Phillies' Lee: I'm capable of pitching on 3 days' rest

ASK CLIFF LEE if he feels capable of starting a game on 3 days' rest and the ace lefthander's facial expression seems to ask, "Why wouldn't I be?"

The Phillies could find out the answer at some point during this World Series, although they indicated yesterday that such a scenario was not an ideal option. Lee, who has allowed just two earned runs in 24 1/3 innings in three starts this postseason, will almost certainly take the mound on Wednesday for Game 1 in either New York or Anaheim. He would then be on normal rest for Game 5 the following Monday, and 2 days' rest for an if-necessary Game 7 on Nov. 5. Although the Phillies could conceivably get their new playoff ace three starts by starting him in Game 4 on 3 days' rest, something the Yankees did with ace lefty CC Sabathia in the ALCS, the depth they have in their rotation diminishes the likelihood of such a move.

Since 1995, postseason starters are 20-34 with a 4.65 ERA when working on 3 days' rest or fewer, according to Major League Baseball's official Web site.

"We prefer not to do that, but if we are in a circumstance where we have to or we think it's the right thing to do, we'll consider it, obviously," general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday.

Lee, who has never before started on short rest, said yesterday he feels physically capable of doing it.

"If they ask me to, I will," Lee said.

But while Lee has the mind-set of a pitcher who could succeed on short rest - earlier this season he tried to convince manager Charlie Manuel to send him back out to the mound after a nearly 2-hour rain delay in Atlanta - the Phillies don't feel they are in a position where such a move is a necessity.

"A lot of these guys have a lot of mileage, so you have to consider that," Amaro said. "But this is the World Series, so sometimes we have to do things that put them out of their comfort zone a little bit and do things that are necessary to win games."

Amaro, Manuel and the rest of the organization's decision-makers will have plenty of other questions to answer before the start of the World Series on Wednesday.

Like last year, the Phillies do not know who they will face. Amaro said yesterday that final decisions on both the makeup of the roster and rotation will have to wait until after the conclusion of the ALCS, tentatively scheduled to resume tonight in the Bronx with the Yankees leading the Angels, 3-2.

But both Amaro and Manuel provided some insight into their thought process.

* The rotation: Manuel all but said that veteran righthander Pedro Martinez, who threw seven scoreless innings in a 2-1 loss at Dodger Stadium in Game 2 of the NLCS, would get a start in the World Series.

"I look at Pedro as a starter," Manuel said. "He's been in the big moment and I think his performance the other day at Dodger Stadium, how good he pitched, I think he deserves another chance to go out there."

Manuel also said that lefthander J.A. Happ and righthander Joe Blanton likely would begin the series in the bullpen, just as they did in the NLDS and NLCS. One is likely to get at least one start, with Lee, Martinez and lefthander Cole Hamels occupying the other spots in the rotation.

* The bullpen: For the first time all postseason, Manuel said that he looks at Ryan Madson as his setup man and Brad Lidge as his closer. The two righthanders entered the playoffs with undefined roles, thanks in large part to Lidge's 11 blown saves and 7.21 ERA during the regular season. But Lidge has pitched four scoreless innings in the playoffs, all of them in the ninth inning, while recording three saves and one victory. Suddenly, the bullpen looks very much as it did last season: with Lidge handling the ninth, Madson the seventh or eighth, lefty Scott Eyre handling situational roles, and righthanders Chad Durbin and Chan Ho Park pitching the middle innings.

"I think we're pretty much back to close to where we were at the start of the season, as far as the way we line up in the bullpen," Manuel said. "I look at it as Lidge is at the end and Madson is up in front of him . . . "

* 12 or 11: After adding utilityman Eric Bruntlett to the roster for the NLCS and removing righthander Brett Myers, the Phillies will at least entertain the thought of switching things back to where they were in the NLDS. Myers pitched a simulated game earlier this week and, according to Amaro, looked much better than he did in the first round of the playoffs, when he walked two and hit a batter in his lone appearance.

"He's sharper," said Amaro, who, along with Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee, informed Myers before the NLCS that he was being dropped from the roster. "His breaking ball is better. He's pretty crisp with his location. He's thrown better. And that's a good sign."

With four of the seven games being played with the designated hitter, limiting the need for pinch-hitters, the Phillies could leave either Bruntlett or Miguel Cairo off the roster to add another pitcher. During the World Series last season, they kept 11 pitchers and six bench players.

The Phillies are off today, but will work out at Citizens Bank Park tomorrow . . . Charlie Manuel said Raul Ibanez was a candidate to DH, likely against lefthanded starters, which would allow the Phillies to get the speed and righthanded bat of Ben Francisco onto the field.

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.