Root for the bad guys

By Michael Rushton

The ship may be righting in Philadelphia.

The Phillies head into play on Monday against San Diego with a big series win over San Francisco, outscoring Barry Bonds' Giants 20-8 in their two victories. Brett Myers made a solid, triumphant return to the mound, RyanHoward showed there is no home run derby curse and Pat Burrell gave a glimmer of hope that he may be busting out of his slump. And hey, watch out JoeDiMaggio, Chase Utley has hit in 18 straight.

Time to get excited, right?

How about not. The worst case scenario for the Fightin' Phils right now wouldbe a useless winning streak that would make them think they are back in the thick of the wild card race.

Then, instead of unloading high-demand talent, underachieving slugs and clearing some money to start the fixing the roster, the Phils will stand Pat (pun intended). They may just keep Bobby Abreu, who is their best trading chip, and give away some prospects for overrated middle relief.

Except Gavin Floyd, because he is still untouchable, right?

The Phillies need to be sellers before the deadline because they certainly can't be buyers.

Heading into play Monday, the Phillies were 5 1/2 games back of Cincinnati for the wild card lead with another seven teams to leapfrog. However, an 8-of-10 winning streak could change that in the Phillies' favor.

To make matters worse, the upcoming schedule favors a nice winning burst. Before the trade deadline, the Phils play -- all at home -- Atlanta for four games, Arizona for three and then a five-game set against Florida ,with that series finale falling on the same day as the deadline.

In the movie Goodfellas, Henry, played by Ray Liotta, says of Robert De Niro's character Jimmy, that he, "was the kind of guy that rooted for bad guys in the movies."

I think we, the Philadelphia faithful, should do the same on the baseball diamond.

Now I'm not saying go the Bank and boo Howard when he homers, mock jeer David Bell when he hits a single or give Abreu a hard time in right field (okay, you can keep doing that). But don't be afraid to pump your fist under the table if Chipper Jones wins the game for Atlanta with a key base hit.

Also, don't be ashamed to smile if you open up the paper the next day and see Cory Lidle's line of five runs, eight hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings. You can even cheer -- in public -- when your fantasy studs Andruw Jones and Brandon Webb do good against the Phils.

Why? Because by hoping our team fails, we are looking out for their future.

Along the way, say goodbye to Abreu, Jon Lieber, Lidle, possibly Tom Gordon and, if we are lucky, Burrell. Then, say hello to cap relief, a new manager and a painful rebuilding process.

Because, what do you do when there's nothing left? You light a match...

Michael Rushton can be reached at rushpac@msn.com