Phils need to hurry
Yes, they're still OK. But the Phils don't want this to go until Sunday.
Phils need to hurry
Rich Hofmann, Daily News Sports Columnist
Things are still fine for the Phillies. Really, they are. With a magic number of three for both the division title (over the Mets) and the wildcard (over the Brewers), they're going to get in.
But if they don't get it buttoned down by Sunday, they have a problem -- that is, the identity of their Game 1 starter in the playoffs on Wednesday. Because I just don't know that you want to be running Brett Myers out there at this point. I don't know if it would be fair to anybody, Myers included, to put him under that kind of a spotlight. It is why the timing matters here. It is why the Phillies need to clinch before Sunday so that they don't have to use Cole Hamels on the last day of the season.
If Sunday is meaningless, they can set up the rotation like this:
Game 1, Hamels.
Game 2, Moyer.
Game 3, Myers.
Game 4, Blanton.
Game 5, Hamels (with Moyer available on full rest, followed by a cast of thousands, if necessary).
The problems come because of the Phillies' dithering the last two nights. Now Moyer will likely have to pitch on Saturday in a real game, which would make him unavailable to start a playoff opener on Wednesday on regular rest. If both he and Hamels are unavailable for Game 1, that leaves Myers or Joe Blanton. At this point, neither is the ideal. There also is J.A. Happ, I guess, but I can't imagine they'd start him. At the same time, though, don't they have to put him on the post-season roster now as Myers insurance? If Myers has another one of those games, and they have to go get him in the second inning, don't they need Happ, just in case?
Anyway, if Hamels has to pitch Sunday, they can set it up like this:
Game 1, Myers or Blanton.
Game 2, Moyer.
Game 3, Hamels.
Game 4, Myers or Blanton.
Game 5, Moyer (with the Game 1 starter on full rest, followed by everybody).
Comparing the two potential set-ups, it is obvious which is superior. And so, while the Phillies are fine, they do need to hurry.
haha. nothing like a octople post to get your point across. i am very concerned though that everybody is counting them in already. i am already reading articles here about who the phillies will face in the nlcs or ws. we're talking about philly sports after all, right? heartbreak central when it comes to sports teams. there's a good chance that after tonight we are only 1 game up on both mets and brew crew. that means if we dont sweep the nats we could be looking at a tied break game. and if we lose 2 of 3 (unlikely but also in the realm of possibility) even smaller chance we get in. id say our chances of being in the playoffs are about 65-70%. while we are the favorite, that still leaves us with a decent percent chance of being heartbroken. remain even keel philly, please— abfreed- Rich Dubee better be working overtime to find some mechanical reason why Hamels and Myers stink, else it's going to be another 3 and out.— booman55
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- I agree that talk of playoff opponents and pitching rotations is somewhat premature. It concerns me that the Phillies continue to require help from other teams. Why not just go out, win your games, and clinch the playoff spot? If the Mets would have won last night as they should have, the mood around Philly would be much more tense. But they didn't win and so yet again, they help the Phils. I just don't like having to rely on help from other teams.— MrPhillie
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- counting the chickens before they are hatched...a sure sign of a hex.— stoky
- sorry but I am not in the crowd that thinks the playoffs are a sure thing. I will not even read the article because it is so ridiculous to think of these things when we are so close to being out of the playoffs entirely. Phillies need to win. I can't believe we play the cubs in early sept when it matters, and the mets get them when it doesn't matter, who sets these schedules? its ridiculous!
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