Phils bracing for another crippling blow to bullpen

Elbow stiffness threatens to sideline Brad Lidge again.

Following last night’s 9-5 victory, Lidge revealed that he felt stiffness in his right elbow starting Sunday night and lingering through Monday warm-ups. Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel told reporters that they were trying to stay away from using Lidge in the ninth, opting for Jose Contreras instead. Contreras, pitching his third-straight day, would have been lined up for the save, but the Phillies unloaded for four runs in the ninth. Lidge was activated from the disabled list April 30 and has made four appearances, recording his first save on Sunday thanks to two, loud outs that were kept from leaving the yard by a stiff wind.

Beerleaguer: Lidge dealt with elbow inflammation during spring training, receiving a cortisone shot that delayed his return. To my knowledge, Lidge has not gotten a follow-up MRI on his elbow after going under the knife this fall, as it was determined by team physician Michael Ciccotti that the outer elbow soreness was unrelated to surgery.

Comments

[CJ]

I'm shocked. I expected to show up here this morning and seeing some awesome love for Kendrick's performance.

After all, I've learned that when your Washed Up (tm) 5th starter gives up 4 or 5 runs in 6 innings, it's a successful start. That must mean the standard for our 6th starter is something like 5 runs in 5 innings.

Another nice outing by KK and, predictably, no love from Beerleaguer.

[CJ]

One other thing...

You need only go back a couple of days to see that Beerleaguer conventional wisdom was that Castro sucked and that Valdez would be superior to him. At the least, people couldn't understand why Charlie trotted Castro out every game and never gave Valdez a start. Some even suggested when Rollins first went down that Valdez was the clear choice to replace him.

And now? Amazing that Charlie Manuel actually knows more than the people on Beerleaguer. Never would have guessed.

[CJ]

Interesting...

Ryan Howard 5 HR, 21 RBI, 104 OPS+
Prince Fielder 4 HR, 15 RBI, 109 OPS+
Mark Teixiera 6 HR, 22 RBI, 104 OPS+ (And that's after hitting 4 home runs over the last three games.)

Slow starts for three of those big-bopping first basemen. Of course... still beats Mets superstar cleanup hitter Jason Bay:
1 HR, 14 RBI, 97 OPS+

At least he's surpassed injured Juan Castro (10 RBI) in the RBI race!

[CJ]

Jose Contreras could end up being Amaro's best off-season signing. His arm is electric and with his big game experience and veteran savvy (there should be a stat for that), I could definitely see him filling our closer role for the rest of the year if needed.

[phlipper]

"Another nice outing by KK and, predictably, no love from Beerleaguer."

Please explain how pitching at a 6.00 ERA pace is a "nice outing."

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Kendrick did a nice job saving the bullpen which, as it turns out, was a man short on top of Durbin's unavailability. I was surprised he came out for the 6th inning given some of his recent history but, he got the job done. That balked in tying run was maddening but, to his credit, he didn't unravel after that. That's a tough park to pitch in and they were throwing lefty after lefty at him (and they were licking their chops).

Contreras has been stellar. Has he even walked anyone yet? If my memory's correct, that was his third appearance in a row. If Lidge isn't able to go tonight, who's the closer? (suggested answer: Roy Halladay).

[phlipper]

Please explain how being lifted after six innings qualifies as "saving the bullpen."

[Doc]

I just hope the Phillies have learned their lesson from last year and don't monkey around with Lidge. Don't send him out there if he isn't 101% healthy. We've seen what happens when you don't.

[J. Weitzel]

Doc: Couldn't agree more.

[Dukes]

Once again, people on here blinded by offense. If the Phillies score only 4 or 5 runs the reality of KK's pitching sets in...he would have gotten the loss that he deserved. Of course a win makes every pitching performance rosey. How anyone can watch last night's game and say KK did a good job I'll never know.

[J. Weitzel]

Contreras walked his first batter Saturday.

[clout]

flipper: I sure wouldn't call it a nice outing. But here's something you don't know: The average ERA of a 5th starter in the NL last season was above 6.00. Thus, Kendrick's outing was above average for a 5th starter. Given that KK is the team's 6th starter, that is a good thing not a bad thing.

Of course we all wish our 5th starter had a 3.50 ERA. In fact, you and most other posters here demand it. But reality is reality.

A more interesting question is what will happen with Romero. I was at Saturday's game and he looked as uncomfortable on the mound as anyone I've ever seen. His effort last night speaks for itself. While I doubt Bastardo will become the superstar closer Jack predicts he'll be, you do wonder how long Amaro will put up with this before he makes what looks like the logical move.

[awh]

CJ, LOL.

Still, I don't know if it was BL 'conventional wisdom' that Valdez should get the nod over Castro.

Though I do remember certain posters taking positions in favor of Valdez. They know who they are.

Valdez has stunk. However, he's even been worse than his lifetime numbers, so my guess he's in a funk, and this is what it looks like when a AAAA player goes into a funk.

Castro getting into the game last night is a good sign, and reports are that Jimmy is getting closer.

As much as some here on BL need a whipping boy, I still wan't Valdez to hit well while he's here. It helps the team.

(unapologetic repost)

[phlipper]

"Given that KK is the team's 6th starter, that is a good thing not a bad thing."

So what you're saying, clout, is that KK belongs in the minor leagues, not the major leagues. In that, I agree with you. And I'm glad to see that you've come around to finally admitting that, after years of mistakenly thinking that KK is major league material.

It's nice to see, after so many opportunities to have done so, you are finally willing to admit it when you were wrong.

[J. Weitzel]

The Phillies simply don't have better options than KK and have determined that Nelson Figueroa, who isn't better anyway, will stay in the bullpen. The biggest gap right now is between Kendrick and what they have in the minors. Huge gap compared to where KK stands next to comrades in the rotation.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

phlipper - I'm obviously damning Kendrick with faint praise. I had low expectations with Kendrick against that lineup, in that park. Four runs/ six innings is adequate in that situation. If the bullpen had to give them another inning, we'd have seen Figueroa and, that's not something I relish. He has a little more movement than Kendrick but, he's no great shakes. I'm saddened that he's our swingman at this point. As for the game result, but for some atrocious fielding by Colorado, that game's a tossup or a loss. As it was, they survived a lefty who tied up their big guns thanks to Ruiz, Victorino and, to his minimal credit, Kendrick.

[CJ]

More fun comparisons... remember the search for the Phils next 3B?

Polanco
300/324/462, 105 OPS+, 5 HR, 18 RBI
Beltre
325/359/450, 114 OPS+, 2 HR, 19 RBI
Tejada
284/331/440, 109 OPS+, 4 HR, 13 RBI
Figgins
185/326/241, 61 OPS+, 0 HR, 7 RBI
DeRosa
194/326/241, 42 OPS+, 1 HR, 10 RBI

What does this say? I think we are getting from Polanco what we thought we would regarding BA. The OBP is a little lower than expected but the slugging is higher than any season in his career. Polanco's 5 HR are just 2 fewer than the other 4 FA candidates combined. He hasn't hit more than 10 HRs in a season since the last time he was with Philly in 2004 (17 HR).

Figgins has been a massive disappointment, but he has stolen 8 bases, so there's that. Beltre is having a solid season, although I think many predicted more power than he's shown so far. DeRosa is also terrible. And Tejada may be back on the juice... I'm just sayin'!

[Hugh Mulcahy]

oh, and since I'm passing out credit, should add JOse C., Utley and Manuel to the list of significant contributors.

Is it me, or have pitchers managed to pitch Utley tight at least once an at bat but, failed to hit him all year? Hard to believe if true, especially given our staff's recent proclivity to hand out one pitch walks.

[awh]

clout, stop making sense about 5th starters. It will confuse too many here.

I've posted this before, but for some reason many just don't get it.

These are the numbers from Jeff Sackman's HT study on average ERA for starters by rotation spot:

Lg_______#1______#2______#3______#4______#5
MLB.....3.60....4.14....4.58....5.10....6.24
AL......3.70....4.24....4.58....5.09....6.22
NL......3.51....4.04....4.57....5.11....6.26

BTW, clout, weren't you one of the posters who said Valdez wouldn't be a step down from Castro?

[J. Weitzel]

As for not making KK the topic of the header, sometimes, a start is just a start.

[PhillyJoe]

I'll join the KK side of this argument. As long as your number 5 (#6?) starter gives you a 50/50 chance to win the game we should consider it successful.

KK is used as a #5 starter, paid like a number 5 starter and performs like a #5 starter.

Whats the problem?

[curt]

"The biggest gap right now is between Kendrick and what they have in the minors."

Wait a minute. Rube dumped a Cy Young pitcher specifically to restock the minors. How's that working out?

[CJ]

The funniest part of last thread... Jack suggesting that KK is holding Bastardo's roster spot.

Huh?

If Happ were healthy, KK would likely be in AAA or Figueroa would be DFAed. Either way, Bastardo doesn't fit into that equation at all.

[phlipper]

So, some teams' 5th starters have ERAs above 6.00. And some teams 5th starter have ERAs below 6.00. And that means that we should all be happy that KK is the Phils 5th starter?

Having KK at the 5th spot in the rotation won't kill the team. But fortunately, when Happ returns KK will be the 6th starter in a 5 starter rotation.

[awh]

Dukes, I don't think KK did a "good" job last night. He did, however, do an "adequate" job.

According to ESPN Coors is the second highest 'scoring' park in MLB this season, was #1 last season, #3 in '07 and '08, #2 in '06, and '05.

It seems that it's always in the top 3, even with the humidifier.

But don't let the fact that it's a tough place for any pitcher influence your opinion of how well any pitcher does.

P.S. The 'Zen is #17 this season....so far.

[aweh]

CJ, Beltre has 7 errors on the season already. That stinks.

So far, Polanco has been the better pickup. (And I was a Beltre advocate.)

[EastFallowfield]

"Blinded by offense"....Phils should score 4 or more in that park vs that starter. You don't have to win a pitcher's duel in MLB every day.

[awh]

EF, good point, good post.

[awh]

Think the Phillies have pitching problems?

This from philly.com about Boston's #1:

"Beckett is 1-1 with a 7.46 ERA in seven starts and has allowed at least seven earned runs in three of his last four outings."

Thank God for Roy Halladay!

[awh]

" At Boston, Brandon Morrow (2-3) set a Toronto Blue Jays record by walking five batters in one inning as the Red Sox scored four runs in the second and went on to a 7-6 win." (philly.com)

I guess we should be happy we didn't get him for Cliff Lee?

[Jack]

So, putting aside how good Kendrick was or wasn't last night, the real question is with Happ still out for an extended period of time it looks like, are people comfortable with Kendrick being the 5th starter for the foreseeable future, or should Ruben be trying to get someone else?

Personally, I'd be on the phone with Pedro or Jarrod Washburn to see if they're in shape and how much they'd cost. If healthy and ready, both these guys would project to be better than Kendrick.

[Greg V.]

This Phillies fan says it's time to trade for Kevin Millwood!

[J. Weitzel]

I don't know that I'd do anything at this point. They're winning, and their farm system is thin.

[Terry Harmon]

At shortstop, at least Valdez is making all of the plays as he hits under .200. If Ibanez was out, Francisco would have to hit .260 and make all of the plays to be the equivalent below league average player.

[thephaithful]

I was one of the posters pulling for Valdez to make the team over Castro so I'll def chalk that up in my L column.

[thephaithful]

jack: It may be too confident of a stance to take, but I really wouldn't make a move for an extra starter that wouldn't be considered a postseason starter on this team. I think our team is built to win plenty of games with our current set of injuries to take home the NL East. If another set of injuries went down, then maybe i'd change my mind.

[Lake Fred]

I'm just glad the Phillies are winning. I'm still amazed about Geezer's MLB record for oldest pitcher pitching a 2 hit CG shutout. To me, that's more amazing than the Perfect Game, thrown in the other league on Sunday.

I'm glad we beat the Rox. I hate these late western time zones games. I fell asleep when it was 5 to 5.

[MG]

CJ - No one was calling for Valdez to be the clear starter. I did want to see if he would give the Phils a bit of a lift if Valdez got a start or two considering Castro had been mired in a 4-31 slump and had made a couple of defensive gaffes the past 10 days or so before he got hurt.

Valdez has started 5 games and hasn't hit a lick. So back to the bench he goes.

[MadMax]

Interesting tidbit of useless information, 30+ games into the year and the Washington Nationals have a losing record against only 1 team (the Phils of course). They have played .500 ball or better against all manner of teams including the Braves, Dodgers, Marlins, Rockies and Mets. I don't have any idea if they are good enough to go the rest of the year at .500, but nice little turn around down there so far this year.

[R.Billingsly]

Agree with Jason. Now is not the time to panic and start trying to plug holes. This team is 8 games over .500 (playing at a .625 clip) without their lead-off hitting SS, their back-up SS, closer, LOOGY, #4 starter, back-up catcher, and only 2 starts out of their #3 starter due to injury. There are no answers in the farm, so until something extremely drastic happens, or they begin to lose, what's the point of making a move of any significance?

The difference between this team and others is that when they have injuries to significant players (NOTE: not all in the above list are "significant players"), they are still able to win ballgames. They don't make excuses like other NL East teams do when they have injuries and come up short in the end. They go out, play hard and win ballgames.

[Bay Slugga]

I suppose that elbow stiffness is better than elbow pain at this point. I'd shut him down until at least the weekend. Let him throw a bullpen on the off day (Thursday), and then evaluate his status for the series against the Brewers.

Lidge still doesn't have many innings under his belt since the surgery (I'd say about 15), so maybe he is stil stretching out.

I'd say I'm slightly concerned at this point.

[MG]

So much criticism directed to KK who was mediocre on a tough with a fairly tough strike zone yet not a word on Romero who was lousy again last night.

I know the Phils need to see what they have with Romero but hard way to do when it appears he isn't healthy.

Phils have been snake-bit with injuries here in the early going a bit. Funny how the one guy I didn't think was going to be able to help them much this year was Moyer until I saw him in Spring Training. Came back ahead of schedule, was in great shape as usual, and pitched pretty well.

[JK]

I don't get all the hating on Kendrick. Is Kendrick a good pitcher? No, of course not. But who is saying he is? So far this season, he's been a serviceable, league average fifth starter. Is this really worth complaining about?

[Dukes]

EF - when I say "blinded by offense" I'm not talking about how much the Phillies should score. I'm talking about how we view starts by a pitcher...if the pitcher gives up a ton of runs and the team wins we are prone to say, "he did well, he kept them in the game." If a pitcher gives up three over 7 or something like that and we lose 3-2 we are more prone to nit pick at the pitcher's performance. Therefore, we get "blinded by the offense." Rockies don't make a billion errors last night and it's a much closer game and more people are slamming KK today.

[MG]

JW - Agreed. The Phils just have to largely play the hand they have been dealt. One thing I am glad this team did though was add another couple of veterans in the pen (Baez, Contreras) later in the offseason. Without them, this bullpen would '07 redux right now. Instead it has enough pieces to at least be competent although that will get tested if Lidge goes down again.

Every year on here you get a contingent that argues for just coming up with basically whatever they can find to round out the bullpen vs. signing some veteran guys for the pen. I almost inevitably fall in the later especially if it is a veteran guy like Contreras who you can sign for a year.

Yeah you have to spend some bucks to do it but if he stinks you can also be done with by July because you have no long-term commitment.

One thing the Phils have been pretty good at the last few years is finding veterans (especially converted veteran starters now in the pen) who have really helped this team.

It was just too bad the Phils couldn't sign a veteran LOOGY but it is the one thing this bullpen is clearly lacking right now.

[Dukes]

JK - "hating" is a strong way to put it. People get all bent out of shape when we criticize our own players. I don't think anyone hates KK, they just don't think he's that good of a pitcher.

[ozark]

At least JC didn't screw up his elbow last night after he slammed his glove against the wall in the dugout. Or did he? Meanwhile, Mathieson is pitching his way to the big club.

[PhillyJoe]

he's NOT that good of a pitcher, which is why he's the SIXTH starter.

[Gsl]

You guys are miserable. A great win last night and you are all whining because our 6th starter and third shortstop aren't all-stars like you wanted. Mommy!

I'll take that start from Kendrick at Coors Field and wasn't Valdez an inmportant part of the most curcial defensive play of the game?

[denny b.]

Mathieson and Bastardo will be big parts of this bullpen by August. Maybe even earlier now.

I'd hate to see Lidge go down again now. He actually looked good again early this season.

[Jack]

JW: I agree I wouldn't make a big trade from the system. I just thought if Pedro or Washburn were sitting out there and wanted to come in for a couple million bucks, it's just money, not prospects, and they'd probably both be an upgrade, right?

Just a thought.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

JK: I agree with Dukes on KK. Adding, I think people are so dug in on supporting/opposing KK as a ML starter that they can't see the other side of the argument. See CJ's(who I typically agree with) first post.

Reading BL the day after a good or bad KK outing can be a hard thing to do.

[Greg V.]

They were saying during pregame that Mathieson has been getting shelled lately and showed him having a 7+ ERA. Then I checked his numbers and they still have him at 0.61. Not sure which is correct.

[denny b.]

"Rube dumped a Cy Young pitcher specifically to restock the minors. How's that working out?"

Better then Seattle bringing in a big dollar pitcher, to pitch for a crap team. At least we got 3 young players for a guy who wasn't going to be here much longer.

We couldn't afford to keep Lee, once we got Doc. Why is that so hard for some to figure?

The team is in 1st place and one of the best teams in baseball. Again.

[Gsl]

Also, no one wants to talk about Chooch?! What a game! It gets overlooked because of Gload's homer but in addition to going 4-5 Chooch had a clutch game tying homerun and the clutch game winning hit in the ninth.

Instead of enjoying that lets all be snot nosed brats and cry about Kendrick.

[Jim/JJ]

Shifting gears a bit, I had to look at the calendar to make sure it wasn't Choochtober. Chooch is on fire - great game last night.

With the shreading of the bullpen, I think Mathieson becomes an increasingly interesting option. I know Bastardo is the next to get the call, but let's hope Mathieson is working diligently on his command and can help this team later this season (if needed).

Finally, Romero looked terrible - again. He's not an effective MLB pitcher right now. I don't care if it's not enough work or lingering injuries, I don't want him in the game in a tight spot right now.

[Jack]

MG: Plenty of people have talked about Romero. He looks awful right now, and shouldn't be out there.

Rube has to find a way to get Bastardo back up here. I mean, when you've got a lights-out lefty closer who brings the stuff of Santana to the bullpen, you've gotta do it, right?

[Cipper]

I also don't understand all the KK bashing. Is he an amazing pitcher? Obviously, NO. But he's only 25 years old, and the second youngest player on the active roster. How many starting pitchers that are 25 years old have 25 or more wins, or a career ERA of 4.80 on a contending team?

He's clearly not Cole, but he could be following a similar path that Happ did, except KK is getting his bumps and bruises at the Major League level.

[J. Weitzel]

I wouldn't sign Pedro right now, either.

[Cipper]

I want to clarify, I'm not saying there are NO other 25 yr old pitchers with 25 wins or more, I'm just saying I don't think it's a common thing to see, especially with a team that has been contending the last few years.

[EastFallowfield]

So, looking at MadMax's post, do our wins against the Natinals count now?

[MG]

denny b - Lidge has only appeared in 4 games (3 1/3 IP) so hard to make any conclusions either way.

Problem is that without him you can't use the combo of Contreras/Durbin/Baez in the 7th/8th innings.

[MG]

Biggest difference between this year & last year at this time has been Halladay. Phils just didn't have a single starter who pitched well last year through the first 6 weeks of the season. This year, they have Halladay. Replace him with a Myers-type starter, maybe this team is 17-15 or so.

[Old Phan]

"if the pitcher gives up a ton of runs and the team wins we are prone to say, "he did well, he kept them in the game."

That's his job.

[Dukes]

"You guys are miserable. A great win last night and you are all whining..."

I'm not miserable at all...I'm stoked about this team...20-12 is awesome and not a day goes by when I don't realize that we are living in maybe the best era of Phillies baseball ever. Having said that, I also enjoy critiquing our players - it's fun and not a miserable exercise. I have no inside anger or clinical depression that I'm projecting on KK, I don't hate him or wish him ill will, I just don't think he's going to be a major league pitcher much longer. I could be wrong, it's just my opinion. My point - even with how good this team is we're still allowed to critique our players without being called miserable.

And good point on Chooch...how did we overlook that? The guy is 1st in on base % and 3rd in batting avg. Just awesome.

[Old Phan]

Chooch is quietly becoming a true hitter. Stay tuned,

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Consider me against a Pedro Part Deux signing, unless there are no other options. I think they did well with him last year, but based on my less than substantial gut, hitting the jackpot again isn't likely. I've never been high on reunion tours.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

In the meaningless stats dept: Acc. to the Colorado broadcast crew, Kyle Kendrick has the third highest winning percentage (.625) in Phillies history for players who have started at least 50 games. JC Romero ruined his ascent up that ladder last night. First on teh list, Grover Cleveland Alexander with a record of something like 210-90. Second, some guy who started for two seasons in the early 1910s. (Tom Seaton). Looked him up - record of 43-24 (.641).

[Old Phan]

I guess KK is blinded by the offense, too.

[thephaithful]

Chooch is the man, walkoffs and tie breaker RBIs all day baby!

[Kutztown Fan]

My cable system doesn't get the step-child Comcast channel that broadcast the Phils' game last night, so I couldn't watch the game. So I watched MLB-TV instead. I love that channel. Last night they should a live feed of Jose Reyes tantrum that got him tossed. Wow. What a baby. If I heard correctly, Wright got tossed earlier in the game. Wright? Doesn't seem like the type.

My point - I know it's human nature to complain, but we Phillies' fans have it pretty damn good right now. Instead of complaining about our 6th pitcher starting a game the Phils won, we could be complaining about our 3rd baseman and short stop getting tossed from a very close game for arguing with the umps.

[Kutztown Fan]

Correction: "Last night they SHOWED a live feed..."

Sorry about that.

[Mike Murphy]

i have no ill will towards KK but i mean c'mon, the guy's not going to be in the rotation when Happ comes back, period. Their not demoting the 47 year old complete game pitcher or Big Joe.

I think Kendrick could be a very good no 3 or 4 pitcher at some point in his career, but he needs to work on the mental part of his game as much as his stuff. Last night, he looked rattled every time a he gave up a hit. That balk wasn't out of nowhere, after he gave up that hit he didn't want to pitch the ball to the next batter and kind of sort of looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Maybe i'd be to if i was in his position, I don't know. But to say to 5 earned runs is a good start is pretty hard to argue.

[Robby J]

20-12 and is Chooch becoming Yadier-esque? Relax all, J-Roll will be here soon . How long is Happ out? Did the tight-lipped Phils ever say? Funny thing how they treat injury reports--- almost as if the injured guy will run on the field and the trainer yells SURPRISE!! at the opposing team. Tricky Phillies...

[Cipper]

Kutztown... I had the same issue when I went to college in Allentown... I made the best of it by picking up 1210 on the radio and downing some lions head on the front porch...

[Sophist]

Kendrick was just adequate last night. He did a serviceable job, limiting free passes and keeping the ball in the (spacious yard) and keeping most balls on the ground.

In his career, when he allows 0 HR, 2 BB or less, and throws at least 50 strikes, he's allowed 43 R in 120 IP (3.22 RA, 19 starts). Given that 2B and 3B sorta replace HR in that park, if you just look at the starts in that set where he allowed 2 or more 2B, he's allowed 31 R in 68.1 IP (4.09 RA, 11 starts).

He didn't have his best stuff last night. He struck no one out. He had a mental lapse and allowed a run on a balk. I have no problem with what the Phils are getting from Kendrick and don't think there's a better, easily available option. In his last 5 starts his ERA is 3.77.

[roto]

If valdez sees continued playing time, would it make sense to move him to the number seven spot? I hate having two guaranteed outs in a row at the eighth and ninth spot. If you move him to the seventh spot and he comes up with less than two outs you can have him bunt a runner over. You can't do that with him in the eight hole. Also with having chooch hit behind him, he may see some better pitches to hit.

[Brian G]

6 innings and 4 runs from your 5th starter at Coors Field is a very good result. Didn't give our bullpen a night off but certainly did his part in eating up some innings.

[bay_area_phan]

Kendrick was fine last night. He threw strikes and had a 2:1 ground ball ratio. He wasn't great but, in Coors Field, 6 innings, 4 runs allowed is a decent outing.

[Sophist]

Team pitching thru 32 games

06: 18-14, 285 IP, 1.491 WHIP, 161 R, 4.61 ERA, 6.88 K9
07: 14-18, 286 IP, 1.440 WHIP, 160 R, 4.69 ERA, 7.55 K9
08: 18-14, 290 IP, 1.362 WHIP, 137 R, 3.76 ERA, 6.08 K9
09: 16-16, 287 IP, 1.498 WHIP, 173 R, 5.36 ERA, 6.80 K9
10: 20-12, 286 IP, 1.300 WHIP, 125 R, 3.74 ERA, 6.67 K9

The Phils still have the lowest relief IP in the NL.

[Kutztown Fan]

Cipper - Too damn cold last night to sit outside. :-) I thought about 1210, but then realized that I don't have an AM radio!! What the..? I contemplated sitting in my car and listening.

[GTown_Dave]

Lidge played hurt for most of '09, even as the team swore up, down & sideways that he wasn't injured. Both he & Romero have been returned to action in '10 "100% healthy" ... except, as we just found out RE: Lidge, not so much. The Phillies continue to dick around w/ Happ, having him long toss w/ an arm that, by most all accounts, isn't getting any healthier. Perhaps it's time the Philadelphia Phillies look into getting themselves a new Team Physician.

[Sophist]

Just in terms of RS, the Phils are having their best offensive year since 06 as well.

06: 160
07: 158
08: 150
09: 174
10: 174

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Kendrick didn't give the pen a night off but, I'm not sure that we had 4 innings out there unless they used Figueroa last night. I fear Figgy at Coors so, I was very pleased he made it through 6.

[Sophist]

PHILADELPHIA -- Back in February, when the Phillies still had highlights of the 2008 World Series running through their heads, the club talked about what it would take to win back-to-back championships.

They put health atop their list. The Phillies needed to stay healthy, because they knew they had the talent.

And they were mostly healthy in 2009. Baseball Prospectus said the Phillies lost 546 days to injury this season, which were the third-fewest days of any team in baseball. They also lost $11.523 million to injuries. Considering a payroll that finished around $140 million, the club did a good job of keeping its high-priced talent on the field.

That was why Baseball Prospectus recently gave the Dick Martin Award, which it presents to the best medical staff in baseball, to the Phillies: a staff that includes head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan, assistant athletic trainer Mark Andersen, strength and conditioning coordinator Dong Lien and team physician Michael Ciccotti.

[GTown_Dave]

Sophist: And that proves ... ? A good way to not lose days to injury is by running guys out there hurt.

[Noah]

It may prove that a good way to determine whether or not the training staff made a good decision about "running guys out there hurt" is to evaluate the results of the season which was winning a pennant.

[Sophist]

The health of the team and, just as important, the management of the injuries they did have helped the Phillies get to baseball's pinnacle in both seasons. Facing challenges like their star player having an untested surgery, keeping a struggling pitcher healthy enough to stay on the mound, monitoring the workload of their young ace, and integrating new players with their own injury histories, the Phillies kept their team on the field and productive throughout the 2009 season.

Of course, this isn't a fluke. The Phillies three-year and five-year averages for both days and dollars lost to the DL are among the many reasons this team is taking home the trophy this season. In just the third year after taking over from long-time trainer Jeff Cooper, Sheridan's staff is a relatively new one, but it's already considered one of the best in the business. Sheridan was able to hold on to the rehab successes that Cooper's reputation was built on while focusing on prevention and injury management.

The award also has a three- and five-year average component to it. After we look at those five numbers, I sit down with six of my top medical advisors and see if we can come to a consensus, which was relatively easy this year.

[Matt]

Kutztown Fan, pony up twenty bucks and get MLB Gameday Audio and listen to any game the whole year.

[MG]

This is an awesome story that anyone who ever played baseball (even in Little League) can relate to:

How to break in a new glove

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=caple_jim&id=5173365

Personally I have always enjoyed Caple. Worth a read.

[GTown_Dave]

Sophist: You are absolutely entitled to have your own opinion on the matter.

[curt]

As the starters move away from age 30 the medical staff is going to get dumber.

[Sophist]

Gtown - What the hell are you talking about? Of course I am.

[Kutztown Fan]

20 bucks? I guess I can afford that. Thanks, Matt.

[GTown_Dave]

Sophist: You could even type it up & post it if you'd like.

[Sophist]

Gtown - Are you a medical expert? Have you evaluated Happ? I'm going by objective criteria. What's the basis of your opinion? Bill Conlin?

What gets lost in all the complaining about how the Phils handle guys like Romero are success cases. It's pretty easy to complain about Romero and forget that the Phils got a full year out of Utley last year.

[R.Billingsly]

MG: Thanks for the link. Fun read.

Personally, I went with the ol' put a ball in the palm and wrap it tight with twine, and play catch as often as possible method. The microwave method is interesting, though. Have to give it a shot sometime. And you can't beat Griffey's ("I send them to my dad and he does it for me.")

[jr]

Last report on Mathieson
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=455949

[R.Billingsly]

Mathieson's line looks pretty impressive to me. When does he make his first Phils appearance? September?

[Sophist]

Happ isn't being run out there injured. In fact, he's on the DL.