Phillies refer to Manuel
Funny, but nobody in Philadelphia is making fun of Charlie Manuel's West Virginia accent now. Cast as a hick almost from the day he was hired to manage the Phillies, Manuel is demonstrating that he might know a little bit more about baseball than his critics realized. Who's dumb now?
The Phillies, despite the mystifying slump (.209 with 5 home runs) of slugger Jim Thome, whose cranky back surely must be worse than he's admitting, have thrust themselves back into a tight National League East race that promises to be baseball's most entertaining this summer.
''It's something we haven't seen in a while," said closer Billy Wagner. ''When we're out there, we know we're going to win. It is positive. Charlie's brought that. It's the way he acted when we were struggling. You have a bad game? Big deal. See you tomorrow."
The five teams in the East began play yesterday with only four games separating the surprising Washington Nationals, winners of eight in a row, and the New York Mets, a franchise revitalized by Pedro Martinéz, who flirted with a no-hitter in his last start.
The Phillies flopped last season, their first in their sparkling new home, Citizens Bank Park, which led to the firing of the hyper-intense Larry Bowa and the hiring of Manuel, the laconic, slow-talking former Indians skipper and longtime hitting coach who counts among his most famous pupils Manny Ramirez. But with the Phillies floundering three games under .500 a couple of weeks ago, Manuel and Phillies general manager Ed Wade were the primary targets of a fan base unwilling to put up with another disappointing summer.
But the Phillies entered play yesterday having rattled off 10 wins in 11 games on a 13-game homestand that is one of their most successful in years to pull within a game and a half of the high-flying Nats, and last week the bullpen received a major upgrade with Wade's acquisition of Ugueth Urbina from the Tigers.
Outfielder Bobby Abreu is having an MVP-type season, though he has cooled off from a torrid May in which he hit .396 and homered in 9 games in a 10-game stretch. Pat Burrell is playing like the 2002 version (37 HRs, 116 RBIs) with a dozen home runs and a team-leading 51 RBIs, while Thome is showing signs that he might be coming around, homering Thursday and Friday. And 38-year-old veteran Kenny Lofton, playing for his ninth major league team, is experiencing something of a renaissance, his average hovering around .400.
The starting rotation is built to contend. At 24, righthander Brett Myers appears ready to assume the role of staff ace, Wade pickups Jon Lieber and Cory Lidle have pitched well, lefty Randy Wolf, who got off to a slow start before winning five decisions in a row, already has more wins (6) than he did last season, and if Vicente Padilla comes around, the Phillies are built to go deep into summer. And with Wagner at the back end of the bullpen, and Urbina supplementing the setup corps, this team finally may live up to the same forecasts of title contender it made look foolish last season.
These are good times for Charlie.
''I took this job because I believe in this team," Manuel said. ''There's a lot of playing left to do. You just have to stay with it, not let things get away from you. It's like playing a game. If you get behind by five runs, you stay with it. Maybe by the end you get the winning run to the plate."
Pitchers got their walking papers
There was little doubt that former Red Sox closer Ugueth Urbina would be a coveted chip on the trading market this summer, given that the Tigers had made a big offseason splash by signing Troy Percival. Percival's return from the disabled list facilitated Urbina's trade last week to the Phillies for second baseman Placido Polanco, but the timing did catch some by surprise, given that Urbina had been unscored upon in 10 straight appearances.
Well, Danny Knobler of the Booth Newspapers may have shed some light on the deal when he reported that Urbina, according to witnesses, was drinking heavily and got into a physical altercation with several teammates.
The Tigers weren't talking, and for his part, Urbina, who suffered a harrowing offseason while awaiting the release of his kidnapped mother in Venezuela, said he requested a deal in spring training.
Meanwhile, the Nationals dealt Tomo Ohka to the Brewers for infielder Junior Spivey, even though the Japanese pitcher had won three straight decisions prior to an early exit a week ago. But his trade appeared to underscore this point: You don't mess with Frank Robinson.
The Hall of Famer was boiling after Ohka turned his back when Robinson came to take him out last Saturday. The next day, the club announced that it had fined Ohka for ''contempt" and a few days later unloaded him.
Said Robinson, ''When I come out to get the ball, you hand me the ball. When I come out there it's not going to do you any good. You're gone. Give me the ball and go."
Home is where the hurt is
It may have been the most violent collision of the season, the one in which Angels first baseman Darin Erstad leveled Braves catcher Johnny Estrada to score on a play at the plate last Monday. Estrada, who was diagnosed with a mild concussion, said afterward that he thought his neck was broken.
''I felt like I was in a car wreck," Estrada said. ''My head snapped back. Thank God for these hockey-style masks. That absorbed a lot of the impact."
A dirty play? Erstad, who called Estrada at home to explain that his intention was not to hurt him, said he studied the play from all angles, thought about what he could have done differently, and while it made for a sleepless night, he offered no apologies.
''I play the way I play," said the former University of Nebraska punter.
Estrada said what disturbed him is that Erstad hit him high and ''tried to rip my face off." The next day, Horacio Ramirez's first pitch went behind Erstad.
''Sitting at home the last day and a half, I watched about 40 replays on TV," Estrada told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ''Every channel showed it. I don't have a problem with contact; this is my job, and I expect [contact] and prepare for it. But it just looked like he took a shot at my face when the plate was open, and I don't agree with that.
''I don't know Darin Erstad. I know he called my house and apologized and said he felt bad about it, and I don't doubt him. But the tapes don't lie."
Conclusion? It's one of those plays where if it's your guy that gets hurt, you're screaming foul, but if Erstad is on your club, you applaud his fearlessness.
Outfield gaps
The Red Sox' selection of Oregon State outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury with their first pick in the draft underscores their unhappy experience with drafting outfielders in recent years. The last high Sox draft pick to become an everyday outfielder was Trot Nixon in 1993. Flameouts include former Whitinsville star Rick Asadoorian (No. 1 in 1999) and first-round sandwich picks Mark Fischer (1997) and Corey Jenkins (1995). The most successful outfielder drafted by the Sox since Nixon is probably Lew Ford, a 12th-rounder in 1999 who is now a regular for the Twins.
The Sox used three of their first four picks in 2003 to select outfielders: first-rounder David Murphy, first-round sandwich pick Matt Murton, and second-round sandwich pick Mickey Hall. Murton, who went to the Cubs in the Nomar Garciaparra deal, may have the brightest future; he's hitting .361 for West Tennessee, the Cubs' Double A team. Hall is in the Single A Carolina League, batting around .260 for Wilmington, while Murphy has hit a wall in Double A Portland, where he was batting just .220.
The word on Murphy is that he is an excellent defender and baserunner but has struggled mightily with the transition to wood bats and is late getting around on fastballs.
Boots are made for healin'
The Braves are keeping their fingers crossed that third baseman Chipper Jones will not need surgery to repair a partially torn ligament between the second and third toes of his left foot. Like Curt Schilling, Jones is opting to go the boot route, with the plan to immobilize the foot 4-6 weeks. An operation would mean Jones misses the rest of the season.
Moneyball
The Marlins may be forced to pay dearly for Dontrelle Willis, the majors' first 10-game winner. It appears that he will qualify for salary arbitration under the collective-bargaining rule that stipulates that the 17 percent of players with two-plus years of experience also qualify for arbitration, which would likely push Willis's salary from under a million to the $3 million-$4 million range. Had the Marlins promoted Willis to the majors a week or so later than they did, he would not have qualified.
The next generation
Among the noted progeny drafted last week: John Mayberry Jr. (Rangers); Scott and A.J. Van Slyke (Dodgers and Cardinals), sons of Andy; Jesse Schoendienst (Cardinals), great nephew to Red; Kevin Gossage (Rangers), nephew of the Goose; Allan Dykstra (Red Sox), Lenny's son; and Yusef Carter (Cubs), Joe's nephew.
Also: Andrew Butera (Mets), son of Sal; Eli Iorg (Astros), Garth's kid; Juan Mesa (Pirates), son of Jose; Matt Wallach (Yankees), son of Tim; Michael Brantley (Marlins), son of Mickey; Wilfredo Pujols (Cardinals), first cousin of Albert; Ben Petralli (Tigers), son of Geno; and Koby Clemens (Astros), son of Roger.
This magic moment
How did it feel to break up Pedro Martinéz's bid for a no-hitter last week? Put it this way: Astros rookie Chris Burke has lots of reasons to remember his first major league home run. ''First, it's just the gratification of knowing you hit the ball well," said Burke. ''Then, you realize that you broke up a no-hitter and it's your first homer and it's off Pedro Martinéz. When I got into the dugout, I really kind of had to sit down for a second."
Statue of limitations
To acknowledge Lou Piniella's return to Cincinnati, the Reds wanted to issue a commemorative bobble-head doll, but when Piniella heard that the likeness would be tossing a base, he balked. ''I wanted no part of that," he said.
Circus catch
And my favorite pick in the draft: The Angels took righthander Trevor Bell from La Crescenta (Calif.) High School. He's a former child actor, having appeared in commercials for Hot Wheels, Kellogg's, and Old Navy. And his grandfather, the late Bob Bell, was Bozo the Clown for WGN-TV in Chicago for a quarter-century.
Gordon Edes can be reached by e-mail at edes@globe.com.; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report. 
