Now I kind of wish Cliff Lee had been traded prior to Thursday afternoon's non-waiver Trade Deadline.

The Phillies were silent at the deadline, however, as General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. failed to make a single move to look toward the future for this struggling club.

One of the Phillies' biggest trade pieces, Cliff Lee, would take the mound Thursday evening and that's when every Phillies fan's day got even worse. Lee reinjured his elbow in the third inning and was removed from the game, one the Phillies would eventually win 10-4 over the Nationals.

Cole Hamels tossed eight scoreless innings in a stellar outing Tuesday night and was backed by more than enough offense, as the Phillies cruised past the Mets 6-0.

The Phillies may still be 13 games under .500, but Hamels was able to move his own record above .500, as the veteran lefty has won his last four decisions to move to 6-5 on the season.

This one was over quickly.

The Mets were all over A.J. Burnett from the get go, scoring four runs in the first inning, as they cruised to a 7-1 win over the Phillies.

A weight was lifted off Ryan Howard's shoulders on Sunday afternoon, if only for a few hours.

Following trade talks, benchings and even rumors of his release, Howard came up big in the series finale against the D-backs, as the Phillies picked up a 4-2 victory.

Look on the bright side, A.J. Burnett probably increased his trade value on Wednesday night.

Silver linings. That’s about all that is left to look for at this point in the season, and Burnett throwing eight shutout innings against the Giants was one of them.

Unfortunately for Burnett and the Phillies’ sake, Jonathan Papelbon did the team and his trade value no favors on the evening, surrendering three runs in the ninth to give the Giants the lead. The Phillies would get one back in the bottom of the ninth, but would be unable to complete the comeback, as they fell 3-1.

If you were awake until the end of this game, I’m not sure whether to congratulate you or suggest you seek help.

The Phillies entered the ninth inning Tuesday night with a 5-4 lead, before Jonathan Papelbon allowed a home run to Buster Posey to tie the game and force extra innings.

From there, this one became a marathon, with the Giants finally jumping all over Jeff Manship in the 14th inning on their way to a 9-6 victory over the Phillies.

Cliff Lee returned from the DL on Monday night in what was quite possibly his final start in a Phillies uniform.

With the Trade Deadline rapidly approaching, the Phillies were looking for Lee to come back strong in first start since May 18. That wouldn’t happen.

Lee allowed six runs on 12 hits and lasted just 5 2/3 innings, coughing up the lead before exiting the game. The Phillies would be unable to regain the lead after that, falling 7-4 to the Giants.

Look on the bright side, Kyle Kendrick overcame the struggles he has faced all season in the first inning on Sunday when he retired the Braves in order.

That’s about the only positive thing there is to say, as after that, the Phillies proceeded to get absolutely dominated in an 8-2 loss to the Braves.

You would’ve thought Kyle Kendrick was pitching for the National League with how terribly things went in the first inning. The NL’s starting pitcher Adam Wainwright surrendered a double and a triple to start the bottom of the first before allowing a two-run home run to Miguel Cabrera to give the American League a 3-0 lead.

The NL would take two back in the top of the second, however, with the help of RBI doubles by Chase Utley and Jonathan Lucroy.

The little bit of momentum the Phillies had gained with a five-game win streak is now gone.

A 10-3 loss to the Nationals on Sunday afternoon marked the Phillies second straight loss, as the club stumbles to the All-Star Break with a 42-53 record.