The game story that wasn't, yet still relevant
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The game story that wasn't, yet still relevant
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Writer's note: Time for a Behind the Music-esque retrospective.
Us writer folk have fun with this kind of stuff: The stories that hit the cutting-room floor thanks to a crazy ending, much like Thursday's 10-9 come-from-behind Phillies' victory. Think about how many game stories were written and ready to send proclaiming the Red Sox as world champions in 1986.
When Jonathan Broxton came into the game in the ninth inning, my story for Friday's newspaper was already written with the Phillies losing. For those unfamiliar with how our deadlines work: I send a version of the game story immediately when the final out is made each night. That's what goes in our early editions and online right away.
As soon as Broxton hit Placido Polanco, I opened a new file and started writing an alternate game story. Now I won't bore you, but typically, writers have different quirks. Some won't start writing a new story until they absolutely have to. They don't want to jinx having to trash the one they've already composed.
Of course, we all know what happened. My original game story was rendered useless when Carlos Ruiz hit a double off the wall to win the game.
But I re-read my first game story this morning and most of what I wrote still highlighted an important issue the Phillies face in the final 48 games of the season: Will they attempt to skip Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton as often as possible?
So without further ado, here it is. (Note: The Xs represent stuff that was to be added. It, obviously, never was. And there are stats written as if the Phillies lost, so remember that.)
By Matt Gelb
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Should the Phillies make the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, it will be hard to match the trio of aces atop their starting rotation. In a short series, those pitchers make the Phillies incredibly imposing, much like the three-man rotation the Yankees rode to a championship in 2009.
Of course, getting to the playoffs is still in doubt. To do that, the Phils have to use a five-man rotation, which means wins must come from pitchers not named Roy or Cole.
Against the Dodgers this week, that did not happen. The Phillies lost, XX-XX, to Los Angeles on Thursday after Joe Blanton put his team in an early hole. The Dodgers took two of three from the Phils because fifth starter Kyle Kendrick couldn't make it through the fourth inning Tuesday.
These days, with an unreliable middle relief corps, the Phillies need as many innings from their starters as possible.
Even after all the miserable pitching, Raul Ibanez still came to the plate as the tying run in the eighth inning with his 18-game hitting streak on the line. But he grounded out to second. Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton, pitching at Citizens Bank Park for the first time since blowing Game 4 of the 2009 National League Championship Series, XXXXX
The Phils never led because Blanton, yet again, was hit in the first inning. In 19 starts, the righthander has allowed 18 first-inning runs. On Thursday, Los Angeles sent nine men to the plate in the first inning and scored three times off Blanton.
Scott Podsednik led off with a single but Blanton retired the next two batters on groundouts to second. He walked James Loney and then proceeded to allow three straight two-out, run-scoring singles. None of them were hit particularly hard but did enough damage. Blanton threw 38 pitches in the first inning, which meant Phillies manager Charlie Manuel would need clean innings from the middle of his bullpen, a risky proposition of late.
Blanton lasted 5 2/3 innings, throwing 115 pitches, his second-most this season. It was especially discouraging given Blanton's last start, when he allowed just two earned runs in seven innings against the Mets. That was his best outing of the season.
Regardless, his season ERA sits at an unsightly 5.69. The Phillies are now 8-11 in games started by Blanton, who signed a three-year, $24 million extension in the off-season.
It hasn't helped that in the last two games started by Blanton and Kendrick, the bullpen has actually made the starting pitcher look more effective.
The Phillies trailed 3-2 in the fourth after an RBI single by Carlos Ruiz. But Blanton allowed a fifth-inning run and the bullpen took it from there.
Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero and Jose Contreras each allowed runs in the seventh and eighth innings. The bullpen's ERA is 5.16 in August and remains a growing concern.
It looked even worse when the Phillies scored four times in the bottom of the eighth. Without the Dodgers' tack-on runs, it should have been a game.
It's a small sample size, but this week, Blanton and Kendrick made a fine case for the Phillies to skip them as often as possible to start Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt or Cole Hamels in more games. The Phils have five off days remaining in the final seven weeks of the season.
Granted, for both Blanton and Kendrick, it was just one bad outing following a few decent ones that had the Phillies confident in their entire rotation -- enough to not skip either pitcher after Monday's day off.
But as the calendar creeps closer to September and the pennant race with the Braves intensifies, one bad start becomes all the more important.
Halladay has too many innings, already. They can work around them little bit, but not really. Is till think Hamels arm was recovering l1ast year and he is just now back in form. They are going to have to take their chances in the regular season. Much rides on Lidge and he is, uh, not exactly a sure thing a this point.— Jim C.
butchcat - you forgot Blanton's third bad habit: crushing the post-game spread like it's his last meal on earth.— jpk- The rotation is what it is. No team is perfect 1 through 5. I can live with Blanton and Kendrick in the 4-5 spots as long as Nos. 1-3 do what they need to do: hold the opposition to 3 or fewer through 7.— jpk
- Calling Dr Michael, calling Dr Michael- your nurse wants to fire you.— tommy_the_k
- The pitching rotation can be corrected this week to setup the rest of the season. Push Blanton back to Friday. So the rotation starting Tuesday against SF and WASH will be Oswalt, Hamels, Halladay, Blantan, Kendrick. If no rain outs and everyone starting every 5th day (or 6th day because of off days) the Atlanta series at home on 9/20 will have Hamels, Halladay, Blanton and the final series at Atlanta will have Oswalt, Hamels and Halladay. If we clinch before the last Sunday, we have the big guy starting game one of the playoffs.— CaptainAndy
- Terry W......exactly!— eisenser
- Blanton isn't rubbing his crotch as much as in years past. I think this is his problem. Once he picks at his crotch between every pitch he'll be back to normal.— lefty1117
Thanks, Matt for the trip down memory lane. We radio folk in the press box always enjoyed a big ninth inning comeback. The real show was watching the print journalists, on deadline, wild-eyed and cursing under their breath, usually, doing rewrites.- Kendick does NOT stink, at least not most of the time. He is maddeningly inconsistent. But I, for one, say keep running him out there. For example. I was at YankMee Stadium in June, First Row in the rightfiled bleachers, where I watched Kendrick stifle the vaunted YankMee lineup all night. We won 7-1, I made it on TV, and I got to drink many beers in the bars in the shadows of YankMee Stadium with my YankMee friends and other Phils fans, with a big 'ole grin on my face all night long. So I'm impartial... lol— 5NOT4
- CaptainAndy is correct! Pitch Halladay, Hamels and Oswalt every 5th day until we clinch a playoff spot. Skip Blanton till then. Once we clinch, then use Kendrick in the rotation. The most impotant thing now is making the playoffs.— GREGWOLF
- What is it with these pitchers setting he pace by giving up x-number of runs all the time in the first inning? This has happened for YEARS. Kendrick and Sloppy Joe did it this week on back to back nights. Look for Dubes to take the fall if they don't get to another World Series, just for a different voice but not Joe Kerrigan's. He couldn't even help the Pirates.— chescoguy
- This is lazy work--publishing your rough drafts. You wouldn't buy a book that was written in this manner, because it would never be published.— Delaware Jim
- My thoughts about the win exactly, it disguised the real problem. The starter and relievers gave up 9 runs. Sure, it's great they came back, but not every team is going to melt down like the Dodger relievers did.— kmon
- My thoughts about the win exactly, it disguised the real problem. The starter and relievers gave up 9 runs. Sure, it's great they came back, but not every team is going to melt down like the Dodger relievers did.— kmon
Wow, Delaware Jim didn't get it at all. The whole point of this quirky, but effective, post by Gelb was to highlight the not-so-great things that were subsumed in last night's eventual stunning victory, but that he would have pointed out had the Phils lost. Things that deserve to be pointed out.
