Phils enter September with a cushion

Outside of the two-loss glitch in Pittsburgh the Phillies continue to maintain their winning ways. They're doing just enough to win, but they'll have a 7 1/2-game lead in the NL East when they begin a series with the Giants on Tuesday (the Braves and Marlins are both 8 out right now, and they play each other tomorrow). They still have issues, though.

For one, the Phils still don't really know what they have in Pedro Martinez. He's started four games. In two he got wins but looked shaky at times, in part because the offense had long innings that kept him on the bench for longer than usual. In the other two rain delays caused his removal early. They'll have to figure out whether he's going to be reliable enough to stay in the rotation or if they'd be better off with Jamie Moyer (who relieved Martinez after both rain delays and pitched very well).

Other pitching dilemmas may or may not be getting sorted out. Brad Lidge got a pair of saves this weekend against Atlanta, both with 1-2-3 ninth innings. He needs to string together a bunch of these to show he's truly ended his struggles. Cole Hamels pitched 8 scoreless innings in his last start. Again, he needs to become consistent.

Some of the htters (both in the lineup and on the bench) are also struggling. Raul Ibanez has slumped badly since returning from the disabled list just before the All-Star break. Offensively he looks more like Pat Burrell right now. Pinch-hitting has become a weakness -- Matt Stairs is now 0 for his last 27 at-bats. The Phils are at times having their usual difficulties with runners in scoring position. They need to be able to manufacture some runs now and then when the home runs aren't flying out.

There is still time for the Phils to resolve these issues, but not a whole lot. Fortunately, their lead gives them some leeway. On the other hand, they only need to look at the Mets to see what can happen to September leads.