I've said it before and I'll say it again - Brett Myers is the key to the Phillies returning to the postseason. Myers pitches tonight against the Nats at Citizens Bank Park.

In baseball, good pitching trumps all. The Phils have had a true ace in each of the last two seasons in Cole Hamels.

But just as they had no one to complement Curt Schilling 10 years ago, the current team has tried to run out a five-man rotation that includes on No.1 and four No.4s.

An aside - Jamie Moyer has pitched like a very strong No.3 and possibly a No.2 this year.

But Myers has seemingly had the potential to be that sure-fire No.2 the Phillies have sought. Occasionally, he'd show flashes. But consistency has kept him from reaching what his manager predicted him to be in spring training - a 1B to Hamels' 1A in the rotation.

We all know how bad Myers was in the first half, when he was jettisoned to the minors to get himself straight. We also know his tendency for immaturity, which was present just two starts ago when he showed up Charlie Manuel (a big no-no) after he was pulled from a game.

But all of that can be forgotten is Myers pitchers well. Since returning from the minors a month ago, Myers has done just that.

Five starts, nary an ugly outing. He hasn't allowed more than three runs in any of those starts.

That's Myers' best run since closing out the 2006 season with eight straight starts with three earned runs or less.

Myers is 2-1 in those five starts since returning to the Phillies with a 2.48 ERA. He's held opponents to a miniscule .183 batting average.

If Myers keeps that up - and again, it's been consistency that has dogged his career - the Phillies will overtake the Mets and return to the playoffs for the second straight season.

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Ryan Howard logged on for a chat with fans on ESPN.com on Monday. Here are some highlights:

On his thoughts of the NL East race, whether the Phils can top the Mets again:
"I'm actually pretty confident about it. We're in a lot better position this year than where we were last year around this time."

On the recent struggles of the team's offense:
"It's just baseball. There's things that happen in the game that you can't explain, but we're only a game and a half out right now. We'll hopefully come out of it sooner rather than later."

His favorite player in the big leagues who doesn't play for the Phillies right now:
"It's been fun watching Manny Ramirez doing what he's doing this year."

On whether Phils fans get a bad rep:
"I think they get a bad rap. Are they passionate? Yes. Do they have a different way of showing it? Sometimes, but they're not nearly as bad as everyone makes them out to be."