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When it comes to sophisticated insights and pithy observations, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is no George Will. He's more like George Won't. But in a rambling, ambling, avuncular sort of way, Manuel usually finds a way to get his point across.

After Philadelphia completed a four-game sweep of Milwaukee last weekend to pull even in the National League wild-card race, Manuel stepped to the podium for his obligatory media Q-and-A session. One reporter asked him if he places any stock in momentum in baseball.

"I believe in momentum," Manuel said. "I believe in -- what do you call it? -- attitude, charisma, and when you come to the ballpark everything is OK. Everybody is in a good mood and upbeat. Everybody's happy. People ain't walking around sulking because they ain't making enough money or something happened at the house."

NL EAST
TEAM	RECORD	GB
Philadelphia	86-67	--
NY Mets	85-67	0.5
NL WILD CARD
TEAM	RECORD	GB
NY Mets	85-67	--
Milwaukee	84-69	1.5
For more on the races, see Hunt for October.

Manuel probably meant to say "chemistry" instead of "charisma," but we'll let the verbal lapse slide. Even when the man gropes for the proper words, he seems to have a knack for coming up with the right answers.

The Phillies have had a flair for closing the season with a rush during Manuel's four-year tenure, and they're living up to their reputation this year. They beat Atlanta 4-3 on Thursday night to extend their winning streak to seven games, and they now have a 63-39 September record (for a .618 winning percentage) since Manuel took over in 2005.

The Phils will try to extend their streak Friday in Florida against John Baker, Cameron Maybin and the equally scorching Marlins, who beat Houston 8-1 on Thursday for their eighth consecutive win. Brett Myers will oppose Josh Johnson in the series opener, and while it's probably too late for the Marlins to make the postseason, they always enjoy mucking things up for the Phillies.

The perception of Manuel as likable, easygoing Uncle Charlie resonated this week after Milwaukee fired Ned Yost, in part because his managerial style was fostering an air of tension in the clubhouse. The next time "Charlie Manuel" and "tension" appear in the same sentence, it will be a first.

"Charlie is the kind of guy you like to play for," said a scout who knows Manuel well. "Right, wrong or indifferent -- whether he makes the right moves or runs the game the right way -- the players respond to Charlie. He's upfront and he keeps the players relaxed. He only asks you to come and play hard, and that's it."

It helps to have talent, and Philadelphia's late run has been a collaborative effort. Jimmy Rollins has turned around a mediocre season by hitting .383 in his past 23 games. Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino are making major contributions down the stretch, and Ryan Howard has injected himself into the MVP conversation with his 1.379 OPS in September.

Howard got off to a terrible start this year because he had problems picking up the ball out of the pitcher's hand and consequently spent too much time lunging, but lately he's been able to wait a fraction of a second longer and hit the ball to the opposite field with authority. Howard also has ceded the NL strikeout lead to Arizona third baseman Mark Reynolds, who has 191 whiffs to Howard's 190.

"First and foremost, it's all about seeing the ball and being comfortable" Howard said. "When you see it, you can let it travel that much further [in the strike zone] and be able to hit it where you want to try to hit it."

After the Phillies play Florida, they'll return home for six games, three apiece with Atlanta and Washington. That's good news for Howard, who has a staggering 23 RBIs against Atlanta this season, the most by any player against the Braves since 1977.

Myers, Philadelphia's Friday starter, has been terrific since his return from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on July 21, but it's worth keeping an eye on staff ace Cole Hamels. Hamels is up to a career-high 220 1/3 innings, or 37 more than last season. He gutted it out for six innings Thursday to pick up his 14th win, but he was consistently up in the zone and didn't have anything close to his best stuff or command.

GAMES TO WATCH

• Cards at Cubs, 2:20 ET | Talk about it • Red Sox at Blue Jays, 7:07 ET | Talk about it • Twins at Rays, 7:10 ET | Talk about it • Brewers at Reds, 7:15 ET | Talk about it • Phillies at Marlins, 7:10 ET | Talk about it • Mets at Braves, 7:30 ET | Talk about it • D-backs at Rockies, 8:05 ET | Talk about it • White Sox at Royals, 8:10 ET | Talk about it • Giants at Dodgers, 10:40 ET | Talk about it

For more on today's big games, see the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse.

The Master Dodger

For all the plaudits that Manny Ramirez has received for helping turn around the Dodgers' season, general manager Ned Colletti thinks that manager Joe Torre deserves a big chunk of credit for steering the team through injuries and helping to nurture the young players and some struggling veterans through the tough times.

Colletti estimated that Torre has held more one-on-one meetings with players this season than in his last five years combined in New York.

"I don't think players want to disappoint Joe Torre," Colletti said. "There's a difference between having somebody aggravated with you or mad at you, and disappointed in you. Because of the respect Joe has, the accomplishments he's had and the life he's led, people don't want to disappoint this man."

This and that

• A little luck and timing never hurt a team's playoff chances. While Cy Young candidate Tim Lincecum has made four starts and pitched a total of 30 2/3 innings against Arizona this season, his only appearance against the Dodgers (a four-inning, weather-shortened cameo) came on April 2. Los Angeles will miss Lincecum again this weekend and face Barry Zito, Brad Hennessey and Matt Cain during a three-game series with the Giants at Dodger Stadium.

• Things don't get any easier for the Red Sox as they travel to Toronto to face the Blue Jays for three. Toronto will start A.J. Burnett and Roy Halladay in the first two games of the series. Then manager Cito Gaston will go with rookie Scott Richmond in place of Shaun Marcum, who has shut it down for the season with an injury to his right elbow. It's likely that Boston manager Terry Francona will find a place for Sean Casey in his starting lineup in the series opener. "The Mayor" has a career .538 batting average (14-for-26) against Burnett, who is 5-0 in seven starts against Boston.

• Even though the Twins put a lot of faith in their young starters to perform down the stretch, they had some concerns over the staying power of lefty Glen Perkins, who threw only 48 innings last season because of shoulder problems. Perkins has thrown 146 innings this year, and the workload appears to have taken a toll. He failed to survive the first inning Thursday night in Tampa, and he has a 9.42 ERA in September.

• Remember when Minnesota was hitting .317 with runners in scoring position at the All-Star break and the skeptics said the Twins were destined to fade because there was no way they could maintain that pace? Well, Minnesota is 9-16 in its past 25 games, but that's more a function of road woes and some shaky bullpen work than the odds catching up to the Twins. With 10 days left in the season, Minnesota is still hitting .313 with runners in scoring position. Baltimore is second in the majors in that department at .288.

• If the National League managers and coaches are paying attention, Philadelphia's Chase Utley should win his first Gold Glove this year. Utley has a plus-44 rating under John Dewan's "The Fielding Bible" plus-minus system. A zero is considered neutral. Oakland's Mark Ellis is a distant second to Utley among big league second basemen with a plus-24.

• The White Sox have the right guy on the mound as they try to put Thursday's 9-2 thrashing in the Bronx behind them. Mark Buehrle, who will oppose Brian Bannister in the opener of a three-game series at Kansas City, is 18-8 with a 3.45 ERA against the Royals in his career. Kansas City tagged Buehrle for 14 hits in 4 1/3 innings in early August, but he recovered to throw seven shutout innings against the Royals two starts later.

Jerry Crasnick covers baseball for ESPN.com. His book "License To Deal" was published by Rodale. Click here to order a copy. Jerry can be reached via e-mail.