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Thursday, August 28, 2008
Dissecting the Romero non-move and more bullpen fun

I've received a couple emails asking why Charlie Manuel did not bring in J.C. Romero in the eighth to retire one batter and get the Phillies to the ninth. Carlos Delgado ended up tying the game with a home run off Rudy Seanez and the Mets went on to win.

It's natural in hindsight to wonder, but consider the following:

1) Romero had pitched in three straight games and in four of the last five.

2) Romero had thrown 66 pitches in those three games, the most he has thrown on consecutive days this season without a break.

3) Romero had never thrown that many pitches in consecutive games without a day off since becoming a reliever in 2002.

4) Romero had never before had three consecutive appearances throwing 20 or more pitches in each.

5) Seanez had easily retired the first two batter he faced.

I'm not saying you can't make an argument that Romero should have been in there. But after considering the aforementioned five facts, it's hard to do.

II. Other bullpen facts:

One of the big keys for the Phillies down the stretch will be getting the same performance out of a bullpen that dominated for the first three-quarters of the season. Certainly, the pen has shown some cracks lately, particularly with Tom Gordon and Rudy Seanez spending time on the disabled list. Charlie Manuel has said he is concerned about keeping his bullpen fresh.

As a whole, you wouldn't think the Phillies bullpen is "tired":

1) The Phillies bullpen has pitched 396 2/3 innings this season, the third fewest of any bullpen in the National League (Arizona, Milwaukee)

2) The average National League bullpen has thrown 419 innings.

However. . .

1) Chad Durbin has thrown 73 2/3 innings, the second most in the NL.

2) Ryan Madson has thrown 68 1/3, tied for sixth-most in the NL.

3) Madson and durbin have combined to throw the second-most innings of any pair of relievers in the league (Washington's Joel Hanrahan and Saul Rivera have combined to throw 147 2/3).

Here are some of the Phillies' more utilized relievers' statistics since Aug. 1:

Durbin: 2-0, 3.14 ERA, .294 BAA, 14 1/3 IP
Madson: 1-1, 1.93 ERA, .224 BAA, 14 IP
Lidge: 0-0, 3.12 ERA, .265 BAA, 5 Saves, 8 2/3 IP
Eyre: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, .087 BAA, 7 2/3 IP
Condrey: 0-1, 3.00 ERA, .353 BAA, 12 IP

Some other things to keep in mind:

1) Chad Durbin's 1.95 ERA is the third-best in the NL among relievers with at least 40 innings pitched.

2) J.C. Romero's 2.29 ERA is seventh best.

3) Brad Lidge's 2.30 ERA is ninth-best.

As far as the bullpen goes, the Phillies called up lefthander Fabio Castro today from Triple A Lehigh Valley and sent Andrew Carpenter back to Double A Reading. Carpenter pitched a scoreless inning in his major league debut last night against the Mets.

Castro was 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in three games for the IronPigs after going 8-2 with a 4.40 ERA in 27 games at Reading. 

Posted by David Murphy @ 11:17 AM  Permalink | 29 comments
29
Comments   
Posted 11:38 AM, 08/28/2008
CyHamels
Nice job by Dubee to mess with Seanez's head before Delgado came up. How many times does a pitching coach come to the mound after the first two batters are retired in order? In my opinon, he needs to go... Give me Lehigh's pitching coach, just look what he was able to do to fixing Brett Myers season that Dubee couldn't.
Posted 11:51 AM, 08/28/2008
phairmount
Why not bring in Lidge to face Delgado, he was warming up?
Posted 12:01 PM, 08/28/2008
B in DC
Cy, Myers wasn't in LV for all that long. I think he did a start in Reading and one with Clearwater, if I'm not mistaken. David, do we know who was handling Myers in the minors, i.e. did he have someone working with him the whole time at all of his stops? I'd imagine he did, but I don't know who it was.
Posted 12:17 PM, 08/28/2008
frankenslade
Eyre was outstanding last night. The Phils stopped hitting. Let's accept the defeat and prepare for the Cubs.
Comment removed.
Posted 12:57 PM, 08/28/2008
wru
Part of the problem was that Manuel brought Romero into the game on Monday night when the Phillies had a 5 run lead.
Posted 12:58 PM, 08/28/2008
mebphila
or - you could have USED LIDGE to PITCH to DELGADO!! Lidge was up and ready in the bullpen, he took down Delgado on 4 sliders the night before - it was a bad job of managing the "mound". Prior to the 2 game series - most folks thought he game to win was the one on Tuesday night. Who would have thought that the Phillies would have had a "Met-like" performance then against the tougher pitcher? (Met-like in the sense that the Phillies led throughout the bulk of the game - and managed to "give it all back at the end").
Comment removed.
Posted 01:50 PM, 08/28/2008
pubasnacks
Isn't there some cardinal rule stating that you don't bring your closer in in a non-closing situation? Manual has broken this rule many a time this season only to see it blow up in his face. This team is where its at in the standing despite its idiotic Manager.
Posted 02:40 PM, 08/28/2008
Wally 24
FOR THE RECORD! Eyre came in and pitched 1 2/3 innings with 3 Ks, 1 DP, & a foul out for a total of 16 pitches. With left handed Delgado due up 3rd next inning it made no sense putting Seanez in at all. Delgado already had a single and Hr in 3 at bats and Eyre would have been the best pick to face him IF YOU PITCH TO HIM AT ALL. Putting Rudy in a no win situation once again did no good to the guys confidence since they already have sent him down for making mistakes late in games. Also in the bottom of the 7th of a 3 to 2 ballgame, no outs, Coste is on first, and they let Dobbs hit away. The count was 2-1 when he hit into a DP. NY walked both Rollins & Utley and Burrell grounded into a 5-3. What happened to the small ball? Dobbs should have moved the runner then they have to face the top of the order with 1 out and Coste on 2nd.
Posted 03:56 PM, 08/28/2008
EL Zorro
I don't buy the Romero logic, Dave. He's durable and he is going to face Delgado only. It's not like he is going to have and 20-pitch at bat. Bringing Romero today makes more sense when they already were thinking about calling Castro up. Also, the Cubs lineup is filled with righthanded bats, so the probability of JC pitching are less likely.
Posted 04:16 PM, 08/28/2008
RollinsWasRight
Nice job, Murph, not painting a complete pitcture. The true measure of a reliever's work load is the number of appearances, not the number of innings pitched. The time and energy expended warming up is just as taxing as pitching another full inning. The Phils bullpen is overworked because Charlie has been relying on Madson, Romero, and Durbin ahead of Lidge all year, and those guys get into too many games, regardless of how long they stay in and pitch, or how many outs they record. Romero's IP total is nowhere near indicative of his workload, and Durbin's may be misleading the other way. They really needed another quality reliever at the deadline to alleviate the pressure on those guys, who've been toting around dead weight like Clay Condrey (sorry Clay, you did do a heck of a job Tuesday, but clearly no one trusts you in a tight spot) and Rudy Seanez. Plus, they are clearly still suspect in the 8th inning.
Posted 04:18 PM, 08/28/2008
B in DC
Kinda what I thought - Myers mad 4 Minor League starts, 2 with LV, 1 at Reading, and 1 at Clearwater. I think they might have been in that order, or the CW/Reading swapped. Rod Nichols is the LV pitching coach, and he may have been the guy Myers worked with the whole time, but I'm not sure. Anyone have a theory on why Andrew Carpenter was the call-up and not someone from AAA? His WHIP at Reading is worse than Adam Eaton's.
Posted 04:28 PM, 08/28/2008
gkit
With the obvious need for a 8th inning set-up man, and the performance of Eyre so far, when does Charlie give Eyre the chance to be that guy? Personally I would, he's well rested (only pitched 19 inn. so far) gets K's and is experienced. Anyone agree?
Posted 04:36 PM, 08/28/2008
RollinsWasRight
gkit: how much time do you want to give him before you try that out? 3 appearances with the Phils is not a fair gauge, in my opinion, before trying something drastic. And the Cubs released him because he was horrible...so I have to fear the re-emergence of THAT guy sooner or later. I don't want to see it in the 8th inning, trying to hold a 1 or 2 run lead.
Posted 04:36 PM, 08/28/2008
azazo26
These guys in the bullpen can't be perfect all year, although I feel better with Lidge against anybody than Rudy. Tough game, move on.
Posted 04:38 PM, 08/28/2008
RollinsWasRight
B in DC: I cannot speak for everyone at LV, but I know the most notworthy names were all starters who had pitched recently, and were not on their regular rest. Carpenter was called up because yesterday was his regular day. They were looking for insurance in case Kendrick ran out of gas early due to the bullpen warm-up Tuesday night, and they needed multiple innings out of the pen.
Posted 06:31 PM, 08/28/2008
EL Zorro
Nichols was Myers pitching coach either in Clearwater or Reading. He was more or less his mentor. About Eyre, he was pretty good before he had a bad stretch. I heard he and Pinella didn't see eye-to-eye. Sometimes players need a change of scene or something. Romero was a pretty good reliever with the Twins, then he went to the Angels (I think) were he did all right. With Boston, where is win now or else, they did not have any patience and released him; a blessing for the Phillies. Same situation with Eyre with the Cubs. They have a great team and saw they could win now and did not have time for him to straight things out. Let's see if he can imitate JC.
Posted 06:56 PM, 08/28/2008
Wally 24
At the end of spring training there was an article written about Carpenter and his performance last year which was impressive. He fell apart this year at AA and was sent down to A ball to get mechanics right also there was a question about his conditioning which he admits was a factor. He was touted as the next Kendrick because of his presence on the mound, and he has an extra pitch or two that Kyle doesn't. They felt if Eaton fell apart he could be up in June or July. I am guessing but you may see him start a game before the end of the season.
Posted 07:19 PM, 08/28/2008
Wally 24
There was a number of things that happened last night that just makes you shake your head. The biggest blunder is how they keep pitching to guys like Gerraro, Drew, Delgado, Wright, Ludwick just to name a few. When you watch a game take notice how the opposition does not make that mistake. Hitters like Howard & Burrell rarely see a good pitch to hit and because they lose patience they practically get themselves out. When we came home and played LA they kept the ball away from Ramirez and he left town in total frustration. Its time to respect the other teams hot hitters and work around them even if you have to walk a run in. Maybe starting pitching will pick up a few more wins they are not getting now.
Comment removed.
Posted 10:22 PM, 08/28/2008
gkit
Eyre's high era is a result of 3 bad games, 2 right before he was DL'd and his 1st game back. Other than those 3 games , he's only given up a run in 1 other game out of 26 games he's appeared in. So he's been effective most of the year, he was released because he wasn't getting along with Lou in Chicago. But most importantly he's pitched in that role before unlike Madson, Romero and Durbin. How long do you wait is a good question, but the more 8th inning leads we blow could make it very soon.
Posted 11:24 PM, 08/28/2008
Wally 24
Hate to keep saying the same thing but maybe they will catch on before its too late. WHY DO WE KEEP PITCHING TO THE OTHER TEAMS STRENTGH??? DO THEY THINK RAMIREZ IS WHERE HE IS BECAUSE HE CAN'T BURY YOU WITH ONE SWING. JUST PLAIN STUPID EGOTISTICAL BULL SH*T.
Posted 01:07 AM, 08/29/2008
bongo
Pitching coach has to go. Manuel decision making is horrible and frustrating. Example, having Kendrick warm-up in the bullpen basically the same day he is going to start. Ridiculous! However, besides not having a good manager, the starting pitcher's need to go deeper. The bullpen is overused. They're tired. With all that considered if the Phil's don't win the division we can blame the manager or the player's all we want however, the true blame should be directed at the cheap ownership. I don't mind trading draft picks to take you over the top but make sure it is a top notch player. To this date the ownership did not trade or make an offer for a significant pitcher or position player to take them over the top because they are CHEAP! If this team goes down in flames it's the cheap ownership. If they don't want to be a pristine club and to compete in today's baseball economy then sell the team. Where is Pat Croce baby?
Posted 01:29 AM, 08/29/2008
phillybob
THE BOTTOM LINE IS CHARLIE IS MISMANAGING THE BULLPEN. I don't have the answers, but I'm not paid to have them...CHARLIE IS. He has to do a better job, that's all there is to it...we obviously have the right guys, because they've proven they can do it. They just have to be MANAGED properly...by the, ahhh... MANAGER.
Posted 06:02 AM, 08/29/2008
PhightinPhil
The Phillies lost the division on Wednesday. Look, I don't even want to try and understand why Dubee felt the need to visit the mound after Seanez retired the first two batters of the inning (with relative ease), including striking out Wright on just three pitches. Steve Carlton absolutely detested visits to the mound by the pitching coach/manager because he claimed it ruined his concentration, which was solely on getting the batter out. Seanez is not a rookie. Is he Brad Lidge? No. But I think he's been around long enough to know what to do and no to do in that spot. And if you're so concerned that you need to visit the mound with a journeyman pitcher out there, bring in your closer, who if I'm no mistaken, has converted every save opportunity this season. Mariano Rivera has converted many a four-out save in his career. Heck, he picked up the win against Boston on Thursday in a non-save situation by retiring four outs. Lidge is warming up anyway. Then, after the Mets tie it, Manuel brings him anyway!?!? Where's the logic with that? The Phillies had a chance to go up 1 1/2 games heading into Chicago. If you're worried about saving your bullpen, give it a rest on Thursday with Hamels pitching. Sure, he threw 108 pitches in 7 innings, but there's always a chance he can go nine. I don't even want to get into the issue that Hamels should have been moved up a day to pitch against the Dodgers on Friday (on 4 days rest) so that he could have pitched against the Mets (on 4 days rest) on Wednesday instead of Kendrick. If you win on Wednesday, you can save your bullpen on Thursday, and even if you lose, you're still one game in front instead of one game behind. How can anyone excuse this as, "lets get ready for the Cubs." Mark my word. The Phillies had a chance to bury the Mets on Wednesday. It could have been 2007 all over again for the New Yorkers. Instead, Uncle Charlie breathed life into a dead team. Don't worry. There'll be time to rest the pen in the off-season.
Posted 09:51 AM, 08/29/2008
oldowl
Not the change the subject, but if you want to see the true comparison of the Cubs (probably going to the NLCS) and the Phillies (Wild Card, 1st round loss?) check out todays game. Cubs went for broke and got an ace (Rich Harden), Phillies played it safe and got "someone to eat innings" (Blanton)
Posted 09:59 AM, 08/29/2008
Joe in Haddonfield
Reliever ERA is misleading. A pitcher can enter a game and let inherited runners score and still have a decent ERA.
Posted 10:00 AM, 08/29/2008
danderooski
Charlie blew it last night! He had the best team in baseball on the ropes in their own park. Throw Hamels out in the eigth, bring in the best closer in the league in the ninth, and you move in to first place and make a big statement. Instead, the idiot made a different kind of statement. I don't want to hear about pitch count, fatigue, etc, etc. What happened to managing the game that's in front of you? Any idiot could see the Cubs could not lay a hand on Hamels. Prediction: the Cubs will now sweep and Phils are done. Opportunity lost.
About David Murphy
David Murphy joined the Daily News as its Phillies beat writer in February of 2008. Born in Upper Merion and raised in the Poconos, he attended college at La Salle University before taking jobs with the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Sun-News and the St. Petersburg ( Fla. ) Times.

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