Bobby Abreu

Bobby Abreu stood Monday in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park and took a look around at the 45,000-plus fans, the same Phillies faithful he had played in front of for nearly nine seasons. And yet on a damp June night, as Abreu played in Philadelphia for the first time since being traded to the New York Yankees in 2006, so much was different. Those were happy days, he said, even if his time here came to an end when he was labeled a poor clubhouse guy and shipped to New York for little in return.

A focused Kevin Millwood is a dominant Kevin Millwood. He needed to be both last night at Olympic Stadium. The Phillies needed that, too. Millwood allowed just three hits in nine innings as the Phillies beat the Montreal Expos, 2-0, in one of the righthander's best performances since he threw a no-hitter against San Francisco on April 27 at Veterans Stadium. The team bested Expos pitcher-Phillies killer Tomo Ohka, who had a no-hitter going until Placido Polanco singled to lead off the seventh.

Once again, the Phillies have climbed to the doorstep of Mount .500, that modest plateau they have not seen since April 11. Thanks to Bobby Abreu's sizzling bat, Pat Burrell's burgeoning power and Vicente Padilla's best performance since his two-inning All-Star Game appearance, the Phillies moved to within two games of .500 last night by beating the first-place St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0, at Busch Stadium. The Phillies, 63-65, haven't been this close to .500 since April 18 when they were 7-9. Their fourth straight win and ninth in 12 games also guaranteed the Phillies a season-series split with Scott Rolen and the Cardinals.

The Phillies' offense had become stale and needed a kick-start. So Charlie Manuel started at the top. He batted Shane Victorino first and Jimmy Rollins sixth yesterday in a 5-3 victory over the New York Mets at Shea Stadium. It marked the first time that Rollins had not hit leadoff since June 3, but the move was expected to be temporary with Aaron Rowand ready to return to the lineup tomorrow. Victorino was 1 for 4; Rollins was 0 for 4. "The order was fine," Rollins said.

The Phillies asked Bobby Abreu the $64-million question Monday night. His answer was yes and that allowed the team to hold a news conference/pep rally early yesterday at the Carpenter Complex. As Abreu's broad smile lit up a meeting room, the Phillies noted that the rightfielder's five-year contract extension, with an option year that could push the total value of the deal to $78 million, signified their commitment to winning. Four days earlier, that commitment had been questioned by their own Gold Glove third baseman, a stinging indictment for an organization trying to convince fans that it wants to win games and that it is headed in the right direction.

The Phillies are under strong consideration to play a regular-season game in a faraway place next year. Major League Baseball intends to play more regular-season games outside North America, and according to a major-league official, the Phillies could play in Caracas, Venezuela. "The Phillies have definitely been talked about," the official said. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's them. " The official indicated that it was possible the Phillies could open their season in Caracas, or play a game there later in the season.

Bobby Abreu stays hot. The rest of the Phillies? Not so much. Abreu hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning of an 8-4 loss last night to the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park and had a chance to tie the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth. But Abreu, who has homered in nine of the last 10 games and has an 11-game hitting streak, couldn't come through. He struck out swinging to end the game. In a four-pitch at-bat, Cardinals closer Jason Isringhausen threw one hittable pitch: a first-pitch fastball right over the middle of the plate.

No team ever wants to settle for .500. Yet, somehow, you have to believe that if the Phillies had been told they were going to get a split in this important four-game series against the Atlanta Braves, they probably would have taken it in a heartbeat. With top guns Scott Rolen and Mike Lieberthal slated to miss all or most of the series because of nagging injuries, a split against a team the caliber of the Braves isn't all that bad. Now that it has been assured, the Phillies can afford to get a little greedy and go for three out of four this afternoon.

The Phillies apparently like working the day shift. Righthander Paul Byrd, who may be making the Atlanta Braves regret their decision to place him on waivers in August, pitched eight brilliant innings and was supported by four home runs as the Phillies defeated the San Diego Padres yesterday, 11-1, before an announced crowd of 18,229 at Veterans Stadium. The Phils, for whatever reason, are 6-1 and hitting .311 in day games this season. They are 8-12 and hitting .258 under the lights.

The Phillies will send their top two pitchers, Kevin Millwood and Randy Wolf, to the mound tonight and tomorrow night against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. On Sunday afternoon, Vicente Padilla, fresh from seven shutout innings against Anaheim on Monday night, will pitch. The Phillies are going with their best in this series, and still it might not matter - not with the way the offense has sputtered since almost day one of the season. "It's very confusing," manager Larry Bowa said of his team's offensive problems.

At the end of last week, the Phillies were being portrayed as sellers at the July 31 trade deadline. The vultures were lining up for Cliff Lee, the team's best starter so far this season, and Jonathan Papelbon, the closer who was considered a Porsche for a team that was on a 162-game ride to nowhere. By the end of this week, you had to wonder who the Phillies could add to make that one last run with the core players who have celebrated so much success. Regardless of which way the Phillies go at the deadline, difficult decisions lie ahead for general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. They begin with the starting rotation.

BOSTON - This was supposed to be the week that Shane Victorino played the outfield again at Citizens Bank Park. It's not going to happen because the Phillies' former centerfielder landed on the disabled list Friday with a tight left hamstring. He thinks it's related to the back injury that forced him to miss time earlier this season. The bottom line is Victorino will not go to the plate or play in the field during the Phillies' four-game series against the Red Sox that starts with two games in Boston on Monday and Tuesday before moving to Philadelphia on Wednesday and Thursday.

Former Philly fave Shane Victorino entered the Dodgers' clubhouse three hours before Wednesday's first pitch against the Diamondbacks and declared: "Where it all began. " "Now I get to wear Dodger Blue again," Victorino said. "Not as a young kid, but as a guy who has had time in the big leagues, has had some fun and some great moments. I'm trying to relive those moments here. " And in a repeat of what happened in Philadelphia a while back, the Dodgers designated Bobby Abreu for assignment to make room for Victorino.

LOS ANGELES - The visitors' clubhouse at Dodger Stadium bears little resemblance to the wide-open outfield that occupies a sizable chunk of the premises. It feels more like an obligation than a room, a cramped nook that probably has been grandfathered out of several fire-code revisions. There are no secrets in such a place, not in the wake of a loss like the one the Phillies suffered on Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after Matt Kemp handed the Dodgers a 5-3, come-from-behind win with a walkoff home run in the 12th inning, a thick silence choked the clubhouse as several players sat at their lockers with their elbows on their knees.

LOS ANGELES - The sweet combination of a three-game sweep, a ton of momentum, and a celebratory cross-country flight to Philadelphia were all right in front of the Phillies on Wednesday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. That was before a bloop hit, two infield singles, and a blown save triggered a marathon day that ended with one of the Phillies' most sour defeats of the season. Matt Kemp launched a game-ending home run off reliever Jake Diekman that gave the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-3, 12-inning victory, but the most disheartening developments occurred two innings earlier.

LOS ANGELES - The dream, impossible as it may seem, is to make this baseball season interesting again. Win series after series after series and see whether it's enough to get into the playoffs come October. You may not believe it can happen, but the Phillies have to believe. The only way they will add converts is by beating good teams, a mission they rarely have accomplished this season. On Monday night, for only the 19th time in 55 games, the Phillies beat a team that currently has a record of .500 or better.

Bobby Abreu stood Monday in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park and took a look around at the 45,000-plus fans, the same Phillies faithful he had played in front of for nearly nine seasons. And yet on a damp June night, as Abreu played in Philadelphia for the first time since being traded to the New York Yankees in 2006, so much was different. Those were happy days, he said, even if his time here came to an end when he was labeled a poor clubhouse guy and shipped to New York for little in return.

Bobby Abreu stood Monday in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park and took a look around at the 45,000-plus fans, the same Phillies faithful he had played in front of for nearly nine seasons. And yet on a damp June night, as Abreu played in Philadelphia for the first time since being traded to the New York Yankees in 2006, so much was different. Those were happy days, he said, even if his time here came to an end when he was labeled a poor clubhouse guy and shipped to New York for little in return.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are off to a sizzling start, and what do they do? They sign our old friend Bobby Abreu. Now, most Philadelphians would call that a bad idea, and then cheer that it was the Dodgers and not the Phillies who signed a retread who's lousy in the outfield and a locker room cancer to boot. But not the folks in Los Angeles. Consider manager Don Mattingly, a guy who should know better. He was all enthusiastic about the signing. You can even say gung-ho. "Bobby's a guy, obviously, who's been a great hitter his whole career, and kind of makes us, we feel like, incrementally a little bit better," said Donnie Baseball, who was on the Yankees' coaching staff when Abreu played in New York.

BOBBY ABREU appears to be the odd man out in the Los Angeles Angels' lineup, but he says he's not willing to settle for a bench role. "I'm an every-day player. I can still be in the lineup for a major league team," Abreu, 37, told ESPNdeportesLosAngeles.com from his native Venezuela. "I will not be on the bench knowing that I can play. If the Angels don't have a position for me, then the best thing is to trade me. It would be the correct [thing] to do. I won't be able to do nothing sitting in the bench.