Lee vs. Halladay; postseason roster
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Lee vs. Halladay; postseason roster
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
A hodge-podge of stuff today:
1) Emailer Estep Nagy checked in late last night wondering how Cliff Lee's performance has stacked up against that of Roy Halladay since the trade. Coincidentally, both men were in action last night, with Halladay allowing two runs on 11 hits in six innings of a 10-4 win over the Yankees and Lee pitching a complete game shut-out in a 5-0 win over the Nationals.
Before we look at the breakdown, a quick High Cheese Trivia Question, to be answered at the end of the post -- What is Roy Halladay's given name?
Lee since July 30: 9 GS, 7-2, 2.67 ERA, 64.0 IP .246 BAA, .272 OBP, 4 HR, 60 SO, 9 BB, 59 H, 3 CG
Halladay since July 30: 9 GS, 4-5, 3.82 ERA, 66 IP, .285 BAA, .310 OBP, 10 HR, 60 SO, 10 BB, 3 CG
But keep in mind that seven of Halladay's nine starts have come against three of the four top-scoring teams in baseball (Yankees three times, Red Sox twice, Rays twice). And eight of his 10 home runs have been allowed against those three teams, all of whom are in the top five in baseball in that department.
Lee, meanwhile, has shut down the Rockies (6th in RS), but also has pitched against the Giants (26th in RS), Nationals twice (21st in RS), Astros (25th), Braves (19th), Mets (23rd), Diamondbacks (20th) and Cubs (22nd).
2) Another e-mailer, George Devenny, asked for an early prediction of the postseason roster. Until now, I've resisted the urge to broach the subject. There are simply too many unknowns at this point in time, particularly concerning the statuses of lefty relievers Scott Eyre and J.C. Romero.
But since I was asked:
Definite Position (13): 2B Chase Utley, SS Jimmy Rollins, CF Shane Victorino, LF Raul Ibanez, RF Jayson Werth, C Carlos Ruiz, 1B Ryan Howard, 3B Pedro Feliz, OF Matt Stairs, C Paul Bako, OF Ben Francisco, 3B Greg Dobbs, INF Eric Bruntlett
Definite Pitchers (8): LHP Cole Hamels, LHP Cliff Lee, RHP Joe Blanton, RHP Pedro Martinez, LHP J.A. Happ, RHP Ryan Madson, RHP Brett Myers, RHP Chan Ho Park
That's 21 players who, according to my count, are stone-cold locks for the postseason roster. Although Eric Bruntlett hasn't had a plate appearance since Aug. 25 in Pittsburgh, he has five hits in his last 10 at-bats and proved his importance last season as a base-runner. He just hasn't had much of a chance to pinch-hit thanks to the success of the Phillies' starters down the stretch and the presence of Ben Francisco.
That leaves four open roster spots for the following pool of players:
RHP Brad Lidge, RHP Tyler Walker, LHP Scott Eyre, LHP J.C. Romero, RHP Clay Condrey, RHP Chad Durbin, LHP Jack Taschner, LHP Jamie Moyer
As you can see, the Phillies will be faced with some tough decisions. At least two pitchers who were on last season's postseason roster will not be there - at least to start - this time around. If the postseason started tomorrow, I expect the Phillies would keep Lidge, Walker, Durbin and Condrey. Moyer would be headed to Clearwater to stay sharp in case he is needed to fill in as a starter. J.A. Happ would slide into Moyer's role as a long man, plus would provide the team's only left-handed option in the bullpen. Would the Phillies really head into the playoffs without an experienced lefty reliever? At this point, they would probably have to. But again, there is a lot of baseball left to play. If Walker continues to pitch like he has -- 14 consecutive scoreless innings and counting -- I see no way the Phillies could keep him off the roster. That would likely be bad news for Durbin and Condrey, seeing as though Chan Ho Park and J.A. Happ can pitch multiple innings, and Park and two of Lidge, Myers, Walker and Madson can be your righthander in the seventh and eighth, depending on who is closing.
A lot could depend on who the Phillies face. For example, Clay Condrey has allowed five hits in 33 at-bats against the Rockies current roster. Todd Helton is 1-for-7 lifetime against him while Brad Hawpe, Yorvit Torrealba, Chris Iannetta and Troy Tulowitzki are a combined 0-for-14. But the Dodgers' current roster has hit a robust .429 off of Condrey in his career including Matt Kemp's 7-for-8, Rafael Furcal's 3-for-5, Andre Ethier's 3-for-8 and Juan Pierre's 4-for-8.
Walker, meanwhile, has a .275 BAA against the Dodgers (0-for-12 against Juan Pierre, Russell Martin, Rafael Furcal, Andre Ethier and Casey Blake, but 8-for-14 against Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Orlando Hudson) and .196 against the Rockies (4-for-26 against Brad Hawpe, Clint Barmes, Garrett Atkins, Troy Tulowitzki and Ryan Spillborghs, 3-for-9 with a HR against Todd Helton). Looking forward, Walker is 2-for-12 against the Cardinals Matt Holliday.
Long story short, it's way too early to make any projections.
Even if the Phillies clinch early, the battle in the bullpen will provide a certain level of intrigue through the close of the regular season. If one, or both, of Romero or Eyre is healthy, it will make things really interesting. The Phillies really need one of those two, or else they will be forced to either use Happ as their lone lefty out of the 'Pen, or add Taschner - who isn't a true situational lefty - or rookie Sergio Escalona. The Phillies could still call up LHP Antonio Bastardo.
3) The Phillies' magic number is 12. They are a game behind the Cardinals for second place in the National League. They are seven games ahead of the Marlins, 7.5 ahead of the Braves.
4) High Cheese Trivia Answer: Roy Hallday was born Harry Leroy Halladay.
What's the deal with Mike Zagurski? Have they given up on this lefty?— brinkmang- Is there any chance that they go with 14 position players and 11 pitchers (since they will only need 4 starters)?— Mh225
- Good stuff, Murph. While Bruntlett has been weak at the plate, he is the only infielder that can back up Jimmy and Chase, so the flamers need to take that into account. But I would keep Eyre on the roster as opposed to Durbin and unless Codrey (and Romero) gets some innings in soon, they are just names, not solutions.— jimmymack
- MH225 - I doubt it, although they did last year with Stairs, Jenkins, Coste, Bruntlett, Taguchi and Dobbs. I don't see who the sixth bench guy would be this year. Last year, their bullpen was healthy and set up and they could afford go light. This year, I think they need all the options they can get.
- Murph... I saw Dobbs playing for the Lakewood Blueclaws last night when I went to game 2 of their championship. Played 5 innings at 3rd base. Is he in rehab?— BudSelig_isthenext_MrBurns
- Is there any reason these blogs are being updated so infrequently? Busier schedule?— MFPhils
- I know you are trying to pla to the fan base here, but we all know that Brad Lidge will be on the post-season roster. Without a doubt he will be there.— MFPhils
- Mike Zagurski - 3.57 ERA in 53 innings at Reading - 63 Ks, 27 BBs, 7 HRs allowed, 1.30 WHIP. Not bad, but not exactly lighting it up, though he pitched 11.2 scoreless innings to close out the year. Can't imagine they'd give up on him yet, esp. when they haven't given up on Mathieson who's had two TJ surgeries to Fat Mike's one. Also, his photo on MILB.com is hilarious.— B in DC
- Cairo can play shorstop and has tons of playoff experience. Don't count him out yet.— EL Zorro
- 11 pitchers works given off days and length of the first series. Also, unclear why Condrey and Durbin would fit, and Walker/Moyer or Eyre would not, given perfromance and appearance factors of past month. However, I agree that next couple of weeks will show us the best route to go. In my mind, C & D would have to pitch lights out to make it. Too many arms is a nice problem to have, unless one of them is named Lidge.— mick314
- "Long story short, it's way too early to make any projections." - - You could have started with that and saved everyone a lot of time. Unless you get paid by the word...then I get it.— Bazalite
- NO way Lidge should be on the roster. Lee, Hamels, Pedro, Blanton in that order. In the pen Madson, Park, Myers, Happ, Walker, Durbin, Condrey, Moyer, and Eyre or Romero (who ever is healthier). Madson closes, myers setup, Happ fills Lefty role.— phillysmith
- Eyre won't be on roster due to his arm--he's playing hurt, but hurt in playoffs isn't good. I figure the pitchers are: Lee, Hammels, Blanton and Pedro as starters and Lidge, Madson, Happ, Myers, Park, Walker, Condrey and Durbin. Moyer has only pitched out of the Pen as a starter (coming in after rain delays). Romero and Eyre are hurt, and Tascher hasn't proven he's any better then he was when he was sent down (though he's gotten great reports from AAA). Cairo has as much chance of making the post season roster as Eaton does--abso-F*ing-lutely none!!— fan_in_jerusalem
Once we clinch, Bruntlett should start every game to get his stroke back. He is NOT as bad as he's looked this year at the plate, just rusty from inactivity. Same for Greg Dobbs. The bench better be ready for the playoffs or the season is over. And Jamie Moyer is a spectator
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