Chris Coste is pushing Carlos Ruiz for playing time behind the plate on the strength of his strong bat. Coste has played in 38 games this season for the Phillies and he is 36 for 115 (.313 avg, .921 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 6 homers and 17 RBIs. Coste hasn’t always been a catcher but he’s made himself into an at least average player behind the plate on defense. Carlos Ruiz had a solid year in 2007 establishing himself as the starting catcher of the Phillies but he just isn’t hitting at all this year. Ruiz has played in 47 games for the Phillies this season and he is 31 for 140 (.221 avg, .601 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Ruiz will start riding the pine more often if his bat doesn’t start coming around and soon.

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell are both off to great starts to the 2008 season. Utley is the best player on the Planet Earth right now. He has played in 32 games for the Phillies and he is 45 for 126 (.357 avg, 1.194 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 13 homers and 26 RBIs. Almost as impressive as Utley’s start is how well Pat Burrell has played this season. Burrell has played in 32 games this season for the Phillies and he is 35 for 106 (.330 avg, 1.148 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 9 homers and 30 RBIs. Burrell has been much more selective this season as he has walked 26 times already this season which explains his bump in batting average.

Brett Myers was outstanding as the closer for the Phillies last season as he pitched in 48 games in relief and he was 5-5 with 21 saves, a 2.87 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Still, the Phillies figured that Myers was better than anyone in the free agent class this year as a starter so they made the move for Brad Lidge with the idea of moving Myers back into the rotation. Myers has pitched in 192 games (143 starts) in his major league career and he is 59-47 with 21 saves, a 4.34 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP.

Ryan Howard was the Rookie of the Year three years ago and the MVP in 2006. He turned in another spectacular year in 2007 as he’s compiled some dazzling numbers so far in his major league career. In 410 games in the majors, Howard is 425 for 1,461 (.291 avg, 1.007 OPS) with 255 runs scored, 129 homers and 353 RBIs. The Phillies might be a tad concerned with Howard’s 493 career whiffs but they probably shouldn’t mess with success and just let him keep swinging hard like he always does. When Howard makes contact he’s hitting an amazing .439 which shows how hard he hits the ball.

The Philadelphia Phillies have caught the Mets from behind as they are both 87-72 with 3 games left in the season.  The Phillies are also 1 game behind the Padres for the Wild Card.  So it all comes down to three games with the Washington Nationals in Philly.  The Phillies have three super hot hitters right now in Jimmy Rollins who is 9 for his last 27 (.333 avg) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs.  Chase Utley has also been outstanding lately as he is 8 for his last 24 (.333 avg) with 8 runs scored, 2 homers and 6 RBIs.  The defending MVP on the N.L. has saved his best for last as he is 8 for his last 20 (.400 avg) with 5 runs scored, 3 homers and 8 RBIs.  Look for the surging Phillies to topple the fading Mets who are playing at home this weekend where they have lost their last 7 games.