Any fight in Phils?

For as poorly as the Phillies have played so far, they're only 5.5 games back of Atlanta. They've had only 3 hitters producing as expected -- and 1 of those, a leftfielder who will remain nameless, has fallen off his hot early-season pace ... again. Only Bobby Abreu (.288 - 5 HR - 17 RBI - 20 R - 9 SB) and Chase Utley (.311 - 6 HR - 12 RBI - 14 R - 2 SB) have been fairly consistent performers.

Interestingly, the injury to Jim Thome might have been a blessing in a way; the Phils are 5-4 this month without him. First, this forces other players to pick up their games. Second, it might improve the batting order, despite the obvious drop in power potential. At least for now considering the way Thome was swinging the bat.

Let's face it, I think the Phils' offensive woes can be traced in large part to the Thome-Burrell-Lieberthal-Bell portion of the lineup. If these guys aren't putting balls over the wall, it's trouble. They're slow, they don't hit for average and they strike out frequently. Polanco and Jason Michaels might not have the pop, but they're much better contact hitters with a little more speed.

It would be great to see Rollins get going, too. And to get Lofton back. Hopefully, Myers and Lieber will continue to pitch well and Wolf or Padilla will join them. Or, maybe, Gavin Floyd.

This still is a team that could make a run at the playoffs. I'd love to see them go with the young guys, though. I doubt it would be possible to trade Thome because of his contract and, I would guess, his ability to nix trades. But I would much rather see the Phils unload Thome than Howard. I'd also get rid of Burrell if I could get something moderately decent in return.

Howard is 9 years younger than Thome, and the Phils can lose with Howard as easily as Thome. Rollins and Utley are 26, Polanco and Michaels are 29, Abreu is 31.

When all are healthy, this is my vision of the Phils' best order: Rollins, SS; Lofton, CF; Abreu, RF; Thome, 1B; Utley, 2B; Michaels, LF; Polanco, 3B; Lieberthal, C. I still have Thome there because I think he's better than Howard, but for the longterm, I wouldn't mind seeing Thome moved. I think Utley-Michaels-Polanco could manufacture runs.

Of course, I realize this is all "fantasy baseball" stuff.