33 games in 31 days might help Phils

THIRTY-THREE games in 31 days.

In another time, with another aspiring Phillies team, this would be a recipe for panic, for painful reminiscing, for ultimately a lot of second-guessing.

But for an 83-46 team looking to stay interested, sharp and competitive?

Any adversity that lies with such an unyielding schedule should be welcomed.

Potential postseason pinch-hitters will get more at-bats. Back-of-the-rotation starters like Roy Oswalt, Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick will get steady work. There will be ample opportunity for platoons in leftfield, to get Brad Lidge more work and maybe Michael Schwimer, too, even for one last look at Domonic Brown to see if he might get hot just in time for the playoffs.

Yes, 33 in 31 is a dangerous ratio, even for a team as deep as the Phillies. They have a few old and oft-injured position players. The three arms at the top of the rotation have logged some serious innings. The surprise-but-suspect contributors in this season's bullpen might already be wearing down. David Herndon is hot, Michael Stutes is not. A month ago or so, it was the reverse. What's up with Ryan Madson? Is Antonio Bastardo showing some wear?

Will the extra workload over the next month bring clarity to their roles?

Or chaos?

These are answers you need, and the sooner the better. For a team with a healthy lead and a gaudy record, the Phillies have an inordinate amount of uncertainties. Is Lidge on the postseason roster or not? Who would you rather have close, Bastardo or Madson? Do you still trust Stutes in the seventh?

Of those 33 games remaining, 10 will be played against potential playoff foes Milwaukee and Atlanta. But from Sept. 12 through 25, when the Phillies will play 16 games in 14 days, all will be against teams out of the playoff hunt, teams likely to be auditioning minor league prospects.

Such games have been dangerous traps for the Phillies in the past, but that was before the full assembly of this dream-team starting staff. In this stretch are six games against Houston and New York, two teams diminished by trade-deadline deals and injuries. The Reds, with whom they open a four-game set tonight, could be considered in that grouping, although any lineup that still includes Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Brandon Phillips is hard to call diminished.