Ninth inning is still a problem

Yesterday, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel saw another bullpen disaster unfold in front of his eyes. Ryan Madson, the Phils newly appointed closer, blew his sixth save opportunity of the season when he gave up a 2-run bomb to Mets third baseman David Wright, and the Phillies lost 10-9. Madson’s latest miscue came just days after being labeled the team’s new closer for the time being.

Madson, of course, was replacing former Phillies closer Brad Lidge, who has had question marks surrounding him all season. Lidge lost his role after he almost blew his 11th save opportunity of the season in Washington on Tuesday, but luckily Madson came in to save the day. Madson was then trotted out on Wednesday to close out the Nats again and was successful in doing so. He also succeeded in saving the game against the Mets on Friday. Then Saturday happened when the Mets scored five runs on the Phillies bullpen, three runs against Brett Myers and two runs against Ryan Madson.

If I am Charlie Manuel, I only have two options: make Brett Myers the closer or pray for a Brad Lidge miracle. The Ryan Madson experiment is cute and all, but he’s blown almost as many saves as Brad Lidge in not nearly as many chances. Don’t get me wrong, Madson’s stuff looks good at times, but he makes too many costly mistakes, and I just don’t think he has what it takes mentally to do the job.

That being said, I don’t think Brad Lidge has the mental makeup this year to get the job done either. Last year, teams were scared to face a confident Lidge; this year, they salivate at the opportunity to bat against the Phillies shaken closer. Maybe a couple weeks off from closing out games will give Lidge enough mental rest to get his act together.

In the meantime, I think Charlie needs to hand the ball off to Brett Myers in the ninth. He was the team’s closer in 2007 when the Phillies won the division, so he is familiar with the role. Myers loves being in the spotlight and is also hoping to show this team what he can still do, especially since this is the last year of his contract.

Whatever Charlie decides to do, he needs to do it fast. The clock is winding down on the 2009 season, and there isn’t much time left to keep playing “Musical Closers.”
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A Phillies Dream Scenario

While the Phillies play on the field has steadily improved since their recent return home (and who would have thought that?), they've also made a few headlines off the field as well. Between Shane Victorino's All Star campaign, Roy Halladay rumors, and a potential Pedro Martinez signing, there has been plenty to keep a Phillies fan busy between games over the last few days. With that in mind, let's take a look a scenario based on real possibilities that would take place for the Phightin' Phils in a perfect world...

The Phillies sign Pedro Martinez. As an isolated transaction, I don't really support this move. But every indication is that this thing is happening, so we might as well get on board. I'm concerned that Pedro hasn't been healthy or effective for several years, he doesn't seem to be much more than a 5 or 6 inning pitcher, and I don't like how his stuff plays at Citizen's Bank Park. Also, he still has a little too much of the Mets stink on him for my liking, and frankly, I just don't want to root for him. That's not to say there isn't some upside there, especially if he is as healthy as he claims to be. But...

This could and should be a precursor to the Phillies trading for Roy Halladay. If the Phils sign Martinez, it could free them up to include JA Happ in the deal for Halladay. I've written at length about Halladay here (short summary: Yes. Do it. Kyle Drabek? Sure. Dominic Brown? Enjoy.), and I like Happ a lot and would prefer not to trade him. But Happ's ceiling isn't as high as some of the other top pitching prospects the Phillies have in the system and his inclusion in the deal likely means that they'd probably get to keep at least two out of a group that consists of Kyle Drabek, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, and Antonio Bastardo. They'd probably also get to keep either Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown (one would likely have to go) and all of a sudden the farm doesn't look as decimated as everyone says it will be if Halladay is acquired. It will likely take 4 or 5 very good to great prospects to get the Toronto ace, but with the core of talent the Phillies have in their primes at the major league level, the team can weather the loss when the return is only THE BEST PITCHER IN BASEBALL. But wait, the dream isn't over...

Brett Myers makes his triumphant return. I promised that I would try to make this somewhat realistic, and I am. My plan is not for Myers to return to the rotation. My plan is for him to return to the bullpen. You see, Myers has been cleared to start a throwing program any day now and if the team gears his rehab toward a return to the bullpen, the process is much shorter than if his goal is to return to the rotation. Myers' stated objective is to come back and pitch this season, and just about every indication is that a return to the rotation this season probably isn't realistic. But a return to the bullpen could be. If he can return sometime near the beginning of September, that ought to give him plenty of time to find himself a groove and allow the team to settle on a role for him. If all goes according to plan, and everyone stays healthy and pitches relatively close to established norms, take a gander at this playoff staff:

Rotation: Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, Pedro Martinez (with one of the last two a playoff long man)
Bullpen: Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, JC Romero, Chan Ho Park, Scott Eyre, Brett Myers, Chad Durbin/Clay Condrey

Oh, and you know our offense can score a run or two, right?

So did you enjoy that big parade we had in Philly last year? Yeah, me too. Let's do that again. Hey, a guy can dream, right...

If you really want to, you can also read me at MikeonthePhillies.
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