Lack of Bullpen Confidence Leaves Worley Out Too Long
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Lack of Bullpen Confidence Leaves Worley Out Too Long
Marc Narducci
Before Friday’s 7-2 loss against the San Francisco Giants, Charlie Manuel said that bolstering the bullpen was his No. 1 wish for the trade deadline.
And then during the game the Phillies manager showed what little confidence he has in his relievers.
The Phillies trailed 2-1 in the sixth with the bases loaded and one out. Starter Vance Worley was tiring, but Manuel left the right-hander in the game. And Worley served up a no-doubt-about-it grand slam to shortstop Brandon Crawford.
Worley would throw a career-high 119 pitches.
Afterwards, Manuel and Worley both said they felt the pitcher had enough left in the tank to get batters out.
Manuel also said that it would have been a difficult situation to bring young relievers such as Michael Schwimer and Jeremy Horst into a bases loaded, one-out situation.
Yet that is what a bullpen is for, to replace a tiring starter.
To his credit Worley wouldn’t take the bait when asked if he felt he was being squeezed by home plate umpire Laz Diaz in the sixth inning.
“No,” he answered. “I guess I was just missing around the plate.”
Worley didn’t make the statement with conviction, but he still took the blame for throwing sinkers that didn’t sink.
Who knows if the bullpen would have fared any better in that situation, but they couldn’t have been worse.
And we also know that the manager was gun-shy about using his relievers.
Who can blame him?
Entering the game the Phillies bullpen ERA was 4.87, the second worst in Major League Baseball.
The bullpen has been far from the only problem. Yet the bullpen, especially with the recent struggles of closer Jonathan Papelbon, has not been carrying its collective weight.
When the manager doesn’t signal for help when his starter is noticeably wearing down, it shows a lack of confidence in a unit that hasn’t inspired any for quite some time.
Comments (35)
Fools gold against the Rockies and Dodgers. Like the Eagles finishing last year 4-0. Reality can be cruel to take.— cxl72- A lack of confidence in the GM and Manager could apply. Manuel set his lineup by seniority and every player has their place.— tulsaphil
- The bullpen has been a problem since April....four months now without redress other than exchanging relievers with Reading. A little late now. It's not as if we're in a pennant race.— DameB
- Huh I was there tonight. The place was half empty by the sixth inning. There were about 35000 thousand in the stands. No one cares anymore.— dmn
- " Lack of confidence in the Bullpen " . Are you joking ?
We are desperate for wins and you are worrying about your bullpen. How can you win if you don't have a bullpen ? Don't you think somebody should have worried about the bullpen before tonight ? It is not like the problem just surfaced.
You do everything and anything to win games in the position the Phillies find themselves in and let the chips fall where they may.
The greatest horse manure excuse I have heard this nasty year.— candidly - Why do the Phillies bullpen guys even have names? They should just go by "Right-Handed Manure Heap #1", " Right-Handed Manure Heap #2", "Left-Handed Manure Heap #1" and so on.— AreaMan
- Very good! How about you add to that General Manager Manure Heap #1 ? — erniebanks14
- Worely wasn't the same after Hunter Pence turned a routine fly ball into a game tying double. He is without a doubt, the worst outfielder in the history of baseball. He has no clue out there. Ray Charles was a better outfielder then Pence. The only difference is Pence isn't blind. Plant a cactus out in right field, you will get the same results it that you get from Pence.— Pinchy
- This is exactly the right analysis: We have to add games like this to the 15-20 leads already blown by the leaky bullpen in order to measure the true impact of the catastrophe. It's not just the blown leads. It's not just failing to keep tie games or close games close, where we might have the chance to pull out wins. It's not even turning to the bullpen, like this game, and leaving the starter in too long to get shelled. A $170 million payroll and the whole season has fallen apart because no one thought of acquiring a couple of $3 million middle relief pitchers. This is truly a shocking debacle. And it was completely avoidable....— Xplorer
- The headline should read, "Weak minded manager keeps Worley in too long" !— erniebanks14
Heartless and lifeless team led by an illiterate and incompetent manager and a smug GM— shawnmac- Worley blows— Jay Grace 69
- Hunter Pence makes Dave Kingman look like a Gold Glover. And the headline should read "67yo bubble gum hillbilly hangs Worley out to dry."— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- The silly, old fool in his post game love fest with the compliant press said "I thought Worley still had good stuff." After walking the bases loaded twice. Complete silence and on to the next question.— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- This is beyond belief. Obviously oour self proclaimed " winner" manager doesn't realize that his lack of going to the bullpen in that crucial situation last night, tells his entire team to not trust the 7 players in the bullpen. A move to Bastardo tells 25 guys that he is trying to win too. Get him out of here now before he continues to damage this team beyond repair.— toe bee
- Get Worley to surgeon NOW, recall Cloyd and both will be ready for Spring Training. Face reality RAJ. Begin the makeover NOW. If Pierre has value, move him, along with Vicki, throw in Mayberry and see what prospects are available for that trio. If you have any questions, call EZ.— NewMick314
Worley was a dead on his feet when he gave up the grand slam. A fresh pitcher - regardless of your confidence in him - was the only rational way to go at that point. Charlie's lack of a thought process has been exposed yet again.- And that was the 'A' team.— eaglesman1
- Worley's a head case. Completely unravels every time a borderline pitch is called a ball. You can see it in his body language: his whole body convulses and he glares at the umpire in disbelief - virtually every time. This routine usually begins around the 4th inning. Then instead of trying to bring the ball an inch or two off the corner he throws up a grapefruit down the middle of the plate (resulting in Whiteside's RBI double or Crawford's granny) or he walks the pitcher.
Showing up umpires, who generally BEG for the opportunity to be made a part of the game, certainly won't help reestablish that corner.
Roy Halladay stares down an umpire occasionally, however he doesn't have a seizure when a ball is called. He doesn't snap at the ball when its returned to him. He gets back on the hill, throws the next pitch, and usually says something to the umpire between innings. Worley is a punk who thinks he's entitled to some level of respect that he hasn't earned.
Also - quirky finesse pitchers who live on the corners should not be allowed to have tough guy nicknames.— Florida Frank - Worley got too full of himself and he looks like he is always about to cry on the mound. Definitely weak. — shawnmac
- Look for DeFratus in the pen soon. He's all that is left other than the flaky Aumont at Lehigh Valley. First AAA appearance DeFratus struck out two of the three batters he faced Wednesday night.— Dull
- Where is Ryan Madson when we need him?— SteveS11
- The Phillies collapse this year is historic. Can anyone else think of a team that went from 102 wins to sub- .500 the following year? The closest parallel is Pittsburgh after the loss of Clemente. On the other hand, how is that the Yankees and Braves are perennial contenders even with injuries to regulars? I have to think the problems on the Phillies' field mirror the incompetence of the front office.— DameB
- let's address the issue, are we a buyer or a seller? If in the cellar, you should be a seller. Get rid of the over paid players on this team. Get some younger players with heart. Trade, Rollins, Pence, Polanco, Victorino. Get rid of Martinez, Schneider, Mayberry. Team is really bad!!!— avogel36
- I agree offense a big weakness for Phills. Still its the front of pen that's the main culprit. There is no question Amaro and Charley know this but fixing it is more difficult. I dont see Worley as headcase it's just your perception backed up by nothing. There has to be some pressure on Phills pitcher with weak offense.— Don w
- The Phillies starters have been going deeper into games so I think that was the plan as long as it's working. So why not let Worley figure out how to get out of a jam? We can't expect perfection from pitching just because the hitters aren't hitting. Worley had a bad result but maybe next time he only gives up a run or two. This was just one of those games where the pitcher made a mistake that hurt him.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- Charlie is senile. Everyone could see Worley needed to be pulled before Crawford batted. Charlie pulled Kendrick when he was pitching 7 innings of shutout ball on 89 pitches. Bastardo came in provides the 3 walks and a GS by McCann.
Fire Charlie!!! Get the chant going at the Bank. Fire Charlie!!!!— Rutgers82 - pence misjudges too many fly balls in the outfield this dude gives up more runs than the bullpen.. If this team is still losing by the end of the month trade him put brown in center and victorino in RF, mayberry misplayed a ball the other day against dodgers and about a million comments were made against him. time for manuel to go at end of year but the bullpen he has been given is young not ready for mlb yet.— only 9
- Here's some info for the die-hard Rube supporters:
Philly - $174,000,000
Atlanta - $83,000,000
Washington - $81,000,000
And the kicker - Pittsburgh $63,000,000
Any move we make - any move - will be in Rube's hands...— Cameiros - Worley needs to go back to attacking batters. I think he's been nibbling too much, and it's driving up his pitch counts. It's the starter's fault when he can't get through six or seven innings, though it's disgraceful that the Phillies bullpen is as bad as it is. This team simply isn't good enough right now, though the NL appears to be ripe for the taking.— dblankj
what bullpen? Papelblown-again! Dubee -time to go!
Over and over we watch the same faulty logic. No faith in the bull pen. There are guys in there who are being paid well. If they do not produce, send them away. I think it time for a youth movement. Clear out the aged and underperforming and bring some hungry guys in. The fightins might even become competitive again.- what --don't you all remember Rube got Dontrelle Willis and Chad Qualls as brilliant low-cost options to bolster a top-notch bullpen— warbiscuit
- I don't get the love affair with the writers and this manager... He loses game after game with his bull headed decisions. Worley was clearly done. Bullpen is weak so he tries never to use them. How did that work out?— Ssteve115
- Bunch of apologist. Blaming the bullpen, questioning the HP umpire. The manager lost the game. How about worrying about a young pitcher with a bad elbow throwing 42 pitches in the inning in his way to a career high 119 pitches? The writers are becoming a joke.— EL Zorro
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