THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
“I don’t have a good change-up today,” Ryan Madson told his catcher, Paul Bako, when he entered the game with one on and two out in the eighth inning today, and the Phillies leading Milwaukee 6-5.
"All right,” said Bako. “Let’s go.”
Charlie Manuel did not raise the possibility of re-assigning J.A. Happ to the bullpen. To be fair, the manager was asked.
The most interesting event tonight came in Charlie Manuel's office after the game, when he went further than ever about the idea of shifting J.A. Happ to a key bullpen role.
“I like Happ as a starter, always have,” Manuel said. “But at the same time, also seeing the way out pitching looks, there would be a chance that he could wind up in the back end of our bullpen if things…if we don’t get some things straightened out, and if Romero don’t come back. I’m not saying we’re going to do that, but we’re going to talk about it if we don’t have no lefty.”
Asked if he could see Happ as a closer, Manuel said: “Yeah, probably,” though he implied he would be more likely to use Happ in a role like Romero’s last year, assigned to retire both lefties and righties in the late innings.
What does Happ think? His strong preference is to be a starter, and tonight he did not want to think about the issue after an encouraging win. “It’s too early for me to think about (going to the bullpen)," he said. "I’m really just trying to get back into the routine of doing my job.”
If temporarily reassigned, this would be much different than other threats to Happ's job security this year. Manuel, desperate to avoid a season spoiled by the bullpen, spoke glowingly of Happ and would trust him in big spots in the playoffs.
What do you think? Is he too effective as a starter, or would he be most helpful this year in the bullpen?
Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson and injuries have turned late-inning relief into the Phillies primary concern. Before tonight's game, manager Charlie Manuel offered cryptic answers when asked how he would handle potential save situations.
He began by repeating the message delivered after Lidge suffered his 11th blown save Wednesday night in Miami, that Lidge and Madson remain the most capable pitchers to succeed in their roles.
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Carlos Ruiz has a cortisone injection in his left wrist today, and is headed to Milwaukee. He will be unavailable for several days.
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Talked to Chad Durbin about healing from a lat strain, which Myers is trying to do. Durbin said that the issue affected the movement on his pitches. "Sink and cut and break--everything was dull," he said.
The good news was that Durbin completely healed in 21 days. If Myers returns, say, Friday (a reasonable projection given his scheduled bullpen session Tuesday), he will have been out 17 days. So maybe he can still contribute.
If he and J.C. Romero and Chan Ho Park return, the Phils will have interesting decisions regarding hobbled pitchers and the playoff roster.
"I don't think anyone in our bullpen necessarily deserves to be a slam dunk," to make the roster, Ruben Amaro said.
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UPDATED 8:20PM:
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Wondering why Brett Myers had not pitched since Sept. 12? He has a possible shoulder strain. Here’s Ruben Amaro Jr.: a few minutes ago:
Amaro said that he did not believe Myers returned too soon from hip surgery, but may have pitched too often once back.
Pedro Martinez rode a stationary bicycle for about 40 minutes this morning, walked to his locker and rubbed his neck.
OK, that’s a doomsday scenario for the Phils, but one worth putting out there nonetheless. This was a bad night for the team despite their 9-4 win over Atlanta.
Sure, the Phillies were happy to have won a game, albeit one that came more as a result of Washington ineptitude than anything else. But the most significant moment last night occurred when when Chan Ho Park felt a “pop” in his hamstring while delivering the final pitch of the seventh inning.
