On pitchers' usage
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
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.
Download our NEW iPhone/Android app for easy access to all of our Phillies coverage, plus app-exclusive videos and analysis. Get it here.
Easy on Durbin. Yea, he's not lights out, but he's been a capable guy for us. He had a 4.26 ERA going into his last appearance, so it hasn't been that bad. I guess we'd have no use for Werth right now since he's hitting .200. Or JA Happ since he's got a 6.94 ERA. Small sample sizes.
I like that the injuries force the pen to get younger, I just wish we lost Baez instead of Lidge or Contreras. And Herndon shouldn't be in the MLB. He showed last year he couldn't handle a bullpen spot. He should be getting more minor league experience (what he lost being a rule 5 guy), while Mathieson gets a make-or-break season or Stutes gets a chance.— tripleplay83- Yeah, Durbin and his 7.87ERA would be a help right now. Please.— bobbyuk
- Yes, because ERA is the best measure of a pitcher's ability in 8 1/3 innings. — mgelb
- Consider this a blessing in disguise. Think of the live bullpen type arms in the farm system right now- Statues, Mathieson, DeFratus, Schwimmer... the list goes on. We've got perhaps a dozen legitimate candidates to provide young life to the bullpen right now- all of whom might offer more than Romero, Baez, Herndon, or Kendrick. Candidly the more of them that get real chances now, the better, because if they wind up sticking with the big league club it could actually help A LOT in the long run.— jas157
- Good post, jas. — wordsword
- While the bullpen woes are real, and closer by committee is not usually the way to success, the real problem is the awful offense, as every game, thanks to the quality starters, is tight. Phillies somehow, some way, need to get more run production or else Manuel will push the starters to 120+ pitches per game and blow out their arms, as well as those in the pen.— chuckw
- I think it's been pointed out but bears repeating that no Philly reliever has logged heavy innings this year to date. Up and down throwing in the bullpen, don't know about that. Durbin is no longer the answer to any question of relevance now. It's about finding a new arm that go 3 out of 4 days if necessary . We'll be needing that next year in any case.— Claudio Vernight
- Well, the lack of offense was gonna catch up to us at some time, and this looks to be it. Here's hoping that our THIRTY-NINE year old closer still has all the requisite anatomicaly arm parts needed for further use. Yes Charlie, as much as I like you...You can only rob from Peter for so long before payment is due. We'll just have to bite the bullet and see what it's like to be on the short side of small scores for a while. Time to find out what some of the kids are all about Charlie. Who knows, maybe they'll surprise you.— TBear
- Right now, if I am not mistaken, the strength of the Phillies farm system is pitching, BUT mostly at or below double A, and at least two years away. Methinks Ruben will need to pull off a trade, either for a reliever or a bat, or both, particularly if Contreras is gone for a long period and if Utley is out for much of the season.— chuckw
- To those suggesting trades, it is April and I don't ever remember a notable trade happening in April. Sit back and relax, the bullpen can and probably will cost them some games this year, but making a panic move now is not the answer. If they have a real issue as the summer starts, I guarantee they add someone, or multiple players, at the trade deadline when real deals actually happen.— Phils Phan 28
- Exactly -- no one's going to trade now. You can bet if the bullpen is a problem in July we will see a trade. — s
- Let us take a page out of the Florida Marlins book and give some rookies like Bastardo and Stutes a real shot. They'll fare as well as Baez and Kendrick that's for sure. Florida always comes up with great rookies because they actually give their rookies a real chance. I'd also like to see more of Mayberry in left field for obvious reasons.— Wm Penn
- Well the phils also called jason grilli he has era over 1.35 That good enough to get the call.— bri967
- I always enjoy these articles from "reporters" ,really gloried fan boys that infer there conclusions by reading body language and judging the "mood" of the room., The bullpen will be called to get at the most 9 outs on 2 to 3 games a week and although he says the bullpen is a "mess" they have gotten people out extremely well to this point and no reason to think they won't continue to do it effectively enough to win more than they lose. When one reads an article like this it is as if the "writer" almost wishes that there erroneous conclusions would come true so that they can say see" I told you so"— southernmostfan
- If Dubee can manage the guys they have, all should be good. If he allows Charlie to overuse guys or put them in situations where they are vulnerable they are in trouble. Dubee should pay the price like our last hitting coach, Milt.— johnny eagle
