--SS Jimmy Rollins' secret for snapping out of a slump? Don't take batting practice. Rollins entered Monday night in a 4-for-48 malaise that sent his average spiraling to .255. So, he decided to take his mind off his troubles by ditching batting practice before the series finale against the Dodgers. He barely has made an out since. Rollins went 3-for-3 in Monday night's victory, then followed with his fourth career five-hit game Tuesday night, fueling an improbable comeback against the Mets. In the 10th inning, his streak of eight consecutive hits was snapped with a hard-hit line drive to left field that nearly was the game-winning hit. But, with eight hits in his last 10 at-bats, he isn't about to start taking batting practice now. "I just kind of hit the reset button," Rollins said. "Someone called it the 'easy button.' But I'll probably do the same thing (Wednesday). Mick (Billmeyer), our BP thrower and our bullpen coach, said if I come out there he's going to run me off the mound. These guys are superstitious."
--RHP Brett Myers walked to the plate with the bases loaded, no outs and no pinch hitters remaining on the Phillies' bench in the 13th inning. But before he grabbed a bat, Myers got strict instructions from manager Charlie Manuel: Don't swing. Myers, a clubhouse cutup, complied. But he put on a show, wagging his bat and stepping out of the box after each pitch. "I told Brett, 'You do know how to follow orders,'" Manuel joked later. Asked if thought about asking Myers to fake a squeeze play with Shane Victorino standing on third base as the winning run, Manuel said it was discussed. "But I said no because Victorino might break for the plate," he said. Added SS Jimmy Rollins, "That's what I was thinking, too. Victorino might be like, 'Oh no' and think he missed a sign." Myers struck out on a 3-2 pitch. --RHP Kyle Kendrick, slated to start Wednesday against the Mets, warmed up in the bullpen in the 13th inning and would've entered the game in the 14th if the Phillies hadn't scored. Kendrick, who celebrated his 24th birthday Tuesday, threw 40 pitches and iced his arm after the game. But he said he should be able to pitch Wednesday night without a problem. "It was like a bullpen before a game," Kendrick said. "Maybe I'll be tired, so I'll have a little more sink (on his sinker)."
--1B Ryan Howard wondered aloud Tuesday how instant replay will work. "Do we get a red flag?" Howard joked. Beginning Thursday, umpires will be allowed to use instant replay to rule on hard-to-judge home run calls. Video from television broadcasts will be collected at Major League Baseball offices in New York, where it will be monitored by technicians and an umpire supervisor. If the crew chief at a game opts for replay, the umps will leave the field to watch the video and make a call, although initial rulings will be overturned only by irrefutable evidence. Close plays at the bases won't be subject to replay. A controversial home run call may have cost the Phillies a playoff spot in 2006 when Chase Utley hit a ball off the right field foul pole in Washington that was ruled foul. In November, general managers ruled 25-5 to institute replay. "Personally, I was in favor of it, and I think our organization was in favor of it," Phillies assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "I would limit it to home runs, fair or foul. I would not go beyond that. I think it's important to continue to have that human element of people making decisions on the field."
--RHP Adam Eaton is expected to return to the Phillies on Monday after roster expand. Eaton, who is owed $8.5 million next season, is 0-4 with a 7.42 ERA in six starts since he accepted a minor league assignment in late July. Eaton will serve primarily as a long reliever. RHP Kris Benson, also likely to get called up, is another long-relief option, even though he said two weeks ago that he would need too much time to warm up to be effective in a relief role.
BY THE NUMBERS: 1,342 -- Games played by RF Geoff Jenkins without appearing in a playoff game. The only active players who have played more games without reaching the postseason are the Mets' Damion Easley, the Giants' Randy Winn and the Mariners' Jose Vidro (assuming Vidro is picked up by another team after being released by the Mariners).
QUOTE TO NOTE: "There are definitely guys who come back to the clubhouse and you see the expression on their face. It's like, 'Man, I've got to try to do something.' And they're halfway defeated before they even get up there." -- SS Jimmy Rollins, who has been critical of notoriously tough Phillies fans for not offering their unconditional positive reinforcement for the team.
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