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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The sky is falling! the sky is falling!
/looks up Nope, still there and we have the best record in baseball, and the bullpen ERA is good.
Seriously, I don't need the micromanagement. The closer is a manufactured role with manufactured stats.
I remember when starters used to pitch as long as they could, then the reliever would do the same. You only put a "closer" in if the reliever got in trouble in the ninth. Tug McGraw had the most saves one year with like 13 saves.
Fergosi blew the World Series by taking out the reliever who pitched well in the eighth to put in his clearly worn down closer.
So no, I don't believe in being ridgy forced to stick to some blueprint. I don't care who finishes out our aces games, they've done just fine so far by committee. And Lidge is never going to be the guy he was in 2008. They would have unloaded him if they could have afforded to.— Jangocat- Obviously, injuries aren't good, but let's wait until the bullpen actually struggles. So far they have been sterling. If you are hoping for Danys Baez to "straighten out" from his 1.93 ERA so far this season, you are going to be disappointed. The other guys carry bats to the plate and are going to score once in a while.— jtj06
- The thing that I always wonder about is how much it takes out of a relief pitcher's arm to warm up three or four nights in a row, and only pitch once. That's an extreme example, but it seems that because it's become "law" that no relief pitcher can pitch more than one inning, if the starter goes 7, which is respectable, you end up pitching three relievers and often warming up 4 or 5. I'll confess ignorance, but it seems like common sense that a pitcher will stay fresher longer by pitching 2 or 3 innings, then resting a day or two than by warming up nearly every night.— Joe Light
- Stutes will become the 7th inning guy, Bastardo the 8th inning guy, and Madson will be the new closer. Here's hoping they find a way to lock it down & become the youthful bullpen we've all been looking for.— thomaspfoolery
- Probably don't want to get close to Uncle Charlie the next day or so...— M60tanker
Charles manuel should be a shamed of himself!— Kevinmac- zero runs— dreinterests
- Bastardo/Stutes will thrive and that is not merely BS.— NewMick314
- go phightin phillies,eat fresh va produce— tonytony
