CAN HEAR CLEARWATER CALLING
Here are some tidbits from LA LA Land, about 45 from a start that will go a long way toward defining Cole Hamels' season, one way or another:
By adding Eric Bruntlett and Chan Ho Park to the NLCS roster and omitting Kyle Kendrick and Brett Myers, the Phils decided to use 11 pitchers for the series, one fewer than in the NLDS. Manuel said that in the previous series, he felt short-handed on the bench. The three scheduled off-days in this series will allow relief pitchers ample time to rest and recover from game action.
“We got Chan Ho Park back,” Manuel said. “We’ve got the game pretty much covered as far as distance. I felt like we could go with 11 pitchers because we definitely need another position player.”
The manager pointed to the ninth inning of Game 4 in
Manuel said yesterday that because Dobbs calf injury has not totally healed, he was not available to play outfield, though he could see action in the infield.
Bruntlett can play all infield and outfield positions, and pinch-run (without Bruntlett, the Phils used Cliff Lee as a pinch-runner in Game 2 of the NLDS).
“Bruntlett can do a variety of things,” said general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. “His versatility can play big for us.”
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Park specialized in multi-inning outings for much of the season, but Amaro said that he might be limited to one inning at a time during this series. The righthander has not pitched since he injured his hamstring on Sept. 16.
“He’s probably best suited to go maybe one inning,” Amaro said. “A lot of it depends on how he feels once he gets on the mound.”
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Manuel made it official today that Cliff Lee would start Game 3 at home.
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
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