Three Thoughts: Lidge, Mathieson, Martinez
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Three Thoughts: Lidge, Mathieson, Martinez
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- After a brief hiatus, we're back with Three Thoughts. Plenty to talk about with less than two weeks to go in Florida...
1. It's difficult to decide what we should make of the Brad Lidge situation. Yes, the injury has been downplayed by everyone possible -- from Lidge to Rich Dubee to Ruben Amaro Jr. But to me, the most troubling thing is Lidge's admission that he has been bothered by this tendinitis for a couple of weeks.
"To be honest, I felt great coming down here, but somewhere in my first outing or two I just felt a little tightness in my shoulder, and I tried to throw through it a couple times," Lidge said.
That's the sort of thing that makes you cringe in March.
As Bob Brookover noted in today's Inquirer, a National League scout said Lidge's best fastball this spring was 88 m.p.h. From 2009 to 2010, Lidge's average fastball velocity lost 2 m.p.h., going from 93.6 to 91.7. Is this the next progression?
Dubee will say that pitchers -- and especially closers -- won' t have their best velocity for a few weeks. Lidge typically doesn't pitch in spring training because he's hurt, so the Phillies will say this is progress that he actually got on a mound.
But you wonder how many bullets are left in Lidge's arm and how much longer his body can hold up.
2. Scott Mathieson won't make this team, but he has accomplished one goal. The righthander has pitched six straight scoreless innings in the Grapefruit League. None of his eight strikeouts have come on his fastball, the one pitch that has prompted sustained interest in the double Tommy John pitcher.
Mathieson has thrown mostly sliders and splitters this spring and he's gotten outs with the pitches. That's the one thing Dubee said he needed to see from Mathieson this spring. So will he make the team? No, not unless there is an injury. Mathieson has an option left and the numbers game will force him to triple-A Lehigh Valley again.
But he has done nothing to hurt his stock this spring.
3. Because of his Rule 5 status, Michael Martinez could make this team. He can play a bunch of positions, he has speed and decent defense. But he hasn't shown too much at the plate to suggest he's anything more than a singles hitter. It could come down to Josh Barfield vs. Martinez and the Rule 5 status will weigh heavily in Martinez's favor.
Why? The Phillies could send Barfield, who has an out clause sometime in May, to triple A for the first month. That will give them a longer look at Martinez and when Barfield's chance to leave comes up, the Phillies can decide who they'd rather have. Basically, it offers a delayed date to make a decision.
Then again, Barfield's bat may be too good to overlook.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
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You could lose both when Utley is ready to go. The bestideal thing would be for Amaro to make a trade with Washington and send Martinez to AAA. He could start at SS in 2012 if Rollins doesn't show enough improvement and the team decides to let him go.— EL Zorro- The thought of Kyle Kendrick on this team does not excite me. I'm tired of the Lidge injury game. If he starts on the DL I'd like to see Stutes and Mathieson on the roster for KK and Lidge.— ronin32
- Lidge is apparently done and if he plays it will most likely be similar to the majority of last year when he was injured and not good enough— shawnmac
- Matt - Do you think Delwyn Young is part of the Martinez/Barfield equation? He seems to be having a good spring.— s
- Lidge had One earned run in August, one in September, and none in October I guess thats not good enough.— Setdawgy
- I think Delwyn has his roster spot locked up. It is only a matter of time until the Phils make it official.— bp_
- With the offensive issues this team is having, you CANNOT keep Martinez on this team. You need every roster spot you can get, especially with Utley out. You need to keep Barfield. And Young. And Mathieson. And Stutes. This team is aging fast, keep some kids.— scootch
- Martinez can't go to AAA because a rule 5 pick must stay with the big club all season, like David Herndon last year.— brio
- I agree with Scootch, keep the kids.— Joe at the shore
- I agree that Martinez is not good enough offensively to take a roster spot with the offense struggling. Either trade with the Nats and send him to AAA, or send him back to Washington.— PortCity
- Keep Martinez, Valdez, and Young. Make them all practice at SS, 2B and 3B and keep working Valdez in the OF. You've got as much flexibility as this 12-pitchers on a roster era can give ya. Obviously if Utley's out, keep Barfield or one of the others around, maybe Orr. Just tell me who the emergency catcher is, and I'm good with this group. (Although I'm not sure Gload is that good and certainly not a utility dude, but hey, ya can't have everything! I might go with Mayberry in his stead tho he's not LH).— Horst Muhlman lives on in all of us
- Martinez has not shown enough to keep him. Decent defense does not outweigh his lack of offense on this team. Let's admit it was a good try and move on.— johnny eagle
- Barfield gets the call.— NewMick314
- I agree! We need a guy that can run and play good defense. So far his defense has looked good. We need small ball and he fits the tee perfectly. His hitting has been off the charts but I don't expect that. All of the bench players and kids have off the wall obp and slg% If only one or two of these kids can carry it over into the season. Charlie will earn his money this year. He will have to mix and match and play the hot hand. — pattymac3
- Trade Possibility.....Brad Lidge for Michael Young. The Rangers are looking for a closer and the dollars are close.— Bill S
- How are they close? Young is signed for a few years. Lidge is done this year and we are on the hook with another aging player for 3 years. Why would they want Lidge anyway if he is already injured and is always injured. I would gladly take the 2nd half that Lidge had last year though. He was excellent and still could be even if it is later in the season.Lets face it good or bad Lidge remains. We can only hope he pitches well— pattymac3
- Agree with Mick. how can you not keep Barfield...— M60tanker
- It's why it's called spring training and not regular season. You work this stuff out and when the games count, you're either healthy and contributing or the next guy steps up. Stop making predictions 17 days before opening day, sit back and get ready to ENJOY the season. It's amazing half of you haven't worried yourselves into early graves...— Bleue
- Barfield makes the roster. With Utley off, either Young or Martinez also make it I think. The question is which one and who goes when (if) Chase comes back? I'd probably start with Barfield and Young but it would be nice to see how Martinez does in some real games before giving him back to the Nats.— s
- martinez hasn't shown enough to stick. We already went thru this last year, taking up a roster spot with Herndon who provided little help. And now he won't help at all this year except maybe at AAA.— blaqjaq
- 2BillS, Yeah, let's trade a very Up and Down and possibly hurt Lidge for a perennial All Star contender -- who puts up better numbers than Werth ever did! That would be the (maybe injured) our closer for Michael Young. Brilliant. Maybe they'll throw in Josh Hamilton for Dannys Baez.— eman
