Photos: 2008 Phillies
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"Obviously, [starting] is what I love to do - I love to pitch and pitch in games for a long time," said Eaton, who will pitch out of the bullpen now that it is official that new pitcher Joe Blanton is in the rotation. "Obviously, I wish I could still do it, but right now it's not the case. A starting pitcher's goal is always to be a starting pitcher. But right now, that is not the case, and whenever they want to give me the ball in whichever situation, I'll be ready."
Blanton, who was acquired Thursday from the Athletics, is expected to join the team tomorrow. Dubee said he will likely make his first Phillies start on Tuesday against the Mets. Righthander Brett Myers, who made his final minor league start last night for Class A Clearwater, would pitch Wednesday.
Eaton, whose 5.71 ERA ranked 54th out of 60 NL starters with at last 80 innings pitched, will move to the bullpen as a long reliever, where he will start by pitching in low-leverage situations.
"He's pitched some games that he ended up losing or didn't get decisions where he definitely could have won," Manuel said. "At times, he pitched pretty good. But the consistency part comes in, and I think it's just a matter of being able to make pitches. I think that whether it is mental or physical, that's what he's got to work on. That's what's going to get him better."
Eaton has pitched only two innings of relief in his major league career, both in 2005 when he was fresh off a lengthy stint on the disabled list. He pitched one scoreless inning in his first appearance, then allowed four runs on three hits in one inning in his second.
"As long as I can help this team win, I'm going to do that, regardless of what role it is," Eaton said. "I've got three wins as a starter. J.C. [Romero] has four or five. I can rack up some wins that way and help the team, as well, fill some gaps to help these guys out, too."
Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee both said they didn't know a ton about Joe Blanton other than what they saw on June 24, when the 6-3, 225-pound righty held the Phillies to one run on four hits in a 5-2 Athletics win.
"I think that he's a strike thrower, and he's a mentally tough guy," said Manuel, who also faced Blanton in his first season as Phillies manager. "He likes to pitch. They say he eats up innings. They say that he's durable. All our people, they think he definitely can help us. He pitched good the two games I saw him.
"I think we have a good team, and we definitely have a chance to win our division, but I also think it doesn't hurt to get a little creative at times. Taking a chance or something doesn't bother me at all."
Closer Brad Lidge appears to have recovered from his marathon warmup session during Tuesday's All-Star Game. Lidge, who warmed up six times before finally taking the mound in the 15th inning, said he was available to pitch last night.
Charlie Manuel said he watched the entire All-Star Game, but tried to be judicious with his words when asked what he thought of Lidge's workload.
"What are you trying to get me to say?" he said when asked by a reporter whether he was angry at the situation. "I want my closer when I need a game, of course. But I don't know what the hell I can do about it, so why should I say anything to you guys about it?" *
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.
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