IS GETTING ITS DRAFT BOARD READY
Good news for Chad Durbin, not so much for J.C. Romero and Clay Condrey. Durbin (back) will make his final rehab appearance tomorrow in Lehigh Valley; he is at the Bank today said he felt good ready to go.
From Ray Parrillo, live at the ballpark Thursday:
In the debate over whether or not J.A. Happ should remain in the Phillies rotation when Pedro Martinez is deemed ready, the rookie lefthander couldn’t have stated his case more strongly with his complete-game, four-hit shutout of the heavy-hitting Rockies Wednesday night.
The debate is settled.
Happ’s performance, as well as several that led up to it, has convinced the club’s brass to keep him in the rotation the remainder of the season.
“I think his whole progression has convinced everybody he should stay in the rotation,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said before today’s last of a three-game series against Colorado at Citizens Bank Park. “Happ deserves to stay in the rotation.”
With Happ’s role settled, the club still faces a difficult decision on the fifth starter. Will it be Martinez or Jamie Moyer?
Amaro said that decision has yet to be made, adding the possibility remains the team would go with a six-man rotation.
But with three scheduled days off this month, a six-man rotation doesn’t seem practical until September, when there is only one off-day scheduled.
For the most part, starters are geared to pitch every five days and too much time off between starts could negatively impact their performance.
“Going with a six-man rotation is not out of the realm of possibility,” Amaro said. “There are a lot of permutations. We haven’t discussed it yet. You never know what’s going to happen in the next week to 10 days. A guy can go down [get injure].”
The Phillies will have six starting pitchers when Martinez is activated, which will be any day. Even though Happ is 8-2 with a 2.74 earned run average, which ranks sixth in the National League, his success out of the bullpen earlier in the season, along with a rash of injuries to the relief corps, made him a more likely candidate than Martinez or Jamie Moyer to be a reliever.
With Happ remaining in the rotation, along with Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee and Joe Blanton, the Phillies must decide what to do with Martinez and Moyer. Amaro said no decision has been made, but the club appears committed to employing Martinez as a starter, and the 37-year-old righthander has expressed his desire to start. If so, that would leave the 46-year-old Moyer as the odd man out, and Moyer’s stuff is not considered effective in a relief role.
Either way, it’s a tough call. Martinez is a likely future Hall of Famer and Moyer, who has been inconsistent most of the season, is among the most respected players on the team.
“They will get our respect,” Amaro said. “At the same time, we’re in the business of winning and it’s really about making the right decision for the club and not a matter of hurting some feelings.”
Amaro was in Reading Wednesday night to watch Martinez in his third minor-league rehab assignment. Martinez struck out 11 and had no walks while allowing five hits and three earned runs in six innings. He threw 82 pitches, and Amaro said he believes he could have thrown more.
Amaro said he was impressed and indicated Martinez was ready to be activated.
“I think he can get major league hitters out with his stuff,” Amaro said, adding it was yet to be determined when Martinez would be activated. “I know it was a minor-league club, but when you have 11 strikeouts and no walks, that’s good in Little League.”
Amaro had high praise for Happ for overcoming speculation he’d be in a trade package for Toronto’s Roy Halladay and the potential distraction he’d return to the bullpen after becoming arguably the team’s most consistent starter.
Moyer will make his next start Sunday against Florida. Happ’s next turn is Tuesday.
Ah, the daily drama of what to do with these pitchers and that one itchy golfer. First, an injury update, per assistant GM Scott Proefrock:
A few quick injury updates for ya before the game starts:
-Clay Condrey (oblique) will throw a bullpen session Monday in Clearwater.
-Chad Durbin (back) threw a 45-pitch bullpen session today, felt good, and will appear in his first rehab game 8/5 in Clearwater.
-Brett Myers had the day off, will throw a bullpen Monday.
-After grounding out in a pinch-hit at-bat to end the game last night, Shane Victorinio (knee) was out of the lineup today. He's feeling better and hopes to play Tuesday.
-Reports from Rochester, N.Y. indicate that my dad, Ray Martino, has a nasty case of poison ivy from chasing golf balls into the woods. No word on a timetable for his recovery.
Dominic Brown was not traded for Roy Halladay, of course, and today the Phillies promoted their top prospect (per Baseball America) to Double-A Reading. Assistant general manager Chuck LaMar said that the team was days away from promoting Brown before the outfielder broke a finger June 9 and missed more than a month.
“That was a tough break for him,” said LaMar. “But he’s healthy again and he made this promotion an easy decision.”
It’s a good problem to have. That’s the baseball cliché about too much pitching depth, and it suddenly applies to the Phillies after they acquired Cliff Lee on Wednesday. But it is a problem nonetheless—what will the Phils do about their overcrowded rotation?
Having improved the staff, the team must now decide which two of Pedro Martinez, J.A. Happ or Jamie Moyer belongs in the rotation, which of the three would be most likely to help in the bullpen, and whether to retain Rodrigo Lopez for a relief role.
The addition of Cliff Lee and impending arrival of Pedro Martinez (he makes his second rehabilitation start tomorrow in Lehigh Valley, and may need one more minor league appearance after that) creates a logjam in the rotation, of course. For at least one more start, J.A. Happ will remain one of the five.
Pitching coach Rich Dubee said that after Lee starts tomorrow, Joe Blanton will pitch Saturday and Cole Hamels Sunday. Following Monday’s off-day, Jamie Moyer will pitch Tuesday and Happ Wednesday. The team would not commit to a rotation beyond that point.
Rodrigo Lopez’s start tonight is likely his final one for the Phils, barring injury or a change in plans. The team could conceivably retain him as a reliever.
What do you think they should do?
A few quick items to pass along as I wait to board a flight. Tweeted this stuff, but hopefully some of you out there still spend a few minutes at a time away from your screens and handhelds.
--Gee, I always wondered why David Ortiz suddenly got awesome around, oh...2003. Shocker!
Two sources with knowledge of the negotiations confirmed to the Inquirer that the Phillies have agreed to trade Lou Marson, Jason Donald, Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp to Cleveland for pitcher Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco. The deal is done pending a review of medical records, and could be announced shortly.
Lee, 30, the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner, is 7-9 this season with a 3.14 earned run average. Francisco, 28, is a righthanded hitting outfielder, batting .250 with 10 home runs this season. Francisco has pinch hit twice this season, going hitless in two at-bats.
The Phillies had long been engaged in talks with the Toronto Blue Jays to acquire pitcher Roy Halladay. But the Blue Jays asked for pitcher J.A. Happ and top prospects Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown. Phils general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. was able to acquire a former Cy Young Award winner without trading any of those players.
The most likely roster moves for the Phils would be to option John Mayberry Jr. to Triple-A, and demote a pitcher like Steven Register or Kyle Kendrick.
Here's a dispatch from Jim Salibury, up in Seattle. The Inquirer has the Western time zone covered for you this week.
Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi indicated that he's still in contact with the Phillies but they still haven't met his price for Halladay. ``We still need to be motivated and we haven't been motivated,'' said Ricciardi, who still maintains that he doesn't have to trade Halladay, who pitches tomorrow in Seattle.
