Posted: Tuesday, August 4, 2009, 6:45 PM | 36 comments |
 

Oh, the injuries! Oh, the decisons!
options
 

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: 

--Brett Myers (right hip surgery) started running exercises today, another step toward returning as a reliever. At this point, the Phillies expect to have him before the end of the season.
 
–J.C. Romero (strained left forearm) will pitch in a game Friday night for Class A Clearwater. If you remember, Romero said when he went on the DL that he expected to be ready well in advance of today’s eligibility. When I reminded Proefrock of that, and asked if Romero had progressed more slowly than expected, he said “I would say that’s fair to say."
 
--The Phils are afraid they might lose Clay Condrey (oblique) for the season, so they’re taking it real slow with him.
 
--Two sources with knowledge of the situation told the Inquirer that Ray Martino is taking Prednizone to treat his poison ivy (yes, that’s a steroid, and he’ll be playing in a gold tournament at Oak Hill this weekend while on it. Take that Selena Roberts and Michael Schmidt! I got a drug scoop!). Also, mick, he sipped his first Genny Cream Ale at Thirsty’s in 1967. Apparently Dr. Leary hadn’t made it to Pittsford yet, and it was still all about the beer.
 
-Chad Durbin (strained back muscle) is scheduled to pitch tomorrow night at Clearwater, his first rehabber.
 
–Pedro Martinez (strained, cough, cough, ahem, right shoulder) is still on track to pitch tomorrow night at Class AA Reading. At that, folks, where the drama begins. I repeat: Good problem to have, too many pitchers. Best guess is that, by virtue of Moyer not being able to pitch from the pen and Martinez’s shaky health and general fragility, that Happ returns to a relief role. But that’s not definite. 
 
Maybe you get creative and skip Moyer a turn or two for Pedro without making any big announcements. Or maybe you do something weird like a six man rotation. That’s highly unlikely because of all the Mondays off—it’ll be a stretch to need five starters for a while—but there was interesting moment this afternoon when Rich Dubee was asked about this.
 
“Personally, I think it would be pretty tough,” he said. “Organizationally, I don’t know.”
 
There are times when the coaching staff and front office disagree on something, and it sounds like this just might be one of those occasions.
 
Keep watching. It has to resolve at some point.

 
Posted by Andy Martino @ 6:45 PM  Permalink | 36 comments
36
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:59 PM, 08/04/2009
    Andy, what's a gold tournament?
    — PhilCali
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:05 PM, 08/04/2009
    Andy, come on. Romero said he'd be ready well before his DL time was up and instead he's pitching a rehab assignment in a few days. You asked Proefrock if Romero had progress more slowly than expected? Way to confirm the obvious, lol. Crack investigative journalism there, ha. Why didn't you just ask Proefrock if the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West? That would be just as enlightening. Also, what is it with this obsession about a 6 man rotation? This isn't fantasy baseball. Why on earth would you want Cliff Lee or Hamels or Blanton pitching 1 out of every 6 games instead of 1 out of every 5 games? Why would you want to dilute the quality of your pitching like that? That makes absolutely no sense.
    — JimG
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:33 PM, 08/04/2009
    A gold tournament is a golf tournament for people who can't type after too many Cream Ales.
    — Andy Martino
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:08 PM, 08/04/2009
    After Moyer's performance tonight against the Rockies, Happ best have a secure slot in the rotation.
    — Manor2009
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:10 PM, 08/04/2009
    what JimG said
    — SilliBilli
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:14 PM, 08/04/2009
    Forget the pitching...where are the bats?
    — psuwelsh
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:23 PM, 08/04/2009
    How many times in the playoffs did the Phils starters pitch on normal rest? Hamels had 7 days, 7 days, 6 days, 7 days and 4 days between starts. Myers had 7 days, 7 days, 12 days between starts. Blanton had 9 days, 7 days, 12 days. Pitching with more than 4 days rest seemed to work out well for them then...
    — 93phils
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:47 PM, 08/04/2009
    Another Ray Martino reference?
    — PhightinPhil
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:07 PM, 08/04/2009
    Can't continue to count on Moyer - he's done. Keep Happ in the rotation.
    — Chainsaw
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:20 PM, 08/04/2009
    After tonight's performance, "The Hawk is Dead. It should not be a hard decision on the starting rotation. Moyer must be removed from the rotation and use him in blowout games. Haap is so superior that any discussion is ludicrous. Keeping Moyer in the rotation is loyalty Cholly, it's insanity. Also insanity is hoping that Howard will ever learn the strike zone. He HAS mastered the strikeout zone.
    — butchcat
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:26 PM, 08/04/2009
    The boys are looking good. It seems they are intent on repeating. Plus I like the moves they are making. It is nice to see they are not out working on their golf swingfull swing to be complete hitters.
    — purepointgolfer
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:27 PM, 08/04/2009
    Happ is their 4th best starting pitcher, he shouldn't be in the pen.
    — Snake
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:45 PM, 08/04/2009
    I think it's time for the Phillies to have that very difficult of conversations. Actually, two of them. The first one goes like this: RUBEN AMARO'S OFFICE -- NIGHT. Ruben is seated behind his desk, while others of the brain trust sit silently in chairs throughout the room: Kerfeld, Proefrock, Lamar, etc. A long pause. Ruben rubs his hands over his face, takes a sip of a beer. KERFELD: Uh, Rube, did you want-- AMARO: No that's all right. KERFELD: You sure. AMARO: Yeah. (beat) Okay. Listen. (beat) I screwed up. Okay, there I said it. (beat) I had Derek Lowe dead to rights, he wanted to come here, but we didn't want to give him the third year because of the-- LAMAR: I know. KERFELD: Hey, man, we all agreed, and the old man-- AMARO: Yeah. [Pause.] KERFELD: You want me to-- AMARO: No, I got it. CUT TO -- PHILLIES CLUBHOUSE - DAY. Chase Utley walks across the room to the trainer's room, a few others sit playing a game of spades. Jamie Moyer sits quietly at his locker, taking off his shirt after a between-starts bullpen session. Rich Dubee stands there a moment, watching the 46-year-old go through his normal routine. After a moment. DUBEE: Jamie? MOYER: Hey. You know that thing you were telling me about? About the right foot falling too much toward first when I land? I think I just-- DUBEE: That's great, Jamie. Listen, uh ... MOYER looks up at DUBEE and DUBEE's gaze falls to the carpet. DUBEE: Charlie, he, uh ... MOYER: Charlie needs to see me? DUBEE: Yeah. (beat) MOYER: Okay. MOYER gets up from the stool and walks toward CHARLIE MANUEL's office. Through the half-opeened door we see MANUEL sitting with his arms folded across his chest, staring at nothing in particular on his desk. MOYER stands in the doorway. MOYER: You wanted to see me? MANUEL: Yeah. (beat) C'mon in. (beat) Shut the door. The door shuts. FADE OUT...
    — andrewfrombrooklyn
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:14 PM, 08/04/2009
    It's predniSone..and it's not THAT kind of steroid. Condrey lost for the year...oh dear...if we could only be so lucky with Durbin and Moyer.. Early call....Martinez never makes it to the rotation. Right now, he is perfect as a reliever...with his stuff and ability
    — scootch


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