If the Phillies Can't Get Above .500 Over the Next 10 Days, That's Bad

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For all of the negativity surrounding the Phillies this season, they’re still alive, as backhanded of a compliment as that is. 6.5 games back of first place in the NL East, 7.0 out of a Wild Card spot don’t exactly equate to a couple of tight races, nor are they insurmountable leads as we crossover into June, either.

What might help to change some of the perceptions was if the Fightins weren’t having such a hard time of trying to push their record above .500, a place it has not visited at any point this season. They've not been so much as back to even since April 15 – going on seven weeks ago – so for that (and a variety of other reasons) you can’t really blame people for lacking in faith.

Frankly, Charlie Manuel and his squad are about to embark on a stretch of games where if significant progress is not made in the standings even the most optimistic fans and observers will be shaken. The Phils’ next 10 contests all come against either the Brewers or Marlins, two of the three worst teams in Major League Baseball.

In order to be above .500 when it’s said and done, all the Phillies need to do is win each series – three against the Brew Crew and the Fish in Philly, followed by a four-gamer in Milwaukee. Or simply post a minimum 7-3 record against a pair of teams who have combined to go 32-74 in 2013.

Actually, winning seven of 10 would move them two games above, creating something of a cushion for the Phils with another sub-.500 team on the horizon in the Twins.

Should they fail to do that, even given the absences of Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, and Roy Halladay, it ought to be enough to finally make Ruben Amaro start thinking long and hard about the future, meaning the trade deadline. The road isn’t going to get any easier from here, as they will already have burned both meetings with the Brewers and four of six against the Marlins. Sorry, the Astros aren’t on the slate this season.

The good news is the Phillies have remained competitive despite their inability to climb over the .500 hump. Prior to dropping a series in Washington last weekend, they were riding a 7-3 wave similar to the one we are hoping for over the next 10 days. Actually, they’ve been playing plus-.500 ball since dropping to a season-worst five games below the mark on April 25, going 17-14.

That’s nothing to hang their hats on, but it’s kept the Phils’ heads above water.

It’s hard to believe, but the club was in better position in the standings this time one year ago. They were a surprising 27-25 heading into June, just three games back of first place in the East. By the time the month was over, they were essentially out of the running, falling to eight games below .500 and 10 games back.

This time around, they should be making up ground rather than losing it. The schedule is set up for the Phillies to receive a bounce, which combined with the imminent returns of Utley and Chooch could provide some much-needed momentum for when the difficulty picks back up.

Of course, it could always go the other way. If the Phillies stand in place, or worse, slide in their series with the Brewers and Marlins, plenty of fans will be ready to jump ship. They should find plenty of company once they're overboard.

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