Opposite dugout: Playing out the string, last-place Phillies are a team in transition

Manager: Pete Mackanin (1st season)

Record: 56-88

Last 10 games: 3-7

Who to watch: CF Odubel Herrera (.299/.328/.428 with 8 HR, 14 SB), 1B Ryan Howard (22 HR, 76 RBIs), RHP Ken Giles (1.43 ERA, 13 saves), RHP Aaron Nola (6-2, 3.56 ERA)

Season series vs. Nationals: 5-7

Pitching probables:

Sept. 14: RHP Jordan Zimmermann vs. RHP Aaron Nola, 7:05 p.m., MASN2
Sept. 15: RHP Stephen Strasburg vs. RHP David Buchanan, 7:05 p.m., MASN2
Sept. 16: LHP Gio Gonzalez vs. LHP Adam Morgan, 7:05 p.m., MASN2

Inside the Phillies:

The Phillies are a team in transition, and not just since they became the first National League club eliminated from the postseason last week. They've already seen manager Ryne Sandberg resign and be replaced by ex-Expo Pete Mackanin. They hired former Orioles executive Andy MacPhail as their new president in June - he'll take over at season's end when current president Pat Gillick retires - and last week they announced that longtime general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. would not have his contract renewed. Amaro's departure has been widely speculated for months, and it'll be interesting to see who MacPhail chooses as Amaro's successor, someone young with a vision or a veteran front office hand with a pedigree.

Amaro gets a lot of blame for seeing the Phillies spiral out of perennial contention after their 2009 World Series loss to the Yankees, being ousted in the National League Division Series and Championship Series in the next two seasons, then finishing at .500 in 2012 and under .500 since. But a lot of the criticism is undeserved. It was the fervent Phillies fan base that demanded he sign the team's nucleus - first baseman Ryan Howard, second baseman Chase Utley, catcher Carlos Ruiz - to long-term, big-dollar contracts to keep the core intact. No one expected them to maintain their production from the glory years, but being saddled with unproductive, unhealthy or untradeable players certainly didn't help matters.

Around this year's non-waiver trade deadline, Amaro was one of the busier GMs, dealing ace Cole Hamels to the Rangers, outfielder Ben Revere to the Blue Jays, closer Jonathan Papelbon to the Nats and Utley to the Dodgers, deals that have bolstered the team's sagging farm system and provided some major-league ready talent. Amaro was also responsible for drafting ace-in-waiting Aaron Nola last year and plucking second baseman-turned-center fielder Odubel Herrera from the Rangers in last December's Rule 5 draft. And the outgoing GM signed third baseman Maikel Franco as an amateur free agent in 2010. So his imprint will be left on the club, even if the Pfightin' faithful will need to weather another season of Howard at first base and Ruiz behind the plate. Amaro also drafted hard-throwing righty Ken Giles, who assumed the closer's role once Papelbon was traded.

Herrera has ridden out some rough patches to post a .299/.328/.428 slash line along with eight homers and 14 stolen bases. Before a wrist injury that will likely end his season, Franco had 13 homers and 48 RBIs in 77 games. Howard's .228 batting average is unsightly, but he continues to run into pitches on a frequent enough basis to produce 22 homers and 76 RBIs, both team highs. Yes, the Phillies will have plenty of holes for their new general manager to fill, but they're hardly bereft of talent.

They've played better under Mackanin, a baseball lifer who is in his third stint as an interim manager. But they're still a last-place club and they're playing out the string in a 3-9 September and enter play Monday at 32 games under .500. So expect to see a few unfamiliar names in the penultimate series between the NL East combatants (who still have three games at Nationals Park from Sept. 25-27).

It doesn't matter that the Phillies have the 12th-most hits (1,238) in the majors or are tied for the 13th-most stolen bases (77). The Phillies rank next-to-last in on-base percentage (.304), 28th in home runs (111) and 27th in slugging percentage (.384). The mound numbers have been particularly dreadful, especially in hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, which turns into a launching pad in the warmer summer months. Philadelphia pitchers yield the highest opponent batting average in the majors (.282) and rank 29th in ERA (4.87).

Nola, the seventh overall selection in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft, has not disappointed since debuting July 21. Since losing his first major league start, he has won six of seven decisions, pitching at least six innings in six of his 10 starts. He's been a control pitcher, with only 15 walks in 60 1/3 innings pitched, and relies heavily on a fastball that runs up to 95 mph. At home, Nola has gone 3-1 with a 2.10 ERA, but he's just 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in September after a 4-0 August with a 3.25 ERA. Overall, opponents slash .236/.287/.389 versus the right-hander, while the numbers at home are even better: .198/.252/.342. This will be his first career appearance against the Nationals.

Right-hander David Buchanan, Tuesday night's scheduled starter, is another of the guys getting a long look in the last couple of months of the season, and he's not taking advantage of the trial, posting a 9.11 ERA and 2.08 WHIP this season. None of the four pitches he throws has been particularly effective, and he's dropped three straight decisions since his last win on July 31. In his last three starts, Buchanan has been terrible, yielding 22 earned runs in 19 innings pitched. Foes crush him at a .373/.439/.596 clip (and .339/.408/.551 at home, where he's 2-4 with a 7.63 ERA). In two career starts versus Washington, he's 0-2 with an 8.18 ERA.

Lefty Adam Morgan draws the mound assignment in the series finale, and he's been hit hard of late, allowing 10 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings in losing his last two decisions. He's had trouble with the home run ball, surrendering 14 longballs in 78 innings worked. With none on and none out, foes slash .305/.367/.610 against the southpaw, who is making his first career appearance against the Nationals. At home, foes slash .287/.333/.480 off him.