Inside the Phillies: After six weeks, Phillies are still class of NL East

By the end of the weekend, the Phillies will have played at least two series against each of their National League East rivals and three series against the Atlanta Braves, the team considered the biggest threat to deny them a fifth straight division title.

We've learned from the first six weeks that the division is improved, but there is no reason to believe either the Braves or the Florida Marlins are ready to dethrone the Phillies as NL East champs.

Sure, the Phillies have had their offensive issues, scoring three runs or fewer in 19 of their first 38 games. That's not good, but it's not much worse than the Braves or the Marlins. Atlanta, in fact, had scored three or fewer in 18 of its first 41 games and Florida had scored three or fewer in 14 of its first 38.

The Phillies have done remarkably well at winning even when they don't score. Their record was 8-11 when scoring three or fewer. By comparison, the Braves were 3-15 and the Marlins were 3-11. That also means the Phillies were 17-2 whenever they scored more than three runs.

At this point, the Braves and Marlins are slightly better than the Phillies offensively. The Phillies, however, have the best chance of improving in that department during the course of the season simply because they expect to get second baseman Chase Utley back in their lineup relatively soon.

"One person can mean a lot," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said last week. "That can definitely have a lot of effect, especially the caliber of player Chase is. We're going to get better."

A National League scout with a vast knowledge of the NL East remains convinced the Phillies are the class of the division.

"The Phillies are still the team to beat for a number of reasons," the scout said. "No. 1, they have a lot of guys who have been through this before, and they know how to get through a season. It's difficult to get through a season and win, and they have guys who have been through it several times. There is a lot to be said for that experience.

"No. 2, their starting pitching is clearly the best. The other two teams have good starting pitching, but I think the Phillies' is better."

Pitching is the primary reason the Braves and Marlins have entered the debate as to which team is the best in the division, although Florida does not really belong in the discussion.