After watching the Phillies post a 4-3 record last week on a West Coast trip,
general manager Pat Gillick said he considers himself a "buyer" at the
July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
He also credited manager Charlie Manuel for keeping the team in contention.
"Right now, we're in it," Gillick told the Wilmington News Journal
by phone from Clearwater, Fla. "It's really a tribute to Charlie and the
coaching staff and the players. We've been operating four guys short in the
pitching area, and we've held in there. Hopefully, within the next week, we can
do something to tweak it a little bit."
The Phillies are 50-48, five games behind the division-leading New York Mets
and 1 1/2 behind the second-place Atlanta Braves in the NL East. They're also
only 3-1/2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL wild-card race.
Gillick said the Phillies will continue to search for pitching help, even
though rookie right-handers Kyle Kendrick and J.D. Durbin have, at least
temporarily, stabilized the back of the rotation.
Kendrick, who starts Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series
against the Washington Nationals, has won four of seven starts since being
called up from Class AA Reading, while Durbin got his first major-league victory
last week in Los Angeles and threw his first complete-game shutout Sunday in San
Diego.
"Kyle's kept us in six, seven games, and the wins we had last week, to
say Durbin would've had two of the four wins, people would've said you're
crazy," Gillick said. "They've pitched well. At the same time, one of
the areas we're still looking in is the pitching area, and we're still trying to
improve the team as much as possible."
Help is coming from within as well. Brett Myers allowed one hit and struck
out three in 1 1/3 innings Monday night for Class A Clearwater and may be
activated as early as Friday. Gillick said Myers would make a third -- and
likely last -- rehab appearance Wednesday night for Clearwater. "We want to
give him one day in between to see how he reacts," Gillick said. "If
he's OK, then it'll be Friday." In two rehab appearances with the
Threshers, Myers has thrown 2 1/3 innings, giving up one hit, one walk and
striking out three. Myers, the Phillies' closer, has been sidelined since May 23
with a strained right shoulder.
Gillick said he doesn't anticipate many trades being made until a few days
before the deadline.