Phillies: Worry about offense, not defense

Brett Myers is coming back, reportedly Adam Eaton is done and the Phillies are going after Joe Blanton of the Oakland A’s.

C.C. Sabathia’s name in that sentence would have made me feel better about the situation.

Instead, the Phils will have to hope that Myers’ mediocre trip to the minors will be just what he needed.

They also will hope that Joe Blanton can turn his season around. He’s not much better than Eaton and Myers, with a 5-12 record and a 4.96 ERA.

J.A. Happ has shown promise; however, in his quality start against the Diamondbacks before the break, he lucked out on some very hard hit balls that were either just foul or hit right at fielders. So, it will take a few more starts to see if Happ can be the next Kyle Kendrick.

Until then, the Phillies will have to rely on Myers and possibly Blanton.

No matter what happens, the problem with the Phillies — for the most part — has not been pitching. It’s been the offense.

How this team is not scoring runs boggles my mind. There’s so much talent in the lineup that there is no reason the lack of offense that has been displayed over the last month.

The biggest thing for the second half of the season is not pitching. It’s not Myers. It’s not a blockbuster trade — though, that would be nice.

It’s Jimmy Rollins returning to MVP form. Rollins needs to start creating more scoring opportunities for the Phils. In the 10 games leading up to the All-Star Break, Rollins had just two runs scored. He only has 39 on the season. He had 139 all of last season.

If Rollins can pick up his .274 batting average and get back to being a menace in the NL East, the Phillies will not have to worry about Myers, Eaton, Blanton, whoever.

They’ll just have to worry about not having home-field advantage in the World Series since the NL couldn’t win in 15 innings.

MLB Notes

CC See You Later

Welcome to the National League. CC Sabathia has switched over and will join one of the NL’s hottest pitchers on the Milwaukee Brewers.

There was no question that whoever got CC Sabathia was immediately going to become a serious contender in the National League. Why? Because the teams that were vying for the powerful lefty already had an ace on their staff.

The Brewers have Ben Sheets, a 10-game winner with 11 quality starts, and now their No. 2 — if you can even call him that — is Sabathia.

Against the National League in interleague play, Sabathia went nuts.

He was 2-0 in three games with a 1.57 ERA, 31 strikeouts and 15 hits. That included two eight-inning efforts and a seven-inning game.

The NL Central is in some trouble now with two of the best pitchers in the majors on the same team. With the Brewers offense surging, this could prove to be the trade that ruins the Cubs’ hopes — not Bartman.

Varitek? Really? Come on MLB.

Jason Varitek is making $10.4 million this season.

The question is, how much did he pay to sneak his way onto the All-Star team?

He’s batting .215 with seven homers and 27 RBIs.

Let me type that again, just in case you thought I screwed up on my broken keyboard. He’s batting .215 with seven homers and 27 RBIs. Face it, Madonna has had more play on SportsCenter than you.

Not to mention, you're snubbing catchers who deserve to be in New York this weekend, like A.J. Pierzynski, who is batting .296 with seven homers and 33 RBIs, or Ivan Rodriguez, who is .290 with three homers and 28 RBIs.

None of those guys made it.

Even catcher Ramon Hernandez of the Baltimore Orioles is batting .246 with seven homers and 33 RBIs. He’s more worthy of the All-Star bid than Varitek.

When it comes to batting average, you can’t find Varitek on the first page of fantasy catchers.

You actually have to go to the second page of catchers, scroll down to the bottom and click on “NEXT” and go to the third page.

He’s on the top of that list.

Congrats, Mr. Varitek. You’re on the top of page 3. Maybe that’s how you became the third catcher into the All-Star Game.

Do the league a favor. Withdrawl and go home. Let some other catcher get in. One who fits the description of an All-Star.