Homecoming

MVN is having server troubles, so this morning's Phillies post is on Shallow Center:

Brett Myers's sparkler capped a strong latter half of the Phillies' road trip, allowing the team to finish it 6-7 after starting 1-6. That's the good news.

Here's the bad news: During that same stretch, the Braves went 11-2, so the Phils, by virtue of their completely mediocre performance, lost five games in the standings. That's right -- for all the talk about how strong they finished, the Phillies suffered serious slippage in National League East.

Even worse, Larry Bowa's job apparently is no longer in jeopardy.

So after an enigmatic road trip, a two-week microcosm of this puzzling team's mysterious season, the Phillies return to Citizens Bank Park in worse shape physically and in terms of the division race. Jeff Hildebrand at Phillies Foul Balls nicely summarized the team's various mood swings last night. The Phils do play 18 of their next 25 games at home, and 16 of 19 against sub-.500 teams. For any normal team that would augur a nice little run, one which is desperately needed, but these are the Phillies, remember. Conventional wisdom need not apply.