Phillies Insider: The Bats Are Back

The Phillies' 4-11 record in interleague play this season was a telling sign.

A harsh reality for Phillies fans, whose hopes and dreams of running away with the NL East and making a serious run at a World Series were suddenly shattered.

The reality is, the Phillies aren't on the same level as some of those AL teams.

It was discouraging to see a lack of offense produced against the Joe Saunders, Ervin Santanas, Rich Hardens and Jon Lesters of the world. The Phillies' offense was quieted against some of the majors' best pitchers, triggering many fans to speculate whether this offense can compete against the big boys.

Fortunately, the Phillies don't have to worry about the AL right now. For now, fans can take solace in the team's recent outburst against NL East foe Atlanta, against whom they are 6-1 this year.

The Phillies have produced 15 runs in the first two games of their three-game set with the Braves. Good signs all-around, notably Jimmy Rollins, who went 3-for-4 Wednesday night following a two-hit performance Tuesday. Rollins,obviously, is the key to the offense's success. A scuffling Rollins sends shivers down the lineup, often resulting in a collectively poor effort. If Rollins gets on base, good things likely happen.

Chase Utley is back to his old self after a sluggish June. When he's on, he's on fire. The good thing I'm seeing from Chase is that he's starting to hit the ball the other way and isn't trying to pull everything, which was the case during his 0-for-20-something funk in June. Teams started to shift Utley a la Ryan Howard. But Utley is too good of a hitter to fall for the shift trick.

Speaking of Howard, he's a mammoth of an RBI machine this season, despite his .219 average. He belted his 21st home run Wednesday, a soaring blast over the left-center field wall. It's feast or famine when it comes to Howard. He likely won't bat above .235 this season and he's on pace to shatter his strikeout record of 199. Still, he's among the leaders in home runs and leads the NL in RBIs.

I just wish that Howard would learn to hit the ball the other way. In his Rookie of the Year and MVP campaigns, Howard could do just that when he needed to. It amazes me that he can hit a moonshot the other way, but struggles to slap a single down the left-field line.

Howard's problems have been well-documented. Charlie Manuel and hitting coach Milt Thompson have tried to get him to adjust his batting stance with two strikes and learn to go the other way. I still don't think he's as bad an overall hitter as he's shown this season, but I am glad that he's producing. What's really strange is that he leads the team in batting average with runners in scoring position.

Chris Coste continues to amaze me. The 35-year-old backup catcher is the lineup's unsung hero. When he plays, he does something. His teammates call him Chris Clutch and for good reason. It appears that Coste is obviously alternating with the slumping Carlos Ruiz, who has been a massive disappointment. Hopefully, Coste will see more and more playing time. He's been huge ever since his call-up in 2006.

It's good to see the Phillies beating up on Braves, even if the competition isn't quite on the same level as the AL teams. The Phillies clinched their first series win in their last seven tries... hopefully, that'll be enough momentum coming home to face the Mets.