With a few Phillies off to slow starts, centerfielder Aaron Rowand has taken his game to a new level.  In 21 games so far this season, Rowand is 28 for 77 (.364 avg, 1.028 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers and 11 RBIs.  The Phillies need Rowand to keep healthy all season long because they need his bat.

The Philadelphia Phillies have returned catcher Ryan Budde back to the Los Angeles Angels.  The Phillies couldn’t keep Budde over anyone on their current roster and he has at least three catchers ahead of him in the Phillies organization.

Ryan Howard is off to a slow start for the Phillies this season and the whole lineup has suffered because of it.  In 15 games so far this season Howard is only 12 of 55 (.218 avg, .800 OPS) but he has scored 8 runs, whacked 2 homers and driven in 10 runs already.  Look for the NL MVP of last season to turn it on soon and watch the Phillies record improve immediately as Howard will make the whole lineup better when he starts to hit.

Of course that’s not saying a lot as the Phillies were 3-3 last week as they outscored their opponents 23-21.  The Phillies pitched well last week for the first time this season and that’s why they won some games.  The Phillies are currently in 4th place in the National League West with a 6-11 record, 5.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves.

Matt Smith has pitched in 6 games so far this season and he’s 0-0 with a 13.50 ERA and a 3.75 WHIP!  He’s only thrown 2.2 innings so far and he’s allowed 4 hits and he’s walked 6 batters.  If Smith doesn’t straighten up soon, he’ll likely wind up back in AAA despite the Phillies desperation in the bullpen.

This is a panic move by the Phillies who have started the year very poorly.  Myers has pitched in 4 games (3 starts) and he’s 0-2 with a 8.82 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP so far this season.  Myers has pitched 16.1 innings so far this season and he’s allowed 17 hits, 16 earned runs, 5 homers and walked 9 batters.  He has whiffed 20 batters this season so far so maybe he will do a good job in the pen.  Jon Lieber pitched in 2 games so far this season and his ERA is 11.57 and he has a 2.57 WHIP.  Lieber has been a starting pitcher his whole career and he’s had trouble adjusting to the bullpen as he has allowed 4 hits and walked 2 batters in 2.1 innings so far this season.

The Phillies were 2-3 last week as they were outscored 32-27.  The Phillies wasted some pretty good hitting last week with very sub-par pitching.  The Phillies are currently in 4th place in the National League East with a 3-8 record, 5 games behind the Atlanta Braves.

J.D. Durbin has had a rough start to the baseball season as he’s now been waived twice this season (D-Backs and Red Sox).  The Phillies are in such dire need of relief help that they decided to roll the dice and give Durbin a chance to get his career on the right track.  The reason he got waived by the D-Backs was because of his only major league outing of the season.  He threw 2/3 of an inning and allowed 7 hits and 7 earned runs (94.50 ERA).  Still, he’s only 25 years old and he is worth the minimal gamble that the Phillies are taking by giving him a chance.

Cole Hamels has been downright nasty so far this season.  He hasn’t gotten any help from the bullpen or the offense as he is 0-0 with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP after two starts this season.  Hamels has only allowed 10 hits and he’s whiffed 15 batters in only 13 innings this season.  He has fantastic stuff and only needs to stay healthy to cash in on his vast potential.

Adam Eaton and Jon Lieber both got lit up pretty well in their first performances of the 2007 season.  Eaton only lasted 4.2 innings and he gave up 7 hits, walked 4 batters and he allowed 7 earned runs.  He lost the game and compiled a 13.50 ERA and a 2.36 WHIP.  The Phillies need him to pitch much better than that if they’re going to compete with the Mets and Braves this season.  Jon Lieber appeared in his first game of the year in a relief role and he had a rough time.  He pitched 2/3 of an inning and he allowed 2 hits, 2 earned runs and 1 walk.  The Phillies need help in the bullpen and Lieber could fill an important role if he can get some outs.