The Phillies ended the regular season today with a 7-6 win over Florida in 10 innings at Citizens Bank Park as Charlie Manuel played his "B" team and doled out what amounted to warm-ups for eight pitchers on his uncertain staff.
Paul Hoover's two-out single drove home John Mayberry from second base with the winning run as the Phils won the see-saw finale over the Marlins to finish 93-59. Miguel Cairo had a homer and a triple to lead the attack, as Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard sat out.
Afterward, the manager passed on announcing his rotation for the National League division series against Colorado, which begins Wednesday at the Bank.
Instead, he passed out tea leaves and Ouija boards and a few lines to read between.
Will J.A. Happ, who dominated the Rockies with a complete-game, four-hit shutout on Aug. 5, be in the starting rotation or will he begin the series out of the bullpen? Or will he do both?
"When I think about it, there's a part of me that tells me Happ can definitely come out of the bullpen," Manuel said. "But I always have looked at him as a starter and I think his success has been as a starter. I'm not ready to reveal what we're going to do yet."
Then Manuel went on to talk about how he likes to throw lefthanders against the Rockies, who played about 500 ball against lefty starters. Happ would give him a third southpaw starter along with Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.
"I do like our lefthanded pitchers on Colorado because their lefthanded hitters are probably the strongest part of their offense," Manuel said. "And that's kind of what we're looking at. We had Lee and Happ both pitch real well against Colorado, real good games."
Happ became the club's most consistent starter when he broke into the rotation on May 23. In fact, more than anyone, he helped stabilize the staff when he shut out Toronto on June 27. At the time, the starters were a disaster. The Phils had lost 11 of their previous 13 games and had allowed 6.5 runs a game.
Pitching coach Rich Dubee called a meeting, telling the starters to be more aggressive and to trust their stuff. Dubee later said Happ showed them the way. It's no overstatement to say Happ's performance was a turning point in the season.
After today's two-inning stint, Happ either didn't know what his role would be in the division series or wasn't saying.
"I think we all read a little bit into it," said Happ, who threw 39 pitches and allowed two runs. "I think I would be available if needed. But I don't know what that means."
Then there is Brett Myers, who pitched to two batters. Manuel said he wanted to see how the righthander would hold up pitching on back-to-back days. Myers, who returned Thursday after sitting out almost three weeks with a strained muscle in his upper back, said he is ready to contribute.
"I felt great," he said. "No problems today. They can take the leash off now. I'm just hoping that I can contribute. I'm ready to go. This was another step forward. There are no limits any more."
Apparently, that's not the way Manuel sees it. He was noncommittal when asked if Myers would even be on the postseason roster, and he didn't exactly give him an endorsement.
"I don't know," Manuel said when asked if Myers would be on the roster. "It depends. He threw to a couple of hitters and we were trying to get him to bounce back from throwing two days in a row. We wanted to keep him on a short pitch count.
"I think he's ready for a short period, maybe," Manuel added when asked if Myers is ready for the postseason. "I don't think he's ready for multiple innings. No."
Manuel did state the obvious, though, when he said the decisions that will be made are more difficult than in the last two seasons.
"Without a doubt," he said.
Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743
or rparrillo@phillynews.com.
