Jim Salisbury: A tale of two bullpens

MIAMI - Perhaps the simplest way to illustrate how good the Phillies' bullpen has been this season is to break out the binoculars and point them 100 miles north of Citizens Bank Park.

Shea Stadium is home of the Reek Squad. The Mets' bullpen blew its 29th save yesterday. If the trend keeps up next year, the team will sell Maalox at the concession stands at new Citi Field.

In Philadelphia, things have been different, and fans' stomachs are better off for it.

The acquisition of Brad Lidge in the off-season gave the bullpen an anchor and, with the exception of a blip here and there, the bullpen has been one of the big keys in the Phils' success.

The pen came through yesterday in a 5-2 win against the Florida Marlins that left the Phils 1 1/2 games up on the stumbling Mets in the NL East entering the final week of the regular season.

Admit it, you cringed when Charlie Manuel waved Clay Condrey in with the bases loaded and the Phils clinging to a one-run lead in the seventh.

All Condrey did was come in and clean up the mess with one of the biggest outs of the season.

Pedro Feliz homered in the eighth to give the Phils a little breathing room, which made things easier on Ryan Madson, who pitched a perfect eighth. Brad Lidge put two men on base in the ninth and had to do a little tap dancing before registering his 40th save in as many tries.

Lidge has had smoother saves - frankly, it looks as if he needs a day off - but 40 in a row is a staggering number. If he keeps this up, he could become just the second closer with more than 40 save chances to have a perfect season, joining Eric Gagne, who was 55 for 55 for the Dodgers in 2003.

Personal accomplishments don't matter to Lidge.

"It's all about helping our team win," he said after the Phils' ninth win in the last 10 games.

"All elements of our game are going well right now."

The Phils' bullpen has been one of the best in the NL all season. In the NL, only the Dodgers (3.26) have a better bullpen ERA than the Phillies (3.28). As a team, the Phils have just 15 blown saves. In the majors, only the Yankees and Blue Jays have fewer. In the last nine wins, the Phillies' bullpen ERA is 1.48.

"I think our bullpen doesn't get talked about enough," Manuel said.

That's OK with the guys in the pen.

"I think they like being under the radar a little," pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "We had a little problem last month when some guys were fatigued. But for the most part this season, they've done a great job.

"They're a very close group. They really pull for each other. When someone struggles, someone else is ready to pick them up."

There was a good example of that yesterday. Chad Durbin, who appears to be on fumes after a terrific 41/2-month run, allowed a run in the seventh to make it a one-run game, and J.C. Romero loaded the bases with two outs. With righthanded-hitting Cody Ross coming up, Manuel went to the righthander Condrey.

For much of his time with the Phillies, Condrey has been a mop-up man. But yesterday, Manuel needed an out in the seventh, and he had a hunch Condrey could get it.

Condrey got Ross to ground to third on a 2-0 sinker.

"One of my bullpen buddies had some men on base, and I didn't want to let him down," Condrey said.

Teams need efforts like Condrey's in a pennant race. For Condrey, it was satisfying professionally and personally. This is a guy who was designated for assignment four times last season and never scooped up by another team.

"We got a win and a game on the Mets," he said.

And the personal part?

"I'm just happy to be coming to a big-league ballpark every day," he said. "Nobody is tapping me on the shoulder and telling me to go somewhere else."

Every bullpen will break a fan's heart now and then. Some, like the Mets', do it more often than others.

The Phils' bullpen blew a couple of leads in Chicago late last month. The eighth inning was shaping up to be a problem. It remains an area the team should address in the off-season. Right now, however, Madson has given the team a pretty good lift in that role. He has allowed just one unearned run in his last 11 games.

"Look at bullpens around the league," said Jamie Moyer, who won his 15th game yesterday. "A lot of times you'll see two guys on and two guys off. This bullpen has been very consistent all season."

The Phils head home now, looking to pop champagne corks one of these nights, either as a division champ or wild-card winner. There are many reasons they are in this position. Don't forget the bullpen.