How do you solve a problem like the Phillies

The Phillies lost again last night, at home, looking nothing like the team that breezed through the playoffs and won the World Series last season. They were beaten by the AL East's last place Baltimore Orioles, the team their press corp decided to trash in the day's local newspaper columns.

After jumping on the O's starter, Rich Hill, for two runs in the first inning, the Phils forgot to score through the rest of the game, while the Orioles immediately grabbed the lead in the top of the second and kept adding to it. But since the Phillies are still atop the NL East, which has quietly turned into the weakest division in baseball, this is not a tragedy.

The Orioles, playing in a division in which every other team is above .500, have an interesting lineup. Three rookies, Robert Andino, Matt Wieters and Nolan Reimold are every fan's dream for the team's future. Reimold is particularly heartening .He came up earlier this season with none of the fanfare of Wieters debut and is putting up excellent offensive numbers and doing a credible job in the outfield. The veterans, including the ex-Astros contingent of Aubrey Huff and Luke Scott, are productive and solid. And Adam Jones continues to learn, produce and prove the doubters wrong. They are fun to watch.

And on another note, Roy Oswalt pitched a complete game last night in the Astros loss to Minnesota. Typical Roy, typical Astros.