To hear some people talk, you would think the Phillies are four games back in the National League East.

In fact, as baseball takes its annual mid-summer break for the All-Star game, just the opposite is true. The Phils are four games up., with most of the rest of the NL East in full retreat.

After struggling much of the first half to play well in the comfy confines of Citizens Bank Park, the Phils went 9-1 in their last home stand before the break.

Jimmy Rollins looks like he’s turned things around. J.A. Happ is beginning to look like a very solid addition to their starting rotation.
Yes, we wonder about that decision to offer the starting spot to Chan Ho Park coming out of spring training. But even Park has gotten into the act, proving effective coming out of the bullpen.

No less than four Phillies will be in St. Louis for the All-Star game.
Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley were voted to the starting lineup. Ryan Howard was added by Manager Charlie Manuel. Shane Victorino won the Internet fan voting for the final spot. And when Mets’ slugger Carlos Beltran was scratched because of an injury, Manuel again looked to his own squad for a replacement, tapping red-hot Jayson Werth. That means all three members of the Phils’ starting outfield will be on the team.

So, what’s the problem. Why so much angst among fans, on talk radio, and around the office water cooler?

Well, Cole Hamels for one. He’s been ineffective, and proved it again on Saturday when he gave up three home runs to the Pirates. The Phils ralled to win, but Hamels is giving more and more credence to the theory that all those innings he pitched last year are catching up to him.

Which brings up the entire notion of an ace. And Roy Halladay. Look up “ace” in the dictionary and you just might see Halladay’s picture beside it.

The Blue Jays are in the process of entertaining offers for their gem.
He won’t come cheap. And that’s the dilemma for the Phils – and their fans.

Acquiring Halladay would make the Phils the prohibitive favorite to win the National League and make a return trip to the World Series. It also likely would cost them a slew of prospects, almost certainly including Kyle Drabek. Happ also might have to go, along with highly touted outfielder Michael Taylor.

There’s a part of me that loves the idea of Halladay in red pinstripes, a true No. 1 at the top of their rotation. Hamels and Blanton would offer a formidable post-season rotation.

But there’s another part of me that is very leery of giving up all those prospects. I’m not sure the Phils don’t get back to the Series without making a move, although winning it might be another story.

Does everyone forget how the Phils handled the Dodgers in their last West Coast trip?

I’d love to get Halladay, but in this instance I’d take a pass. Keep the kids, develop them and go to war with the ones that brung you.

I know that is not going to be a popular opinion.

The ball’s in Phils GM Ruben Amaro’s court. Will he pull the trigger?

That’s the biggest question hanging over the Phils at the break.