Bob Ford: Not wise to put Blanton, Happ in bullpen

POSTED: October 7, 2009

By Bob Ford

Inquirer Sports Columnist

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The Phillies' decision to start Cliff Lee this afternoon in the division series opener against the Rockies and flop Cole Hamels into tomorrow's Game 2 start was little more than a coin flip for Charlie Manuel and the team's other decision makers.

You can spin that starting order around any way you like, and it will come up heads as many times as it comes up tails.

Cole Hamels (left) and Cliff Lee , here at yesterday´s workout, will start the first two games for the Phils, with Lee pitching the opener.
ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff photographer
Cole Hamels (left) and Cliff Lee , here at yesterday's workout, will start the first two games for the Phils, with Lee pitching the opener.

If it would have been better from the standpoint of instilling confidence to give Hamels the ball in the No. 1 slot, it would also have forced Hamels, who is very fond of routine, to pitch on three days' rest instead of the standard four.

If Lee's recent lack of success makes him seem an unlikely candidate to set the tone for the series, at least his record in day games makes him the far better choice.

If this, if that. The microscopic analysis of baseball's plentiful statistics and perceived psychologies will dance on the head of a pin until 2:37 p.m., when it is replaced by an actual game. The fact is that it probably doesn't matter in which order they pitch. Each is getting a start, under essentially the same conditions.

More surprising, and possibly more hazardous to the Phillies, is the decision to put both J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton in the bullpen for the first two games of the series.

"I could see them pitching late in the game for us, and they will be used the first two games," Manuel said. "They will definitely be available to use out of the bullpen."

If neither is needed in that capacity - obviously what Manuel is hoping - Happ and Blanton will take, in some order, the third and, potentially, fourth starts in the series when it moves to Denver.

That the Phillies' bullpen is unreliable, particularly in the later innings, is well-documented. That it could use some help is undeniable. That the wisest course is to bolster the bullpen by diminishing the starting rotation, however, is not necessarily true.

Happ has been a revelation this season since entering the starting rotation in May. He has been a stable force when almost everything else around him was in chaos. Happ went 12 starts before suffering a loss and has given up more than three earned runs just four times in 23 starts.

In other words, why would you mess with him?

Blanton, who also won 12 games this season, including five of his last seven decisions, is another questionable addition to the bullpen. It's possible he could pitch effectively in relief, but he has done it only four times in 166 major-league appearances, and only once since 2004.

Now the logic for what Manuel is doing - or what he says he is doing - is obvious. The bullpen hasn't been very good. It is also obvious that the Phillies are front-loading tremendous importance on winning the first two games of this series. They will throw every arm onto the field to prevent heading to Colorado with even a split. That makes sense, too.

But by putting Happ and Blanton in the bullpen, they are setting up circumstances that could also backfire. The Phillies are embarking on a postseason journey that could last a month. If they are to have anywhere close to the kind of success they had last season, the bullpen - the real bullpen - will have to pitch well. No time like the present.

Happ and Blanton can't be shuttling back and forth between two roles like waiters with too many tables to serve. Eventually, the result will be unpalatable.

Even if Manuel's intention is to use them for, say, a batter here or there, or just to close out an inning, that sort of intention can go haywire during a game. If Happ or Blanton has to warm up several times, or has to pitch to more than a handful of batters today and tomorrow, either or both could be lost from the starting rotation for the games in Colorado. If either is burnt, then you would be forced to start Pedro Martinez in one of those games, in cold weather, and Pedro has been either sore or ineffective since throwing 130 pitches Sept. 13.

The bottom line is that the Phillies, if they pursue this path, are playing scared. They are the defending world champions, they won 93 games this season, and they are playing scared. In a way, you can't blame them. Their bullpen, particularly the question of who will emerge as the closer - "Whoever you see walking out there," Manuel said - is enough to scare anyone.

That isn't the way to win, however, and it certainly isn't the way to instill confidence in the regular relievers. You won't like this, but the Phillies will ultimately win or lose with Ryan Madson or Brad Lidge as the closer and with Antonio Bastardo or Scott Eyre as the lefthanded relievers.

If those pitchers get the job done, the Phillies have a chance. If not, at least they find out right away. It would be better than losing because the guy who should be starting had to pitch the seventh inning two games ago.

 

Contact columnist Bob Ford

at 215-854-5842 or bford@phillynews.com.

Read his blog at http://philly.com/postpatterns.

 

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