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Jimmy Rollins connects for a run-scoring single in the fourth inning.
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Should J.A. Happ replace Chan Ho Park in the rotation?
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Jim Salisbury
Phillies' starters need a push
WASHINGTON - Sometimes it seems as if the Phillies haven't used J.A. Happ enough this season.
We're not just taking about on the mound, where he has turned in 101/3 scoreless innings over his last six appearances.
We're talking about as a cattle prod. It's time for the sight of Happ in the bullpen to create a little urgency among some of the Phils' struggling starting pitchers.
The Phillies' starting rotation has been a study in inconsistency. Jamie Moyer's ERA is 13.86 in his last three starts. Joe Blanton's ERA in seven starts is 6.86. Chan Ho Park's ERA rose to 7.08 with a dismal start against the Washington Nationals yesterday.
As nice as it was to come down I-95 and take four wins from a bad team, the weekend in Washington once again illustrated that the Phils have serious starting pitching issues.
Blanton struggled Friday night. Emergency starter Drew Carpenter scuffled on Saturday night. And yesterday, Park was brutal. Unfocused and ineffective, the righthander frittered away an early 3-0 lead. He ended up lasting just 11/3 innings and was tagged for five runs. Good work by the offense and the bullpen got him off the hook as the Phils went on to an 8-6 win.
It was not clear whether Park would get another start, but if the Phils decided to bounce him to the bullpen and move Happ to the rotation, it would be completely understandable.
Manager Charlie Manuel indicated that the issue would be discussed during today's off day.
That's good news because at the very least club officials need to get out there and start strongly mentioning Happ as a starting possibility. Blanton, Moyer and Park need to know that there is a guy out there in the bullpen capable of taking their job. A little intramural competition never hurt anyone.
"They're veterans," Manuel said. "They know when they're pitching good and they're not. They know how major-league baseball is played. We're here to win."
Manuel said he'd consider anything to improve the rotation and called Happ "an option."
This is a complicated issue. Moyer is one of the most respected people in the entire organization. He led the team in wins last year. His next win will be his 250th. He is not a viable bullpen option. He will be given every opportunity to pitch himself out of his current funk. The team is trying to help facilitate that by moving his next start from tomorrow to Wednesday. That will allow him to miss the Yankees this weekend and pitch against Florida, a team he has dominated, next week.
Blanton is a starting pitcher. He has a reputation for eating innings. He is not going to the bullpen any time soon.
That leaves Park. Maybe the team looks at his first two starts this month - good ones against the Mets and Dodgers - and gives him one more chance. Or maybe the odor from yesterday will remain so pungent that a change will be made.
The Phillies backed themselves into a corner with Park over the winter. They wanted him - badly - because he could pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen. Team officials wanted an arm like that so they could keep Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, Brad Lidge, and eventually J.C. Romero to one inning.
To get Park, the Phils had to promise him a chance to win a starting job in spring training. Park signed, then beat out Happ for the starting job. The Phils had to keep their end of the bargain and award Park the job. It was the honorable thing to do. (And besides, if they didn't, it would have been a horrible message to future free agents.)
Park has now made seven starts. Five of them have been poor. The Phils are completely justified moving him to the 'pen now, if they choose. It seems likely that at some point in the coming weeks - maybe this week - they will go that route. Romero is due back from his suspension early next month. That will give the bullpen another lefty to compensate for a possible move of Happ.
Starting pitching is the backbone of a team. It is connected to everything. Offenses can't always dig out from bad starts, as the Phils did yesterday. Bad starts are often short starts and nothing conspires against a bullpen more. Last year, the Phillies had the best bullpen in the National League. The starting rotation was an important part of that success. Phils starters pitched 966 innings, third most in the NL. Teams that get innings from their starters don't overwork their bullpens.
This season, Phillies starters have pitched the fewest innings in the NL - 1922/3. Keep that up, and the bullpen will be on fumes by August.
Phillies starters have turned in just 13 quality starts (six or more innings; three or fewer runs). Only Baltimore and Washington have fewer. Phillies starters have a 6.35 ERA and have allowed 42 homers, both major-league highs.
"We want to put the best possible pitching out there,'' Manuel said. "We'll consider any way to improve it.''
It's probably time to use J.A. Happ in the rotation.
It's definitely time for some of this team's other pitchers to look at him as a threat to their jobs.
Contact staff writer Jim Salisbury at 215-854-4983 or jsalisbury@phillynews.com.
