Phillies Lose 2 of 3 to Nationals

The Phillies closed out their series at Washington, and even though they snapped their 8 game winning streak with Roy Oswalt on the mound, they did salvage 1 game yesterday of the 3 game series.

Roy Oswalt made his Phillies debut on Friday to try to extend the Phillies winning streak to 9 games, but didn't fare too well in his debut. The offense didn't do anything either, and the Phillies lost the game by a large margin.

On Saturday, the Phillies didn't get off to a good start, and Ryan Howard got the night off after slumping the past few days. Joe Blanton continued his usual 1st inning performance and allowed 3 runs in the first inning. A Carlos Ruiz solo home run, and a Raul Ibanez 2 run home run made the game tied at 4 going into the 9th inning. Carlos Ruiz then had a 2 out, RBI single, which gave the Phillies the lead going into the bottom of the 9th. On came Brad Lidge. A single, out, walk, and Ryan Zimmerman bomb ended the game, and another blown save for Lidge.

Yesterday, the Phillies were able to salvage a game in the series, and won the game in the 11th inning. Brad Lidge worked a scoreless 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th this time, including putting out Ryan Zimmerman. This game also saw Ryan Howard go down awkwardly, as he rolled his ankle trying to slide back into 2nd base. It doesn't seem to be as bad as it looked, but he might miss a few games with a sprained ankle.

After the series, the Phillies sat exactly where they were before; 2.5 games back of the first place Atlanta Braves. Even though the Phillies lost 2 of 3, they have still won 9 of 11 overall, and travel to Miami for a 3 game series against the Marlins, which will start off with Roy Halladay on the bump.

Unfortunately, Brad Lidge cannot be trusted anymore. He has absolutely no command of any pitch he throws. He can't throw his fastball by anyone anymore, and has to rely on his slider. When Ruiz sets up outside, the pitch may come inside, when he sets up high, the pitch may come low; the point is, Lidge has no command, and his pitches really could go anywhere at this point.

The problem is there really isn't any other option. Ruben Amaro was too busy patting himself on the back and doing any interview possible talking about how amazing he has been to acquire Lee, Halladay, and Oswalt in about a year's time to address the bullpen issue that the Phillies currently have, and have had all season long.

Ryan Madson has not pitched very well this year, and even when he does pitch well, he has struggled in save situations when given the chance. I still think his still is better than Lidge's though. Jose Contreras has been good this season, and seems to have really good stuff, but not sure if he would be able to be the closer. J.C. Romero has also been very good, and while he can go up against righties, he is more in there to get lefties out, and has never closed before. David Herndon and Danys Baez have no business still being on this roster.

Another option to close is the Phillies triple A closer, Scott Mathieson. Mathieson has played with the big club before, but the Phillies seem retisant to bring him up for a long period of time for some reason. Mathieson has closer stuff, and an overpowering fastball, and could be the closer of the future for the Phillies.

For more bullpen help, the Yankees just designated Chan Ho Park for assignment, and I don't think there is any reason the Phillies should not go after him, because he would obviously be more welcome on the roster than Baez. Also, along with Mathieson, the Phillies have 2 other triple A bullpen pitchers currently that I think would be much better on the roster than Baez or Herndon. Antonio Bastardo would be that 2nd lefty in the bullpen, and was actually on the playoff roster last season, and I think would be very good as a guy who can get lefties out in big situations. Vance Worley is another guy who I feel like should be in the Phillies bullpen currently, as he can get the job done.

The Phillies will probably wait to waivers to address the bullpen situation, but they will need to not only add a body to the bullpen, but also possibly figure out what they want to do in the 9th inning with a 1 run lead; or there will be more and more heart attacks in the Philadelphia area the more Brad Lidge comes running out of the bullpen.

What To Do With Brad Lidge

Brad Lidge blew his 9th save of the season Tuesday night against the Pirates, in a game that the Phillies really should have won. With the Phillies large lead in the NL East, the actual loss doesn't hurt as much as it does to see Brad Lidge blow another save, and continue to not be able to get batters out. The Phillies went to the 9th down 1 run, and managed to get 2 across off of Pirates closer Matt Capps. For Capps, that was his 4th blown save, to go along with his now 3-7 record, and 6.38 ERA. Those numbers look horrible, but aren't even close to the horrible numbers of Brad Lidge - 9 blown saves, 0-6 record (record isn't really big deal for a closer), 7.33 ERA.

Lidge threw 6 pitches last night, allowed 2 singles, a home run, and threw a wild pitch. Lidge didn't record any outs, and gave up 3 earned runs. If Lidge had to continue pitching until he got 3 outs, he still might be pitching right now. Not only do I think that Brad Lidge had nothing on those pitches, he admitted this after the game, saying that he struggles when he goes out 4 games in a row. In a way, this in Manuel's fault for sending him out there, but Manuel probably wanted to send Lidge out to get some confidence against a crappy Pirates lineup that he should be able to mow down even if he threw 50 days in a row. But he couldn't. And this is officially getting to be ridiculous. Lidge has been the worst closer in baseball this season, and it isn't even close. Late August isn't the time when we can still continue to wait for Lidge to find his stuff, or figure it out in his head, or whatever is going on with him.

These games are going to matter in the playoffs. Again, we can get away with it now with such a big lead, but we won't be able to get away with it come playoff time. We actually have to win 1-run games in the playoffs, and since it is the playoffs, there probably will be many close games we are going to have to hold onto.

I will support whatever decision Manuel makes, but he has to at least do something. If you want to continue to run Lidge out there, then fine, but give him some 1 out saves. If a lefty is starting the inning, start the 9th with Eyre, or Romero when he comes back. Even if a righty is starting, send out Madson, or Park, or Myers when he comes back to start the inning. Manuel could also send Lidge to the 15 day DL if he thinks Lidge needs to re-focus and almost start over when he comes back. Madson or Park could close while Lidge is out, and even possibly Myers if he shows his stuff is nasty when he comes back. Or you could completely demote Lidge, and make Madson, Park, or Myers the closer. This is also risky since it is so close to the end of the season, and a lot of pressure filled games will be coming up. What Manuel will probably do, and what he says he is going to do is continue to ride Lidge out until the end, hoping to have another happy ending to the season like last year.

Let's just hope this doesn't turn into another Mitch Williams incident.

Speaking of Mitch Williams, as if I wasn't mad enough after watching Lidge blow the game, I have to watch Phillies Post Game Live, and listen to Mitch Williams of all people let us all know what Lidge is doing wrong, and what he can do to correct that. Yeah, Mitch is exactly who I want to hear from in this situation... go back to the MLB Network.

Successful Debut for Pedro

Pedro Martinez looked good in his first professional outing in almost a year Wednesday night, and picked up his first major league victory since August 31, 2008. Martinez went 5 innings, allowed 7 hits, and 3 earned runs, struck out 5, and walked 3. He threw 99 pitches, and said he felt good after the game. Martinez threw his fastball in the upper 80s, low 90s, and even hit 93 on the radar gun. He looked comfortable on the mound, and commanded his breaking pitches well. The Cubs were not hitting his off-speed pitches at all, and Pedro was throwing them for strikes, which is a good sign. Pedro should only improve from this point on, as his arm stretches out, and he gets more comfortable with the Phillies, and more comfortable throwing to Ruiz.

As well as Pedro pitched, the offense made it very easy for him in his debut. The Phillies smashed former Notre Dame wide receiver, Jeff Samardzija, for 12 runs in the first 4 innings alone. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, and Raul Ibanez all homered, and every starter had at least 1 hit, including 3 hits from Utley. The Phillies had 3 home runs, 2 triples, one from Howard, and 3 doubles last night. Not only was it a successful debut for Pedro’s first start, it is a very good sign to see the offense finally start to hit. This could mean good things for the offense going forward. I should also mention that Chan Ho Park has been unhittable in the bullpen since he has been there, and that continued last night. It’s amazing how comfortable Chan Ho looks coming out of the pen, as opposed to earlier in the season when he struggled as a starter.

There was an incident in the 5th inning, on a deep sacrifice fly to center, just as Victorino was about to catch the ball, he was doused with a beer thrown from the bleachers. In my opinion, Victorino should have thrown the ball at the punk who did that, but that wouldn’t have solved anything. Not much has been made of this, however, if it were a Phillies fan who did this, it would be getting national attention on how horrible the Philadelphia fans are. But when it is another city’s team, it’s not that big a deal, yet people still bring up things that happened involving us Philly fans from decades past. And yes…. I cheered when Michael Irvin was on the ground injured.

Pitching in a Pitch

The Phillies have regained their spot perched atop the NL East thanks the multiple come from behind victories and always adhering to that never give up attitude. The Phillies—and the fans for that matter—never feel like they’re ever out of a game. They’ve proven that several times this year including a late rally walk-fest against Atlanta in the season’s opening series and a seven run fury against the Marlins weeks later. But relying too heavily on the comeback could be a recipe for disaster.

At its core, a come from behind win is exciting. Watching Ryan Howard or Shane Victorino hit a grand slam to win a game is the kind of thing that makes the Phils fun to watch. But it also means something else. It means that the team was losing. And that is directly attributed to the lackluster starting staff.

Sure the potent line-up—Jimmy Rollins excluded—has provided enough dramatics to keep us fans smiling. And scheduled off days and unscheduled rain outs have kept the bullpen fairly fresh. But over the course of a long summer, sub par pitching won’t hold up. It won’t win a World Series. It won’t win the National League. And it may not even win the Division.

Cole Hamels has an excuse. It may not be a good one, but its an excuse. You can’t blame Hamels for Prince Fielder’s line drive, although he should be able to field a bunt without having to miss a start. We’re now in May, and the rust better start coming off of Hamels fast.

Brett Myers has been nothing short of a disappointment out of the gate. The hefty righty is playing for a contract but you wouldn’t know that by glancing at his bloated ERA. After watching Myers yield long ball after long ball, I sometimes feel like I could take him yard.

Jaimie Moyer is what he is. He’ll give you six innings of 3 or 4 run ball, take it or leave it. Joe Blanton has been like Jekyl and Hyde. He’s has throw three quality starts (ironically the Phils only won one of those games) to go along with several horrendous outings. Heavy B needs to find some consistency and keep us in games.

And Chan Ho may have used up all his good stuff in spring training. He wanted to be a starter so fans back in Korea could watch him pitch. I’m betting he’s wishing they weren’t.

It’s hard to complain when a team is in first place. But if things don’t start coming together, the stay at the top could be short lived. Ibanez, Utley, Howard and Victorino have grabbed all the headlines so far this season. It would be nice to see Myers or Hamels take the spotlight.