The Phillies are in desperate need of some relief. What happened to the team's relief pitching this year? Coming into spring training, the Phillies looked like they had one of the deepest bullpens in the game with Wagner, Worrell, Madson, Cormier and Adams. If the Phillies had a lead in the 7th inning, they weren't supposed to loose a game. So what's up with these guys, is it just a run of bad luck, or are we in for a painful season of 6-7-8 innings.
Let's break them down:
Billy Wagner
So far, he's been great. With the injuries seemingly behind him, the 9th inning has become the Sandman's time to shine. With the exception of an 8th inning home run to Derrick Lee at Wrigley, Wagner has been perfect. He hasn't allowed a run in the 9th inning this year, so if we can get a lead going into the 9th, things are safe.
Tim Worrell
In the second game of the season, Worrell gave up 4 runs to the Nationals, since then, the crowds at Citizens Bank Ballpark have been relentless resulting in him giving up runs in 7 of his 14 appearances. A heafty 9.82 ERA. This has caused Worrell to ask for "time off" and he is blaming the crowd for the added stress. Philly is a tough place for any player to work through a slump, but he seems to have taken it especially hard. This is a guy who hasn't had an ERA over 4.00 this millenium, so it's tough to see him struggling. It's rumored that he is a possible trade candidate (possibly back to the Giants). This would be a shame, as Worrell has been one of the more dependable relievers in the game the past 4 years. It's tough to place the blame of a season on one person's shoulders, but if the Phils had the reliable Worrell setting things up, they would probably be above .500 right now.
Ryan Madson
He started out shaky at the beginning of the season bringing up fears of the dreaded sophomore slump (see Marlon Byrd). But since then, he's been the Phillies most dependable arm out of the pen (after Wagner), not giving up a run since April 20th. It's starting to look like last year was for real, and with Worrell hurt, he may become the permanent set-up man.
Rheal Cormier
A questionable re-signing this offseason, Cormier was really only considered to be a leftie specialist. So far he has been hit or miss, and being needed in more innings than a specialist should have to be needed in. For the season, Cormier has a .231 BAA vs. lefties and .375 vs. righties. He should definitely only be used in an inning where 2 or more lefties are due up, or do the old come-in-for-1-out-then-replace-him routine. In that role he could be more effective, the problem is with the other arms the Phillies are depending on in the tweener innings (that would be the innings between the starter and wagner) requiring him to be run out to the mound more than he should be.
Terry Adams
The very questionable signing of Adams was supposedly bringing in a quality veteran arm to the middle innings of games where he could excel. Remember in 2001 when this guy was signed to be the Phillies ace? Those were dark days indeed. Since then he has been put back into the pen and done ok, but certainly nothing special. This year, he's getting torched nearly every time out. His last 2 outings he has totaled 2/3 of an inning and 8 earned runs...8 EARNED runs! and needless to say 2 very bad losses to the Brewers and Mets, not exactly offensive juggernauts. Let's not throw this guy for awhile, we really need to win some games. The way Adams is pitching, he is best suited for mop up duty or perhaps an outright release.
The Others
The Gavin Floyd experiment went awry and put a couple of games out of reach for the Phillies. Liriano has been generally inaffective. Fultz and Geary look pretty good, but aren't used in key situations. All of this has lead to 5 outright losses and too many blown saves. Why can't the starters stay in a little longer. Lidle has been pulled in his last 2 starts only to get a no-decision and a loss thanks to the bullpen. Both starts where he was cruising, possibly a career night against the Brewers even. At least the Phillies won the game against the Cubs after pulling Lidle early. One bit of advice to Manuel, keep the starter in a little longer if they are pitching strong and are under 100 pitches. Don't make the same mistakes Bowa made by going to the pen way too early, that only results in the relief pitchers being worn out by the All-Star break.
The Phillies are desperate for relief, especially from proven arms like Cormier (in a specialist role) and Worrell (if he plans on coming back at all). Maybe with the Reds in town for a 4 game set, they can be the relief we need. Let's just say we need to win 3 out of 4 at home with the Cardinals and Orioles coming up next. That 40 game mark is coming up soon (next Tuesday to be exact), and it will be interesting to hear what Manuel has to say if they haven't won a few more games by then.
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