"Sure, Charlie Manuel looks forward to getting Chase Utley back. What manager wouldn't want an All-Star second baseman in his lineup? Carlos Ruiz, too. But even though both players appear to be on the verge of returning to the Phillies, Manuel isn't sure that players' poor health is the only thing that plagues his offense.

"We need for our lineup to get [physically] better, but we also need our lineup to hit better," he said yesterday, before the Phillies' series finale against the Marlins. "We need some guys to have the kind of years they are capable of having."

Manuel didn't mention anything specifically, but you can bet the thing on his mind was the Phillies' sudden power drain. A team that not long ago was one of the top slugging teams in the majors entered yesterday tied for seventh in the National League with 29 home runs. Reaching base hasn't been a huge problem for the team's regulars. Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and Ben Francisco all are reaching base at a far higher percentage than their career averages. Of the top six hitters in the order, only Raul Ibanez is more than 30 points below his career average in on-base percentage (.290 this season, .345 for his career heading into yesterday).

But the Phillies have consistently failed to produce big hits with runners on base. They entered yesterday having hit only 34 extra-base hits with runners on, fifth-fewest in the NL. They were averaging one home run every 53.5 at-bats with runners on, fifth lowest in the NL.

Overall, the Phillies' slugging percentage has fallen from .447 in 2009 to .413 in 2010 to .387 this season, as of yesterday, a more rapid decline than the league's as a whole (the NL's cumulative slugging percentage was .409 in 2009, .399 in 2010 and .382 this season heading into yesterday's games).

Even if the Phillies' decline was in line with the rest of the league's, Manuel wouldn't want to hear it.

"That don't mean we have to have that damn problem," Manuel said. "I say that in meetings all the time. That's like saying if somebody jumps off a bridge, you're going to jump off with them. The hell with that. Really. That's kind of how I look at that. I want us to be the best team in baseball. I want to put the best players on the field. I want the best hitting, the best pitching, the best defense.""