Phillies Notebook: Cole Hamels' Work Schedule, Woeful Lineup, Matt Holliday Rumors, Carlos The Catastrophic Catcher

- Cole Hamels was robbed again of his 10th win Sunday afternoon. Hamels was brilliant en route to another no decision. The young left-hander threw a solid eight innings, scattering two runs and five hits. He made only two mistakes, allowing solo home runs in the fourth and eighth innings (by the way, do the Marlins have any clue how to score runs when they're not hitting homers?). Hamels is 9-6 this season, but can easily be 13-3. In fact, he's had six starts this season in which he's pitched seven innings and allowed two or fewer runs. The Phillies need to start giving their ace some run support

-Speaking of Hamels, he had no business pitching at all on Sunday. I understand the Marlins are semi-for real this season, and Sunday's game could be constituted as a "big game," but with the Mets on the horizon, there's no excuse to not start him the first game of the Phillies' critical three-game set at Shea Stadium beginning Tuesday night. Obviously, the blame should be placed on Charlie Manuel, who hasn't done the best job of managing the team over the last month or so. I don't care if the Marlins entered Sunday 1 1/2 game behind the Phillies. Hamels needed to be saved for the Mets series. I overlooked the fact that he didn't start in either of the four games at Citizens Bank Park earlier this year. But twice in one month against your biggest rival? Shame on you, Charlie Manuel.

- The Phillies' offense continues to struggle. They scored a grand total of 11 runs in their three-game series with the Marlins and haven't scored six or more runs since a 10-9 loss to the Mets on July 7. Perhaps more surprising is the fact the Phillies haven't scored in double-digits since they demolished the Cardinals, 20-2, back on June 13. Since that win, the Phillies are 12-18.

- I fear the Phillies' lineup isn't easily fixable at this point. There are one too many holes and it starts at the top. Jimmy Rollins is having a rough year and guys like Geoff Jenkins and Pedro Feliz contribute to the Phillies problem, which is lack of contact. Moreover, the biggest issue with the team is its inability to produce runs. On paper, the Phillies have a very potent lineup, but look beneath the surface and you'll find the truth. I don't know if the Phillies will get a bat before the trade deadline, but it'll definitely be worth the try.

- The rumors about a Matt Holiday-to-Phillies trade were true. Reportedly, the Rockies wanted Shane Victorino, J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco and Lou Marson for Holliday and Brian Fuentes. Carrasco, a pitcher, and Marson, a catcher, are the Phillies' top prospects.

Personally, I would not have made this trade. I'll trade Carrasco, but not with Happ and Marson in the same deal. If I were general manager, I'd offer Victorino, Carrasco and perhaps Jason Donald (minor league infielder with good upside) for Holliday and Fuentes.

I'd be able to live with that trade, even though there are a few red flags worth waving. Victorino, while not a top-tier outfielder by any means, is very valuable because of his defense and killer speed. Outside of Rollins, Victorino is the only the player on the 25-man roster with good-to-great speed. Jayson Werth would have had to become the starting center fielder, and while I'm not comfortable with that idea, I'd be able to get by for the rest of the season.

Also, where do you put Holliday, who is a left fielder? It would appear that Holliday would play right field, and while there isn't much difference between the two spots, you'd have two very below average fielders manning the corner outfield positions. Holliday, though, would be a tremendous run producer at Citizens Bank Park (I don't want to hear about his struggles on the road. He'd hit 40-plus home runs at CBP if he were a Phillie).

Just for fun, let's see what the Phillies lineup would look like if Holliday were on the team:

SS Jimmy Rollins
2B Chase Utley
RF Matt Holliday
1B Ryan Howard
LF Pat Burrell
CF Jayson Werth
3B Pedro Feliz
C Carlos Ruiz/Chris Coste

Looks good, huh? I know, I know -- this trade ISN'T going to happen... but it's still fun to play. Oh, I put Utley in the two-hole because I still think he'd be a better player if he were hitting in that spot.

As for Fuentes, you'd have to worry about re-signing him in the offseason, which probably wouldn't happen anyway. Still, he'd be an extremely effective set-up man (bye-bye, Tom Gordon) and would bridge the gap nicely to Brad Lidge.

-The Phillies should look to trade for a catcher. Carlos Ruiz has been atrocious and Chris Coste is finally starting to show why it took him 15 years to make the big leagues. There are a few interesting players at this position reportedly available, including Pudge Rodriguez and Ramon Hernandez. The Phillies have two back-up catchers right now. They need a positional upgrade, a stop-gap solution, and hopefully Marson will be ready next season.