On pitchers' usage
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On pitchers' usage
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
SAN DIEGO -- The Phillies arrived in Phoenix last night with this bullpen: Ryan Madson, Antonio Bastardo, Michael Stutes, Danys Baez, David Herndon, Mike Zagurski and Kyle Kendrick.
There is a closer in that group; Madson, who says he is healthy but needed a few days off to manage "normal" soreness. He, just like Jose Contreras, has been used frequently in the last two weeks.
Because of that, Contreras is on the disabled list and going back to Philadelphia for an examination that could reveal a significant structural issue related to the strained flexor pronator tendon in his right elbow. Or the doctor could simply find that a few weeks of rest is necessary for the 39-year-old to feel better.
Either way, the bullpen is a mitigated mess right now. Bastardo has been very good, but he is not without past durability and consistency concerns. Baez, Herndon and Kendrick have had their bouts of ineffectiveness. Zagurski is a mop-up man right now. Stutes has never pitched in a major-league game.
There will be a few schools of thought as to how we arrived at this point.
1. Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee habitually abused the back of the bullpen.
2. Already without Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero, the Phillies' decision-makers were left with few trusted options at the end of the bullpen and relied on a select few.
3. The offense's inability to, you know, score has created an unnecessary amount of close and tight games that put strain on the bullpen.
The true answer includes all the above.
At the beginning of spring training, Contreras was viewed as the likely seventh-inning man -- a role he thrived in. Then Lidge went down, Madson stayed where he was and the trickle-down effect had a great role in exposing most of the relievers the Phillies currently have.
Manuel is in the business of winning games (duh) and when he was faced with late decisions in close games, he turned to his trusted guys. And yes, there were times when he asked Baez, Herndon and Kendrick to pitch a crucial inning.
Look, I won't defend Manuel here. Having Contreras throw 81 pitches in the span of seven days is certainly uncalled for -- especially in April. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. made no secret of what caused Contreras' soreness. He briefed the media in the manager's office, with Manuel seated nearby, and it was hard not to see some sort of tension.
"He had been pitching quite a bit," Amaro said.
Of course, Manuel could have shot back saying, "Well, this is what I've been handed." (He didn't.) The bullpen was a concern this offseason -- in fact Amaro once said it was his greatest concern. The Phillies upgraded by adding... no one. Contreras and Romero were re-signed. Chad Durbin, who would look quite helpful right about now, went unsigned until he latched on with Cleveland.
Now the Phillies do not have a setup man or a reliable seventh-inning option. They will ask Bastardo to continue his fantastic run to begin 2011 and it's quite possible he does. They will see first-hand if Stutes can ride his spring training success into a regular bullpen role. They must hope one of Baez or Herndon can straighten out.
Those things may happen. But if they don't, the starters could begin to see some sterling performances ruined.
***
Finally, a note on Roy Halladay's 130 pitches from the man himself:
"Everybody makes a big deal out of it, but 115 to 130 is an extra 15 pitches," Halladay said. "When you're talking about throwing - bullpen, long-toss, and in between innings, you're throwing 350 balls a day. An extra 15, if you're prepared, shouldn't affect it."
What does he mean by prepared?
"You're smart enough to cut back your work in between your next start. That's where a lot of guys don't look at that. They get stuck on throwing the same amount of pitches in the bullpen and long-tossing, and that's where it catches up with you. If you're smart about it, those in-between days are where you take care of yourself."
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
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trade rizzotti for gregerson or frieri....win-win.— djacobs5582- The Phillies got lucky that San Diego might have the worst offense in the recent history of major league baseball. They may or may not continue that that good fortune in Arizona. They're going to be in big trouble though when they start playing some of the more potent teams....unless their offense comes to life. Tonight would be a good time to start.— SteveS11
- May should tell us a lot. Besides facing teams in the NL East they've already beaten, they face the Reds, Cardinals, Rockies and Rangers. — s
- I went to the games on Thursday and Sunday. It was nice to see so much red in the stands. Partied in the Gaslamp before the game and the bars were packed with Phils fans. The Padres have the lowest ERA in the majors, but they also have the lowest batting average. Brutal.— phillyinsd
- Matt, didn't you mean to say the bp is an "unmitigated" mess, which means one with no boundaries or limits, or one with no relief in sight? :) A mitigated mess would, by definition, mean that it is being treated or under control.— cfay8636
- Time to cut the imbelical cord and toss the rookie into the Major League grinder, lets find out if this kid has the rocks to play with the big boys. The Phils need to know before mid season whether or not they are going to have to trade for releif pitchers.— unbelieveable!
- i love charlie, but as far as "managing" he leaves a lot to be desired. everything he does is routine....if the routine is madson in the 8th and contreras in the 9th; that's what you get. if the it says raul hits 5th; that's what you get. if it says jimmy leads off; that's what you get. he adjusts ONLY when forced to. it shouldn't be too hard to figure out that you can't keep running a 39 year old pitcher out there night after night....there's only one 39 year old dude in mlb who can do that and his pin-stripes aren't red.
- I don't buy reason #3 (low # of runs scored). Charlie, RAJ & Co. need to adjust and realize this team isn't the offensive juggernaut they wish it were. I love Charlie and think he's done a hell of a job but one of his weaknesses is his inability, in my humble opinion, of managing tight old school NL small ball type games and being satisifed with it. He still wishes he could out-slug people when this team is designed to out-pitch. Also, I understand he's trying to win games now. Blowing out the 'pen in April doesn't help the long-term goal of a WS this year though. Not giving bench players like Mayberry, Gload etc. more PT in favor of sitting guys like Ibanez is another example. Not only do the starters wear down by the end of the year but the bench isn't as sharp when we need them most (post-season). Now he's trying to overcompensate to save the 'pen by taxing the starters. Doc will never say he wants out but that's the managers job to be the bad guy and pull him out. Complete games in April and May look in the stat books but mean nothing when we need these guys in the post-season.— DennyP
- The bullpen is a mess. Really? Because what I see is a 'pen with the second-best ERA in the majors. And you can't be serious about Chad Durbin. Do you actually follow baseball outside of the Phillies?? The guy has been getting lit up like a christmas tree. Bottom line is injuries happen, the show goes on. Guys will heal, in the meantime other guys get a chance to step in
- Lets think about something, the Phillies have the best record in Major League baseball, why do we publish articles like this?— vc bear
- The setup role is now firml;y in the hands of Cool Hand Stutes and Lucky Bastardo. Pumping in popcorn by the truckload now...— Grazman
- What about moving Blanton to the bullpen and make Kendrick a 5th starter?— JoPal
- Herndon down and Scott up. And please no more articles about Raul needs to step up. Rube should try to get him to the AL for anybody. Now. He is not coming back.— Koons
- "Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee habitually abused the back of the bullpen" - The starters are averaging over 6 1/3 innings a game. The most any one of the relievers has pitched in the first 21 games is 9 1/3 innings total! They just break down too easily.— fischman
- earlier, Romero was healthy and effective they had bastardo, romero, madson, and contreras to add to kendrick. the pen wasn't bad at all though I think it was a mistake to stick with herndon rather than durbin. if the claims are true that dubee didn't do extra work with romero to prevent injury, that's a problem.— dreinterests
