Shane Victorino

“You can do a lot with two inches.”

That’s what my son said while pondering his binder preferences at Staples.

Maybe you can.

You can also do a lot with two pitches. Cole Hamels tossed his curve into his limited repertoire but it was his fastball and change-up that ruled the game.

As a result, Ricky Botallico said Cole Hamels has “turned the corner.”

Are you kidding me?

According to Howard Eskin and his brand new Twitter feed, the Phillies are seriously considering trading Shane Victorino in order to free up some money to resign Jayson Werth.

It makes sense on the surface, as finding a way to keep Werth has to be on top of Ruben Amaro's to-do list, and trading Victorino would free up $7.5 million next year. The Phils would then just insert Dominic Brown to play either center or right field, depending on where they feel he's best suited, and move on from there.

Philadelphia Phillies players make manager Charlie Manuel look like a genius time after time.

The latest blow to the defending National League champions was leadoff man Jimmy Rollins landing on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained calf muscle.

No problem.

Juan Castro filled in nicely at leadoff in the first game without Rollins. In a 7-4 win on Monday against Washington, he hit an RBI double.

Castro had to lead off because Rollins' name was already on the lineup card. Rollins was pulled shortly before the start of the game.

When the Phils lose, don’t get down. I’ve found that a really fun way to pass the time is to go to the pet shop, find a big cage of mice, and watch them fight for position on their wheel. Seriously. It’s hysterical. It doesn’t even take mind-altering drugs to enjoy a curious mouse getting damn near decapitated by an ambitious team on a wheel.

This will begin my 2010 MLB preview. I intend to touch every team in the major leagues in installments by division. The lineups I provide will be what I predict will be the most productive for each team for the MAJORITY of the season (e.g., Jason Heyward will be listed as the Braves RF even though he may not begin the season as the starter).

I will also provide the stereotypical letter grade to each team's lineup, rotation, bullpen, and bench. Though it is trite, I think all baseball fans can identify with the letter grade system.

This article originally appeared on PhillyFanComplex.com .

My earliest memories of Phillies baseball were of muggy, rain-delayed July games at Veterans Stadium, with the season already a lost cause, and where the few thousand (drunk) fans in attendance huddled in the dark concrete concourses of the Vet.

We all know the story of the 1951 New York Giants.

They mounted a historical comeback on the Brooklyn Dodgers and finally won the pennant on the final day of the season behind Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.”

But, as it would be discovered later on, they did it with the help of a camera mounted in centerfield.

Now let’s flash forward to 2007.

I bet you can remember your first kiss. It’s likely that you can remember your first car. And I’m sure you can remember your first drink, right? …right?

How about that second kiss? What car did you drive after your first lemon? And after that first drink, well, it’s all down hill from there.

The point is familiarity begins to set in. That first kiss created a feeling unlike anything you had ever felt before. The first time you revved your engine etched a memory forever in your consciousness. And the first drink, actually, never mind.

You practically can feel the loving wealth, spreading around the streets of Philly. At a point when Philly cheese steaks aren’t as tasty or lovable as the Philadelphia Phillies, the rabid town has again gone nuts, not over the Eagles or Michael Vick’s craze, not over the Sixers season-opener next week, and definitely not over the Flyers.

By the end of the fifth inning with the Phillies up by eight, I was thinking, this game can’t be over fast enough . But after the eighth, when the home team added three more to the score, the Dodgers were thinking the same thing.

The signs said it all.

“City of BrotherLEE Love”