Chan Ho Park Injury Hurts Phillies Bullpen

When Chan Ho Park grabbed the back of his leg after throwing the final pitch of the 7th inning last night in Philadelphia, there was nothing we could do but hope like hell that Chopper (yeah, I don't know about the nickname either, but take it up with Mick Billmeyer) would be okay. Instead, Park became yet another question mark in a bullpen full of them.

Since making his final disastrous start on May 17th in Washington, Park has probably been the most reliable relief pitcher the Phillies have had. In 50 innings out of the bullpen, Chan Ho has posted a 2.52 ERA, with a .231 BAA and a 52/16 K/BB ratio. If needed, he can go 2-3 innings, lock down the 7th or 8th inning of a tight ballgame, or even enter the game in a strikeout situation if the need arises. His versatility and reliability have been big reasons for his team's success this season. And now it remains to be seen whether he will pitch again for the Phillies this year.

Preliminary indications are that Park will miss 2-3 weeks with his injured hamstring, which means the Phillies will not have a lot of time to figure out whether he will be healthy enough to be added to the playoff roster. The Phillies already have health question marks in Clay Condrey, JC Romero, and Scott Eyre, and one big fat effectiveness question mark with Brad Lidge. The good news is that Philadelphia has enough depth to cover for some of those losses, but not all of them. It appears that Brad Lidge is going to be the closer no matter what. Ryan Madson has not been all that impressive in the 9th inning, so he will return to his 8th inning role. Charlie Manuel doesn't seem particularly interested in giving Brett Myers a shot to be the closer, and he could potentially fill Park's multiple inning/set up role, but he is an injury/effectiveness question as well. With Eyre and Romero likely having to pitch through pain for the rest of the season, the Phillies also lack a reliable lefty, though JA Happ could be an option in that role if the Phillies decide that Pedro Martinez is pitching well enough to be a playoff starter.

But for all the issues the Phillies face as they try to piece together a bullpen for the playoffs, the possible loss of Chan Ho Park hurts the most. One would have to think the Philadelphia starting staff, pitching as well as it has been lately, would be able to go deep enough into games that the bullpen would only have to handle 2-3 innings a night in order for the Phillies to win. Park is important because he can reliably come into big spots and get outs on a consistent basis. If he is gone, who else can you trust? Myers? Madson? Lidge? Tyler Walker? It will be interesting to see how some of these issues play out as October draws closer. But if the Phillies can ask the stars for just one of their relief question marks to be healthy and effective in the postseason, they might want to put in a request for Chopper.