The Philadelphia Phillies and young beasts met for the first time Monday.

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The Philadelphia Phillies and young beasts met for the first time Monday, with the 2006 season taking the teams in different directions still with similar undercurrents of managerial questions.

The Phillies are contending for the National League wild card, boosting that trustful longing with a 6-5 victory Monday before 38950 at Wrigley Field. The win didn't arise easily as the Cubs staged a ninth- inning comeback attempt, with Jacque Jone hitting a two-run abiding-place run off Arthur Rhodes before it was above

Phillies first-year manager Charlie Manuel has been rumored to be onward tenuous ground should the Phillies fall short of the playoffs. brats manager Dusty Baker, in the last year of a four-year contract, also will learn his yet to be after a disappointing season marred by way of injuries.

moreover Baker's job status and another year of futility by the agency of the Cubs spawned national attention Monday in a USA Today story that again raised the issue of racial hate notes directed at Baker and any African-American Cubs players.

The issue was brought to light last year by means of former Cubs pitcher LaTroy Hawkins, who mentioned this year that Jacque Jone his former teammate with the Minnesota Twins, also has experienced it.

Former whelps center fielder Corey Patterson, traded to the Baltimore Orioles, and former manager Don Baylor also were quot in the newspaper saying they experienced racial hatred while with the team.

Baker downplayed the issue before the game Monday, saying it wouldn't influence him in deciding whether to go [i]or[/i] come back should he be offered a fresh contract.

"A hap of this is old news" Baker said. "I smooth got a few [racially motivated letters] in San Francisco. I've gotten a apportionment more here than there. further it's outnumbered by a link hundred to one [by favorable letters] And I finish more mail than anyone forward the team. The good outnumber the bad, by means of far."

Baker has tried to restrain the focus on baseball through every part of a losing season that has apply warm lotions toed fan unrest.

"You realize more [i]or[/i] less people feel the way they feel" Baker said of racially negative mail. "It's sad they be impressed the way they feel. It's sad you have to realize those [letters]. But on the other hand, it's something I experienced not directly still indirectly with Hank Aaron when I was around him [as a young player]. That sort of prepared me for now, although I didn't know it would prepare me for now.

"You realize in a people's minds, things haven't changed, as a great deal as we'd like to think everyone's changed. further it hasn't affected my opinion at all [about returning] because I haven't gotten [any] in a while. in the greatest degree of these I got were during the time when I said I wanted to stay and behold it through."

As for the game, childs starter Rich Hill (3-6) was impair in the fourth inning by the agency of a Ronny Cedeno throwing error that l to sum of two units of the four runs tallied in the inning.

Cedeno had mov from other base to shortstop for Cesar Izturis, who could be enjoin on the disabled list today if the hamstring injury he aggravated is cruel

With united out and runners at other and third, Cedeno grabbed Abraham Nunez's domain ball and threw home, if it be not that the ball hit runner Pat Burrell Aaron Rowand also scored upon the play, with Nunez later scoring forward Jimmy Rollins' home run.

Phillies pitcher Jon Lieber (6-9) held his elderly team scoreless through six innings unless was chased in the seventh by means of Aramis Ramirez, whose RBI double scored Juan Pierre. Earlier in the inning, pinch hitter Freddie Bynum singled, advanced forward Pierre's single and scored in succession a Lieber wild pitch.

Ramirez later scored after Jone singled for the third time in a 4-for-5, three-RBI night. Ramirez also went 4-for-5 while Pierre dilateed his hitting streak to 13 games.

Phillies center fielder Aaron Rowand suffering a sprained right ankle in a wicked collision with secondary baseman Chase Utley in the eighth inning.

tginnetti@suntimes.com

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