Maybe It's the Groundskeeper's Fault

Marcus Hayes says give Larry Bowa a break. Bill Liming says you gotta be kidding me. Mike Carminati says Ed Wade needs to pick it up.

Bill Conlin says Mike Lieberthal and Pat Burrell have to step up. J. Michael Weitzel, one of the Berks Phillies Fans, agrees about Lieberthal. Todd Zolecki begs to differ on Burrell.

Balls, Sticks, & Stuff's Tom G. and others say deal Ryan Howard now, if not yesterday, while he still as value.

Jane Conroy wonders why following this first-place team feels so unfulfilling. Carminati has the answer:

Still, the Phils somehow exceed true mediocrity. I think a better way to look at the Phils is that they are a wildly uneven team, a team that is measured, almost on a daily basis, by their plusses and their minuses. After the wild mood swings of the first month and a half of the season, they have reached a sort of stasis. It depends on any given day which Phils team will show up. ...

One thing is good about the [trade] deadline. It creates a sense of finality for the calcified Wade. Maybe it will be enough to nudge him into an actual deal. Without it the Phils may have a share of first, but it'll be fleeting. Like the ground Napoleon conquered in Russia before having to retreat inevitably.

Meanwhile, the dog days approach, and the traction-less Phillies are still digging in their junk drawer in an effort to locate the leash -- and with the rest of the division's pooches snapping at their heels.