Mathieson, Zagurski optioned; bullpen appears set
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Mathieson, Zagurski optioned; bullpen appears set
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- And then there were 12 healthy pitchers in camp.
The Phillies optioned Scott Mathieson and Mike Zagurski to minor-league camp Saturday morning. With Brad Lidge and Brian Schlitter injured, it appears the team's pitching staff is set.
That is, of course, barring a trade or last-minute waiver acquisition. And I wouldn't rule that out.
UPDATE 11:46 a.m.: For what it's worth, Rich Dubee said the bullpen is not set despite there only being seven pitchers in camp. He could be blowing smoke up your you-know-what, but in an interesting development, Mike Stutes has returned from minor-league camp for the day. He'll pitch in today's Grapefruit League game after Kyle Kendrick and Ryan Madson.
So as it stands, here is your opening day bullpen:
RHP Ryan Madson
RHP Jose Contreras
LHP J.C. Romero
RHP Danys Baez
LHP Antonio Bastardo
RHP David Herndon
RHP Kyle Kendrick
Obviously, closer is a question. That comes down to Madson or Contreras.
But to me, seventh inning is just as big a question. The trickle-down effect of losing Lidge means Contreras is bumped from the seventh. The pitcher who was mostly responsible for that inning over the previous three seasons, Chad Durbin, is in Cleveland.
Look at that list and pick out a guy who can be trusted right now to be the regular seventh-inning man. Yeah.
For reference, here is how the Phillies handled the seventh inning in 2010. Small sample sizes, beware, of course:
| Rk | G | PA â–¾ | AB | HR | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chad Durbin | 36 | 123 | 108 | 2 | 2.15 | .259 | .333 | .454 | .787 |
| 2 | Roy Halladay | 29 | 121 | 115 | 3 | 6.00 | .313 | .336 | .461 | .797 |
| 3 | Cole Hamels | 22 | 81 | 76 | 4 | 7.00 | .211 | .250 | .434 | .684 |
| 4 | Joe Blanton | 15 | 60 | 55 | 6 | 3.00 | .400 | .433 | .782 | 1.215 |
| 5 | Kyle Kendrick | 13 | 47 | 43 | 1 | 1.00 | .326 | .370 | .419 | .788 |
| 6 | J.C. Romero | 18 | 47 | 39 | 1 | 0.63 | .308 | .426 | .410 | .836 |
| 7 | David Herndon | 14 | 46 | 43 | 0 | 4.50 | .302 | .333 | .326 | .659 |
| 8 | Jose Contreras | 11 | 43 | 39 | 1 | 4.00 | .333 | .395 | .462 | .857 |
| 9 | Danys Baez | 12 | 40 | 36 | 1 | 1.50 | .333 | .400 | .583 | .983 |
| 10 | Roy Oswalt | 9 | 30 | 26 | 1 | 1.50 | .154 | .267 | .308 | .574 |
| 11 | Jamie Moyer | 7 | 25 | 22 | 0 | 1.67 | .182 | .280 | .227 | .507 |
| 12 | Antonio Bastardo | 8 | 21 | 16 | 0 | 0.33 | .250 | .429 | .313 | .741 |
| 13 | Nelson Figueroa | 5 | 19 | 14 | 0 | 0.25 | .286 | .444 | .429 | .873 |
| 14 | Ryan Madson | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | .400 | .500 | .400 | .900 | |
| 15 | Mike Zagurski | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1.00 | .333 | .500 | .333 | .833 |
| Team Total | 162 | 713 | 640 | 20 | 2.33 | .289 | .352 | .456 | .808 |
By the way, in case you were wondering, the seventh inning was the Phillies' worst (by OPS) in 2010.
| Split | PA | AB | HR | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st inning | 5.11 | 700 | 634 | 17 | 2.20 | .274 | .333 | .416 | .750 |
| 2nd inning | 3.33 | 659 | 621 | 26 | 5.54 | .259 | .291 | .448 | .739 |
| 3rd inning | 3.06 | 659 | 603 | 20 | 3.16 | .240 | .286 | .385 | .671 |
| 4th inning | 3.06 | 656 | 603 | 14 | 3.59 | .239 | .290 | .375 | .665 |
| 5th inning | 3.50 | 664 | 607 | 23 | 2.63 | .245 | .299 | .418 | .717 |
| 6th inning | 3.44 | 680 | 620 | 19 | 2.98 | .258 | .310 | .406 | .716 |
| 7th inning | 5.00 | 713 | 640 | 20 | 2.33 | .289 | .352 | .456 | .808 |
| 8th inning | 2.28 | 663 | 581 | 10 | 2.43 | .224 | .299 | .339 | .638 |
| 9th inning | 4.35 | 568 | 498 | 15 | 2.37 | .249 | .336 | .390 | .726 |
In 2009, the seventh inning was the team's best (a .664 OPS against and 3.47 ERA). And in 2008, the seventh inning was also the team's best (a .635 OPS against and a 2.61 ERA).
What does this all mean? Hard to say. The seventh is usually the inning in which a starting pitcher may tire and a reliever is brought in with men on base.
After Durbin, Roy Halladay (.797 OPS), Cole Hamels (.684) and Joe Blanton (1.215) faced the most batters of any Phillies pitcher in the seventh inning. Those numbers for Halladay and Blanton are not pretty, so that is less blame upon the relievers.
And yes, the Phillies have a rotation of four aces and hope the seventh inning is pitched by a starter. On some nights it will be. On others it will not.
Is Baez that guy to take over in the seventh? The guess is he will be the first choice, merely by default.
But remember 2008. Durbin entered that season as the long man / mop-up guy. In a few months, he had taken over the seventh and became a trusted reliever.
The Phillies must hope either Bastardo, Herndon or Kendrick follows the same route.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
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Are they both protected because they are on 40 man roster? I'd had to lose Mathieson; he's got potential.— terrycindyian- I'll take my chances with Herndon or Bastardo over Baez.— scootch
- 7th probably one of the "Bs" (Bastardo or Baez) depending on the opposing lineup; let's hope the starters have many strong games...— M60tanker
- Chol & Dubee will give Herndon a long look, but the job is currently Baez's - he may lose it quickly.— Ed3
- What we've determined is that starters have covered the seventh inning, and with Lee and Oswalt over a full season, they will continue to pitch the seventh. Unless Manuel starts to have a quick hook, that's what we'll continue to see.— tgray83
- Kendrick over Mathieson? Really? I don't think that will last long.— Phront_Runner
- What is dubee's problem with Mathieson..?
Kendrick would be a weak fifth starter on the Pirates, for crying out loud!!— patrickstar - Baez has had some good years in the Majors. It's true last season was not one of them. Reliever are notoious for being up and down from season to season. If Baez and Romero return to form the Phillies bullpen will be just fine. Lidge needs to be completely shutdown until he is 100 percent healthy. They need him strong and healthy come playoff time if they are ever going to win another World Series.— Paul SoTX
- This bullpen has been completely neglected that past 2 years and could prove to be their achillies heel.— Citizenc92
- as much as I dislike kendrick, you have to keep him on the roster. He is rotation depth in case of injury. Worley should be behind him on the depth chart (at this moment)— therev
- Gag. Why on earth do we still have to keep Baez around? I'd rather see Mathieson or Zagurski on the mound instead of him. I'd like to keep Worley in AAA so he can really keep on top of his game. I see an incredibly bright future for that kid.— bingbangbong
- I thought Zagurski out pitched Bastardo by a ton. I guess they need Baez as a translator for Contreras. It seems to me the Phillies aren't making these decisions based on merit. Just reputation.
- It would be nice if Baez earned the money he is being paid and step up and be that guy. Hopefully he can rebound from a poor 2010 season.— BillHicksLives!
- as I've written so many times, this is the worst team in baseball for a kid to break in with. all winter long, we read about the chance (the need) for 2 or 3 kids to make the bullpen this year, to make up for the bloated payroll after Cliff Lee's signing. That was before we believed that Romero was coming back. Add to that the guarantee that Baez and Herndon were automatic keepers because of previous commitments, and Kendrick seems to be untouchable to Charlie, and you have the perfect recipe for why Scott Mathieson and Vance Worley and Michael Stutes must be feeling awfully bad today.
The fact is, THEY NEVER HAD A SHOT! Bastardo is the only kid kept simply because he's a lefty and Schlitter got hurt.
Many of us were actually happy to read back in December that the 'pen would need to be staffed by a couple of kids, because we knew how relatively weak our bullpen was last year and we knew the realities of dealing with Baez, Herndon, Romero and Kendrick from last year. But here we are, and those four all kept their jobs ! Just amazing.— advantasux - Challenger...if Herndon isn't the definition of a kid, then I don't know what is. He'll be 25 most of the season, and if reports of his improved slider are accurate, he should put up a decent year. Last year was his first in the majors, so he isn't in the pen because they owe him 2+ mil. I'd rather see Kendrick and Worley stretched out in AAA and one of Stutes, Mathieson, or Schwimer go north.— JammRock
