This is not what I would call a good week for the Phillies, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. The Phils went 4-3 last week, again sweeping the Atlanta Braves in Turner Field before coming to Citizen’s Bank Park and dropping three of four to the Mets.

The Phils looked like the Fightins of old against the Braves, scoring 19 runs in three games, while only giving up seven. They continued their hot streak against the Mets, winning the first game 3-2. That’s when things fell apart.

The Phillies were winning on Saturday until a meltdown of catastrophic proportions occurred by the bullpen, starting with stalwart J.C. Romero, continuing with Tom Gordon, and ending with Rudy Seanez. The Phils ended up losing the game 4-9, but should have won it easily. Sunday was another game that they should have won, carrying the momentum of Jason Werth’s game tying home run in the ninth inning off Mets’ closer Billy Wagner into extra innings. Instead, they gave up two runs a couple innings later to Fernando Tatis (yea, exactly) and were unable to rally together and ended up losing 4-2. Monday was a complete blowout loss with the score 10-9. While they only lost by one, they were blown out for much of the game until the scored seven runs in the final three innings, including another two run home run off Wagner in the ninth. Unfortunately, the rally fell just short.

Monday was a great show of grit and determination that this team has lacked for the better part of the past month, and is hopefully something they can build off of this week as they head into the all star break against the Cardinals and Diamondbacks.

In other Phillies’ news, second baseman Chase Utley and closer Brad Lidge were named to this year’s All Star team, while outfielder Pat Burrell is competing for the final roster spot. You can cast your vote for the deserving Pat at MLB.com.

The other big baseball story this week was not directly Phillies related. Indians’ ace C.C. Sabathia was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for four minor league prospects. Announced today, the Cubs acquired Rich Harden from the Oakland Athletics for basically nothing. This puts added pressure on the Phils to make a move before the trade deadline for a big time starter. The National League is particularly weak this year, but two of the only teams that are legitimate have made moves this week to seriously improve their rotations. The three teams the Phils will most likely have to compete with in the playoffs (if they get there) are Arizona (Brandon Webb, Dan Haren), Chicago (Carlos Zambrano, Rich Harden), and Milwaukee (Sabathia, Sheets).

The Phillies have an ace of their own in Cole Hamels, legitimately one of the best pitchers in the major leagues. But Hamels is the only really good pitcher on this team. If the Phils want to compete in the playoffs, they are going to have to go out and get a guy like Erik Bedard or A.J. Burnett. For more on the Sabathia trade and its implications for the Phillies, check out my article from Monday.

Speaking of Lidge, the Phillies ensured that beleaguered starter and wanna be closer Brett Myers will not be closing in Philly anytime soon by negotiating a three year contract extension for Lidge worth $37.5 million. For more on Lidge’s contract extension, check out Jay’s article.

In other good news, Tom Gordon finally went on the disabled list, and will hopefully rehab whatever has been ailing him this year and be able to help this team down the stretch. You can find out more on Gordon’s injury here.

J.A. Happ was called up last week to replace Brett Myers in the rotation, as Myers accepted a AAA assignment to try and get himself back on track. Hopefully Myers gets his stuff back, and it will be interesting to see if Happ can be year’s Kyle Kendrick.

In non-baseball news, the Flyers extended GM Paul Holmgren’s contract for three years, keeping him here until at least the 2011-2012 season.

Things to watch out for this week: the Sixers are poised to make a splash in the free agent market this week, as they hottly pursue forwards Elton Brand and Josh Smith. The Phillies look to gain some momentum going into the All Star break and will also look to get that big time starter. Despite the Phils’ recent struggles, it’s a very exciting time here in Philly.

Continue to check back as we bring you all the latest news in Philly sports.