Cole Hamels

WHEN RUBEN Amaro Jr. began to put the pricey pieces in place for what was to be the Phillies payroll in 2013, he put his faith (read: dollars) in four players. He traded for, and then signed, Roy Halladay. He gave $100 million-plus contracts to Ryan Howard, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Those four players - Halladay, Howard, Hamels and Lee - account for more than half of the team's total payroll this season ($84.5 million of $159 million). Three weeks into the season, that investment hasn't exactly paid off. Hamels allowed only two runs, but the Phils remain winless in his starts this season as the offense went missing for the third time in the last eight games in a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citizens Bank Park.

THE PHILLIES have used their first-round pick on a lanky, lefthanded high school pitcher twice in the last 11 years. The first went on to win a World Series MVP and earn the richest contract in franchise history. The second took a perfect game into the seventh inning in his most recent start. Cole Hamels, who made his fifth start of the season on Tuesday night, was the first player, selected with the 17th overall pick in the 2002 draft. He made his major league debut 4 years later.

A night's worth of hitting futility fell to Ben Revere, the diminutive Phillies centerfielder. He poked two foul, worked a full count, and watched strike three zip past. The umpire's call Tuesday night was audible in an abandoned ballpark. Revere stood there as everyone dispersed. The Phillies were shut out, 2-0, by Pittsburgh in one of the more disconcerting moments in a young season. Since 2006, Cole Hamels has been a mainstay of the Phillies rotation. They had never lost five straight games started by the homegrown star until now. Hamels was the victim of no support.

The latest game-winning rally ignited by the bottom of the Phillies' order began with patience and unfolded with haste. It involved the soon-to-be backup catcher, the most rarely used player on the roster, and the franchise's cornerstone. In the span of 10 pitches, they secured a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night, and scant drama was required. The Phillies won a game started by 22-year-old Jonathan Pettibone. They have a winning streak for the first time in 10 days.

Ryan Howard wasn't in the Phillies starting lineup on Friday at Citizens Bank Park for the first time this season, and manager Charlie Manuel said his first baseman had a sore groin. It was assumed that Manuel was not starting Howard against St. Louis because the Cardinals were throwing lefthander Jaime Garcia. "Ryan has a sore groin," said Manuel before Friday's game when asked if it was a good time to give Howard a rest. "Yes, this gives us a good time to sit him down. " Manuel said that Howard would be able to pinch-hit.

After scoring two or fewer runs in their previous five games, the Phillies scored more on Thursday night. True to the way this season has gone, though, the slightly higher output still wasn't enough in a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies (6-10) have lost four in a row. They had 13 hits but failed to draw a walk for the fourth consecutive game. "We had chances and couldn't cash in on it," said manager Charlie Manuel, whose team left eight runners on base.

THEY SHOWED signs of life, which was more than you could say after most of the previous six games. Against a Cy Young-caliber pitcher who has given them plenty of trouble in the past, the Phillies' offense managed nine hits and twice rallied to tie the game. But the only victories were the moral ones as a ninth-inning rally came up short and the Phillies fell to the Cardinals, 4-3, to drop their fourth straight game. "That's the best we've hit in a while," manager Charlie Manuel said.

It's funny how these things go. Erik Kratz has been a pretty good catcher when Cliff Lee is on the mound. And that brutal weather in Atlanta? It may as well have been sunny and 70 as Lee pitched eight shutout innings against the mighty Braves lineup. The mounds aren't slightly off. The mud on the baseballs is not rubbed in wrong. A defensive miscue behind him doesn't blow his concentration for the next four batters. The plate umpire doesn't lodge inside his head. Lee just pitches.

What the Phillies have shown in the first week of the baseball season is an inconsistent offense, spotty starting pitching, a middle-relief corps that needs plenty of fine-tuning, and the inability to play with a lead against the Kansas City Royals. For the second time this weekend, the Phillies squandered a 4-0 lead over the Royals, losing Sunday's series finale, 9-8, at Citizens Bank Park. Billy Butler had a grand slam and seven RBIs to lead Kansas City (3-3). In Friday's home opener, a 4-0 lead turned into a 13-4 defeat for the Phillies.

It's early until it isn't. For a baseball team, there is a fine line between maintaining perspective and complacently allowing things to slip away. The Phillies have to watch that line very closely this year, especially when it comes to their pitching - particularly the bullpen. A week in, there are legitimate questions about the bullpen, and the outfield defense, and the lack of power. But the real question, after two lost series, is just what the Phillies accomplished during their seven weeks in Clearwater, Fla. Spring training was extended a bit because of the World Baseball Classic.