Hamels "fabulous," rotation altered
You can bet Rich Dubee is glad that today's Earthquake did not alter his plans for the Phillies rotation. The pitching coach had already written down a slew of different combinations as he attempted to piece things back together after a bizarre week that included a rainout, an offday and three rain delays that knocked his starters out earlier than expected.
Hamels "fabulous," rotation altered
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
You can bet Rich Dubee is glad that today's Earthquake did not alter his plans for the Phillies rotation. The pitching coach had already written down a slew of different combinations as he attempted to piece things back together after a bizarre week that included a rainout, an offday and three rain delays that knocked his starters out earlier than expected.
"I had a chance to laugh with those guys last night in the dugout," Dubee said. "But I've had about 15 different rotations set up. One guy with long rest and one guy with close to normal rest, and a guy comes and says, 'Man I'm feeling too good for that kind of rest.' Then change it around, and the next guys comes and says, 'I can't get that much rest.'"
In the end, the Phillies decided their best move was to move Cole Hamels' re-entry into the rotation from Friday to Monday, allowing them to pitch each of their other top starters with an extra day of rest while also placing Hamels on the disabled list in order to promote utilty man Pete Orr from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Orr presence will help offset the absence of Raul Ibanez, who is battling soreness in his groin that is expected to sideline him for at least a couple of days.
Roy Oswalt will start against the Marlins on Friday, followed by Roy Halladay on Saturday and Cliff Lee on Sunday. Hamels threw a bullpen session yesterday that Dubee called "absolutely fabulous."
"He's great," Dubee said of his lefthander, who skipped his previous turn in the rotation due to shoulder inflammation. "He threw the ball ball really, really well today, no arm discomfort, command of everything. He'd be able to go on Friday, but it's a way to kind of set up the other three or four guys."
Because Hamels' disabled list stint is backdated to his last start, he will be eligible to be activated on Sunday. In the meantime, Orr will give the Phillies an extra body for their infield, where Jimmy Rollins is sidelined and Placido Polanco is battling a sports hernia.
General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that Ibanez's groin is in the same area but not related to the sports hernia that plagued him during the second half of the 2009 season. He wasn't sure if Ibanez received an MRI, but said he could be in line for an injection of some sort, although the situation is not believed to require the disabled list.
"We'll just kind of give him some days," Amaro said. "He's day-to-day. One of the reasons we brought Orr because he is going to be down a few days."
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Poll: What is the future for Jimmy Rollins now that he’s out with another injury? 
Why Pete Orr? You know what he can do. Why not Galvis or Frandsen. Seems like a good time to take a look at next year's ss.— jmb53- Of course the game is not cancelled tonight. The Phillies are like Republicans, and would risk several thousand lives on order to keep the dollars flowing into their coffers. Look at how many lives Bush and the Republicans sacrificed by starting two illegal wars in order to increase the Halliburton stock price and put millions in their own pockets. Now, people rip the black President all day and blame the Bush economy on him. It is disgusting. The Phillies should have cancelled the game tonight for everyone's safety.— eldiablodelsol2009
- This is why its a bad idea to watch too much Fox News of MSNBC. It makes you crazy in a way that isn't good. — fmMD
- eldiablodelsol2009 go away and take your stupid remarks with you — gatethree
- Good point, David Wright.— tclassick
The great thing about so many ACES is that 3 of a kind still wins many hands.One goes down/needs rest-the others take up the slack.
None of the Phils pitchers have to go if they feel bad which is great for a career and they have very good backups to boot.
— HO HUM- eldia****2009 ,Are you nuts !!!!!— zogger
- — eldiablodelsol2009--This is the sports section....— KINGOFZED
- Eldiablo, this is a sports forum. take your political BS elsewhere.— PhillyFever
- eldiablodelsol2009-THANK YOU! THANK YOU VERY MUCH! ............for showing how stupid and out of touch liberals are with the world. They inspected it, there was minimal if not no damage anywhere and YOU know more than allllllllllllllll these experts. Classic!— tremo12
- eldia get a freakin grip lol— rysagr
- Of course, a nasty one named Irene may play a little havoc with Dubee's plans...— akh
- It would have been nice to get an accurate and honest radar gun reading on the BP session today...."fabulous" and "86 mph" do not go hand in hand......— Mark1npt
- Keep politics off of here. When was the last time we had Doc, Cliff, Roy, Cole, and the number five starter pitch in a row? Cholly and Dubee have done a pretty remarkable job of patching together a staff with injuries. Other than those ninth-inning implosions last week, the pitching has been pretty incredible.— phillyinsd
- You eldiablodelsol2009 Are a true American Idiot Through & Through!!!!— slapback
- tremo12, please don't call eldia a liberal. Juat an idiot. We liberals fully expected a game tonight. Sweep the Mets, sweep the Mets. Step right up and sweep the Mets.— mike l
- Oh, so, all of a sudden Charlie and Dubee are pacing their starters? This comes after days of Brookover and Buffet Billy Conlin belittling those of us who don't get VIP parking spots and free food and stat services saying -- hey, pace our starters! We don't need Halladay, Hamels and Lee reaching 120 pitch counts, for crying out loud. But Bobby and Billy carried the team's water for a day or two, insisted we were idiots -- and now Lee gets lifted in the 7th inning, Cole gets an extra few days. Hmmmm.— eman
- Based on previous posts he's also a racist. Pot calling the kettle black, so to speak...— itstooeasy
- Uncle Cholly & Dubee are ruining the arms of Dave Montgomery's prized pitching assets - they could give a hoot as long as they get paid.— sonnybuoy01
- Some "expert" said he did not think Hamels had good stuff. In poll among the 16 NL managers Hamels was rated as having BEST CHANGE UP in NL. To go with a 93-95 fastball effective cutter and good command I wonder what this blogger is looking at. Hamels is an elite pitcher at the level of Halladay and Lee. The health of Hamels is important to Phills as Braves playing very good ball. To get an idea of Braves bullpen, Bastardo has been outstanding for Phills. Braves have 3 relievers pitching at same level Kimbrel, Venters and O'Flaherty. The Phills starters are better but Atlanta is plenty good. The last time I posted something like this someone called me "dissatisfied Phills fan" Im just tring to be realistic.— Don w
- Markiput must have been standing behind catcher warming up Cole. As reported poll among 16 NL managers had Hamels as having NL BEST CHANEUP. If you dont believe Philly Radar gun why would other teams show 93-95?— Don w
