A rotation shuffle
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A rotation shuffle
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
In a clear sign the Phillies are at least mildly concerned about Roy Halladay's workload, they have bumped their ace back a day during the next turn through the rotation. It also shows they have an eye toward resting as many regulars as possible should the team clinch early.
Kyle Kendrick, who was originally scheduled to start Monday, will now take his normal turn in the rotation on Saturday. That pushes Halladay from Sunday to Monday.
Halladay was scheduled to receive an extra day of rest in between his last two starts. The Phillies decided it was best to give him the extra day now.
This means, if the rotation stays on schedule, Kendrick, Cole Hamels and Halladay would start the final three games of the season in Atlanta. Then again, those games may not matter.
If that's the case, Hamels and Halladay could make abbreviated starts just to get some work in before the postseason begins.
Halladay leads the majors in innings pitched with 241 2/3. He is on pace to throw more than he has since 2003, when he pitched 266 innings. And combined with the playoffs, it's very possible Halladay eclipses that mark.
"They've logged some mileage, there's no question about that, especially with Halladay," Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "I'm just hoping we clinch. We'll take it from there."
If the Phillies do clinch the National League East, there remains the other plateau of best record in the league. And don't think that is meaningless. This season, the team with the best record in the NL will have choice of having an extra day off during the division series.
"That makes a whole lot of difference," Charlie Manuel said.
But it sounds as if the Phillies would be willing to go for the best record with some reserves on the field. Entering Wednesday, the Phillies had five more wins than the next best teams -- Atlanta and Cincinnati.
"Home-field advantage is significant," Amaro said. "But again, we have to be cognizant of the workload these guys have had. We'll see how things go."
The Phillies' magic # to clinch the best record in the NL & home field throughout the playoffs is 4 against the Reds (their closest competition). Hopefully they clinch home field this weekend against the Mets, with the Reds playing the Padres.— ericyshel
Amaro was afraid that Cliff Lee was going to take his job, he had to get him out of town ASAP- Cliff Lee is the only human, living or dead, who Chuck Norris fears!— SJ2AZ
- The Lee trade was STUPID...plain and simple regardless of how great Roy's been. You'd rather have Cheeseburger Joe, who made the same $$$ as Lee would have been paid?— djmarco
- Cliff Lee is the second cousin twice removed of the President.— garcia7
Anyone who is still harping on the Cliff Lee trade is holding on to way too much negative energy. You're holding on to your "I told you so" card a little too tightly and too long. Roy Oswalt has replaced him and has pitched BETTER than Lee and we'd have never had all three (Halladay, Lee, Oswalt). Cliff Lee's August (1-4, 6.35 era) in 7 starts saw the Rangers go 1-7 when he took the ball. All Oswalt has done in August/Sept is pitch to a 7-0 record with a 1.53 era in August and a 1.27 era in September...with our team at 10-0 when he took the mound.
Bruce Lee was Cliff Lee's cousin, just like Mark Reynolds is Harold Reynolds's.- Cliff Lee speaks Spanish, in Russian. Certainly he could have achieved world peace if he had just stayed a little longer.— Philalawyer
Having recently relocated to the baseball mecca of Dallas, TX, I plan to offer Phillies fans "Cliff Lee Holy Water" starting Oct. 4. It will be drawn from various fountains surrounding Arlington Park on the night of C. Lee's first playoff start for the Rangers. Pre-sale information will be provided soon. Expected pricing will be $3 - $6 per 4 oz depending on how well the Phillies perform in their own Divisional Round matchup. Prices are not expected to exceed $10/bottle unless one of the Roys throws out his back in a bullpen warm-up session prior to his own postseason start.— Sam Crow- Brooklyn, fo'getaboutit.— NickFotiu4HOF
- On the seventh day, God rested. But Cliff Lee wouldn't have.— Dave14
- cliff lee would have stopped the gulf spill in like 5 minutes.— spittooncj
- Charlie abused Halladay and ran up his innings for no good reason. Now our ace is our 3rd best pitcher. Its too bad.— gluteman
i got with Cliff Lee! it was avg...- CLIFF LEE says he would have caught Bin Laden and secured World Peace by now if he was still a Phillie...and probably prevented the BP oil spill too...— stan the man too
