Manage Bowa Has Worst-to-First Philadelphia Phillies Opening Eyes

Larry Bowa just wanted to make the Philadelphia Phillies competitive this season after a dreadful 2000.

He’s done that and so much more.

The Phillies, tied with the Chicago Cubs for the majors’ worst record last season, are in first place in the NL East this late in the season for the first time since 1995.

OK, it’s only May, but after losing 97 games last year and finishing with a winning record just once since 1986, who can blame the Phillies for being excited.

Philadelphia got off to a 14-6 start that included a six-game winning streak and a three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves.

The Phillies were 16-11 going into the weekend and four games ahead of the nine-time defending division champion Braves.

“If they gave me the stats right now, I probably wouldn’t believe it,” said Bowa, hired to replace Terry Francona after last season.

Bowa’s surprise comes from the way the Phillies have achieved their success. They’ve done it with solid pitching and woeful hitting.

An offense that features Bobby Abreu, Scott Rolen, Pat Burrell and Mike Lieberthal has struggled all season. No starter was batting higher than Travis Lee’s .283 and no player ranked among the league leaders in any hitting category.

The middle of the order--Abreu, Rolen and Lieberthal--was batting a combined .229 with nine homers and 38 RBIs. Manny Ramirez of the Boston Red Sox had nine homers and 33 RBIs all by himself.

“Our pitching has been outstanding the whole year and our hitting hasn’t done anything all year,” Lieberthal said. “If we can come around, it’ll at least give our pitchers a little leeway, and it’ll make the team much better.”

Omar Daal, a 19-game loser last season, was named opening-day starter after an impressive spring and has responded by pitching like an ace. He is 3-0 with a 3.13 ERA and the Phillies are 5-1 when he starts.

Amaury Telemaco, the No. 5 starter, also is 3-0 with a 3.31 ERA. Bruce Chen (1-1, 3.58 ERA) and Robert Person (2-3, 4.66 ERA) have pitched well. Even Randy Wolf, who struggled at the start of the season, had two straight solid outings.

“Our starters, for the most part, have kept us in games,” Bowa said. “That’s all we can ask for.”

While the starters have kept them in games, the bullpen is the main reason why the Phillies have won so many games. After the relievers posted a league-worst 37 losses and 5.72 ERA last season, Philadelphia spent almost $17 million on Jose Mesa, Ricky Bottalico and Rheal Cormier.

The three are proving to be worth it. Bottalico has a 1.88 ERA, Cormier hasn’t allowed a run in his last six outings and Mesa converted six of his first seven save opportunities.

Overall, the bullpen was 7-3 with a 3.08 ERA and eight saves.

“There are so many guys down there with good arms, you want to do better than the other guy so you get an opportunity to pitch,” said Wayne Gomes, who had a 1.10 ERA. “It’s not competing against each other, but it’s a healthy competition.”

The pitchers are all anxiously waiting for the offense to snap out of its slump.

Rolen, who averaged 26 homers and 92 RBIs in his first four seasons, had three homers, 12 RBIs and a .202 average in his first 27 games. Abreu, a .313 career hitter, was batting .240.

Lieberthal had one homer and nine RBIs and Doug Glanville finally was moved out of the leadoff spot after failing to improve his low on-base percentage.

But there have been a few bright spots.

Pat Burrell, coming off an excellent rookie season, raised his average to .274 despite striking out 39 times in 95 at-bats. Lee, a former hotshot prospect, has four homers in his last 12 games and has shown signs he’s out of his two-year slump.

“It’s just a great sign that we’re winning games when the offense isn’t in sync,” said Glanville, who drove in two runs in his first game batting in the No. 7 spot.

The performance of the bench players is another reason the Phillies are winning early. Pinch hitters were batting .412 (14-for-34) with 11 RBIs.

“Pitching is the key,” Person said. “If we can just keep it constant, keep our team in the game, any minute now they’re going to hit. The batters are going to get very hot. Once it happens, we’re going to be a force.”

It might even get a few fans to Veterans Stadium to watch the games. The Phillies are averaging under 18,000 fans a game. But it doesn’t seem to affect Bowa.

“I don’t care how many people come out as long as we win,” he said. “It does not bother me. I don’t care if there’s no people in the stands. I just want to win. If they come out, fine. If they don’t, there’s nothing we can do. These guys are used to playing in front of small crowds.”

They were used to losing, too. Not anymore--at least for now.