUBER

DENVER -- Morning, all. Happy Easter Sunday.

Day game after a night game means a quick turnaround, so I'll be brief. Through the first four games, the Phillies batted .215 and scored only 16 runs. More worrisome, they batted .175 with two outs and were 0-for-12 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

All of that changed last night. The Phils pounded 10 two-out hits, including a three-run double by Ryan Howard, a two-run triple by Jayson Werth and a solo home run by Raul Ibanez in an 8-4 victory over the Rockies. Between them, the first five hitters (Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Howard, Werth) went 9-for-21 with six RBIs.

It was a performance that was both clutch and cathartic.

"That's kind of more of what we're accustomed to," Werth said. "Not that it's going to happen every night, but we haven't really swung the bats well. We're just a good hitting ball club. We get timely hits and knock in runs, and that's what makes us a potent lineup."

***
Initially, Charlie Manuel was non-committal when asked if Cole Hamels would make his next scheduled start, Thursday in DC against the Nationals. But yesterday Manuel said Hamels will start that game, and really, it's a no-brainer. First, Hamels is NOT injured. Trust me, if he was, he'd be shouting it from atop the Rocky Mountains. That's just how Hamels is. After a checkered injury history in the minors, he tells Manuel and Rich Dubee when he feels even the slightest twinge. But after missing nearly a week of spring training, Hamels isn't quite ready for the regular season, and the only way for him to get up to speed is by pitching in major-league games. So, the Phillies have little choice but to stick with him, even if it means a few ugly April starts.

***
Strange stat of the night: Six of the 12 hits allowed this season by Brett Myers have been home runs. "I just want to be able to make a mistake and get away with one," he said.

***
Stranger stat of the night: Myers improved to 5-0 in his career at Coors Field. Only four pitchers have at least five wins without losing at Coors: Chuck McElroy (9-0), Lance Painter (6-0), David Cortes (5-0) and Myers.

***
It's been a while, at least a few weeks, since I mentioned "Phillies Confidential," the book I wrote with Gary Matthews about the 2008 season. (It's on sale, by the way, at Citizens Bank Park, but you can always just buy it online by clicking here.) Anyway, while I was working on the book, there were a lot of things I learned about my esteemed co-author. But perhaps the most interesting was that he is close friends with President Obama. They met years ago, when their daughters were in the same dance class, and ever since, they have gotten together for dance recitals, cookouts and golf outings.

Because the Phillies are going to the White House on Tuesday, I figured I'd talk to Sarge about his friendship with the Obama family. You can read about that, plus other odds and ends from Week 1 of the season, in our Sunday MLB notes.

***
More on the Phillies' catching situation, which, with Carlos Ruiz on the disabled list, has gotten a lot more interesting.

***
Even before Colby Cohen scored the game-winning goal in overtime, my phone was buzzing with text messages. Boston University, my alma mater, won the 2009 NCAA championship last night in what Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy has dubbed the greatest college hockey game ever played. Congratulations to coach Jack Parker and all the players, and thanks for making me as proud as ever to have graduated from BU.

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