Phillies' Joaquin Benoit wrong to whine about his role | Marcus Hayes
Veteran reliever blows up after terrible outing, but his anger at manager Pete Mackanin is misdirected
JOAQUIN BENOIT had his worst outing since George W. Bush was president, but, hey, it wasn't his fault. He needs to be handled more gently.
He entered a tie game in the seventh inning on Wednesday afternoon against the Seattle Mariners. He got one out. He was charged with five runs. As far as we know, he is completely healthy.
His was the latest dumpster fire set in an incredibly flammable bullpen. Afterward, still smoking, Benoit blamed the manager.
"It's not just the pitching staff," he said, "but in the people that run it, too."
That's what the tail wagging the dog sounds like.
Benoit's efforts ensured that the Phillies lost their 10th game in 12 tries, but he said it wasn't his lack of control; it was Pete Mackanin's. Of course, Mackanin doesn't have starters who can consistently last past sunset. Every game, Mackanin patches together something resembling a relief corps with the squadron of mediocrity general manager Matt Klentak rented for this season.
Interestingly, as Mackanin took the ball from Benoit in the seventh inning, Klentak left the executive suites in a decidedly bad mood.
There is an air of desperation, of exasperation, of failure. It's the time when everybody needs to pull together instead of pulling it all apart.
Benoit doesn't care. He'll be 40 in July. He makes $7.5 million this season. Benny wants what Benny wants.
It sounds as if Benny wants out of this town.
"I believe if we have a set role, everybody will fall into place," insisted Benoit, doing everything but stomping his foot.
"I believe that it would be better if everybody knows what their role is and when you're going to contribute. If it's the sixth, then that person throws in the sixth. If it's the ninth, then that person throws in the ninth."
That would be wonderful, except the ninth-inning guy, Jeanmar Gomez, is hurt; before that, he was awful; and on a rebuilding team like this, there is no Plan B.
Benoit doesn't want to hear that noise. He wants to know what his job is before the game begins.
In fact, he demands it.
"If I'm going to be set in one place, I don't mind. If that's going to definitely be the place, I don't mind doing that every day," he said.
Is that so? Consider this: Benoit appeared in the eighth inning, and the eighth inning only, in his previous seven outings. He hadn't pitched in five days, and could have been used as a two-inning setup man Wednesday, which means he would have pitched in the eighth eight times in a row.
How do you spell Benoit? D-I-V-A.
Theoretically, Benoit is right. Good teams with good bullpens generally have starters who last six innings before handing the ball over to a pair of pitchers who can pitch the sixth or seventh; a setup man for the eighth; and a closer for the ninth. The Phillies are built to approach .500. That's not a good team.
Practically, Benoit cannot have what he wants. Phillies starters have lasted at least six innings only three times in the previous 11 games. Phillies starters lasted five innings or less five times in the previous 11 games and lasted 42/3 innings Sunday, 32/3 on Tuesday.
That strains a bullpen and eradicates prescribed roles.
Don't give me that, Benoit said.
"It works if you find a place for everybody," he said, and continued, tersely: "It's consistency. In. One. Spot."
You. Are. Dreaming.
Even with the lousy starting pitching the Phillies have gotten, slotting relievers might be possible if they had effective long relievers. They do not. Jake Thompson was torched for the second consecutive outing and sent back to Triple A Lehigh Valley after the game. He gave up five runs on six hits with four walks combined in his last two appearances, each of which lasted two innings . . . but somehow seemed longer.
Good bullpens aren't built around long relievers, anyway. They're built around reliable closers, and most teams have adapted the fashionable stance that established closers aren't worth the investment. Gomez won the job early last season but lost it late last season, then lost it again in April. Benoit replaced him for a few days, to no great effect. Hector Neris is the de facto closer at this point. Oh, well.
This has been a group catastrophe. The bullpen somehow gave up four-run leads twice Tuesday night, then lost a tie game in the ninth. The 'pen has blown its last four save opportunities and has blown eight saves in 32 games.
Maybe pitching coach Bob McClure could do a better job. Maybe Mackanin could make better moves in the game.
Maybe they could turn water into wine. Because when you have timid starters and awful relievers, it will take a miracle.
"Our starters are nibbling. I think our guys are trying to make too perfect a pitches. They need to get their secondary pitches located better than they have," Mackanin said. "We need the starters to give us more innings.
"I end up using relief pitchers when I don't want to. It snowballs."
Mackanin spoke immediately after the game and was not available to address Benoit's insubordination, but their perspectives don't differ much.
"I think we have to get into a rhythm or alignment," Mackanin said.
That's impossible with short-armed starters.
Mackanin knows that.
Benoit's in his 16th major league season.
He knows it, too.
@inkstainedretch