"When spring training opened, Roy Oswalt openly discussed the idea of retirement.

After leaving his June 23 start in St. Louis after two innings, with his back aching and his future in doubt, retirement seemed a very real option.

But as Oswalt prepares today to make his first start in nearly seven weeks, the idea of hanging it up is completely out of his mind.

"I don't try to put the cart before the horse," said Oswalt, who is 4-6 with a 3.79 ERA this season. "My focus now is just getting back in the rhythm of pitching and trying to get to the playoffs. I haven't really thought about what I'm going to do in the offseason."

A year ago, Oswalt arrived via trade from Houston and was a central figure in the Phillies' playoff push.

In August and September, he was 7-0 with a 1.41 ERA, and the Phillies won 10 of his 11 starts.

With plenty of rust on his arm at this point, Oswalt admits that would be a lofty standard to reach again, but that doesn't mean he's not expecting to put up some big numbers.

"I hope I can get on a run like I did last year," he said. "That'd be great. But that's the thing about baseball -- you never really know what's going to happen until you get out there.""