In their 69th home sellout of the
season the Philadelphia Phillies
clinched their third consecutive,
ninth overall, National League
Eastern Division Title.
This has been a difficult season
for both the players and the fans.
Cole Hamels, the reigning World
Series MVP, never got off the
ground in 2009. Jimmy Rollins
spent most of the season in a career
slump. Brad Lidge went from
perfect in 2008 to the worst closer
in baseball. And of course, we
lost the voice of the Phillies,
Harry Kalas.
It is now officially time to look
forward. It is time to focus on defending
a World Series title. This
time around there will be many
obstacles to clear before they
reach the Fall classic, the most obvious
of which will be their pitching.
The Phillies started the season
with some of the worst starting
pitching in the major leagues.
Only two of those pitchers are still
in the rotation, Cole Hamels and
Joe Blanton.
Trading for Cliff Lee became
the deal of the season. Not only
did this move show that the organization
was willing to make
the “big deal,” but it also showed
everyone in baseball that new GM
Reuben Amaro would not be held
hostage by the Blue Jays’ unrealistic
demands for ace Roy Halladay.
Brett Myers, who was arguably
their best arm the first month of
the season, went down early with
a bad hip. His road back has been
both promising and rocky. His
role going forward is yet to be determined
as he works his way
back from a nagging elbow injury.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see
him pitching innings out of the
bullpen come playoff time.
Struggling veteran Jamie Moyer
was eventually sent to the bullpen
in favor of mid-season acquisition
Pedro Martinez. Martinez brought
three Cy Youngs with him to
Philly, along with strong, consistent
pitching. The Martinez signing
looks even better now that
Moyer has been declared out for
the year with a few torn tendons
in his leg.
J.A. Happ replaced offseason
addition Chan Ho Park in mid-
May after Park struggled as the
team’s fifth starter. The rookie of
the year candidate went on to win
12 games and is currently ranked
fifth in the National League in
ERA. Park, meanwhile has gone
on to be a dependable reliever out
of the bullpen, but is currently
dealing with a hamstring injury.
Joe Blanton and Cole Hamels
started off abysmally. Blanton has
been a consistent bulldog since his
rocky start and has successfully
lowered his ERA nearly 4.5 points
since April 27.
Hamels’ season has been less redemptive.
He has struggled the
entire season displaying only a
handful of impressive performances.
However over the last few
weeks, Hamels has looked like his
old self, and it seems to be coming
at just the right time.
The most chronicled story in
baseball this year has been the collapse
of Brad Lidge. He was the
perfect closer in 2008 that struck
out Tampa Bay’s Eric Hinske to
win the World Series. This year,
however, he has blown 11 saves,
racked up eight losses and maintained
a lofty 7-plus ERA the entire
season.
Injuries have further clouded the
pitching forecast for the playoffs.
Lidge can’t close, this much is
obvious. JC Romero, the team’s
eighth inning, set-up man has
been fighting off injuries since
coming off a 50-game suspension
to start the season. Ryan Madson
has been the backup closer this
year, but has been less than consistent;
looking unhittable some
days, while displaying utter lack
of control on others.
Rumors have swirled around
Brett Myers returning to the closer
role after filling it for the team a
few years back. Uncertainty about
his health for the postseason has
put that in doubt.
Others have speculated that
rookie sensation Happ will end up
in the back end of the bullpen. In
2006, the Cardinals sent up-andcoming
starter Adam Wainwright
to the bullpen for the playoffs and
he is a favorite for this season’s
Cy Young. This, of course, would
mean that Pedro Martinez would
likely be starting for yet another
World Series contender.
As previously stated, the latest
pitcher to get bit by the injury bug
is Jamie Moyer. He will have surgery
on a torn groin in the next
week or so. He’s done for the season,
a possibly unceremonious
end to a long, productive career.
The team has said that if he is to
return next year, he should be
ready by the spring.
All that said, Scott Eyre, JC
Romero, Brett Myers and Chan
Ho Park are bullpen arms currently
out-of-service.
The other three NL playoff
teams all rank in the top 10 in the
league in offense. The Dodgers
have Manny, the Cardinals have
Albert Pujols and the Rockies are
probably the second best (to the
Phillies that is) lineup one through
eight in the National League.
It’s not that the Phills don’t have
the arms to get back to the World
Series. On the contrary, they now
have too many starters. Their
problem is getting a balance of
right- and left-handed pitchers
into the bullpen and keeping those
pitchers healthy.
This is sure to be one of several
story lines that will make the 2009
Major League postseason one to
remember.