By FRANK WARD
DailyPhiladelphian.com Editor

The Philadelphia Phillies just put the National League on notice — they’re ready to make another run to regain they’re WFC title.

After getting swept in putrid fashion by the Ed Wade Phillies Houston Astros, the Phils went west and made a statement. While most fans and analysts would have been pleased with four wins on a seven game road trip, the Phillies put up an impressive 6-1 record en route to burying two long shot Wild Card teams and the team with the then-best record in the NL.

Sure, the Dodgers and Rockies weren’t really in the thick of the Wild Card race, which the Phils now lead by two games, but both had the ability to make late season runs. Honestly, even with losing Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers still have some decent young pitching. The Rockies, meanwhile, always make late season runs and were getting hot at the right time.

Instead of letting either team back in the race, the Phillies put them out of their rear view mirrors. The Dodgers sit eight games back, and the Rockies are now 6.5 back. Had the Phils lost hursday night, it would have only been a 4.5 game lead over Colorado.

The Phillies look poised to make a run toward the WFC title again.

More impressive than that was the tree-game sweep over the Padres. A potential first round playoff opponent, that series gave the Phillies confidence should the two teams meet at some point in October. Remember, the Phillies hit for crap in that series. In fact, in the final two games they scored as many runs as they had hits — eight. Oh, and they got the sweep after being swept by the Astros at home.

That’s not easy to go on the road against the best team in the NL and sweep them. Then again, this Phillies team doesn’t seem to want to do anything the easy way.

At the end of the road trip, the Phillies look like a team on the verge of making a run toward regaining the WFC title.