Finally the Bell Tolls

That frustrating but forgiving moment on opening day when we all found out that Chase Utley wasn't actually the full-time 2nd baseman has finally come around. We all remember when Manuel decided that Polanco should get his fair share of at bats, certainly a worthy cause given his productivity in recent years, but coming at the cost of playing time for Utley just didn't sit well with many Phillies fans. We have been conditioned to believe that Utley is the next Jeff Kent, and his track record backs that up so far. But, we gave Charlie a pass and said let's see what happens with this platoon thing.

Almost a month into the season, the results of the platoon are:
Polanco .268 / 0HR / 6RBI / 0SB / 8R
Utley .289 / 2HR / 8RBI / 0SB / 6R
Bell .221 / 1HR / 9RBI / 0SB / 7R

All very similar numbers with the exception of batting average. However, Utley has done it with 11 fewer at bats than Polanco and 32 fewer at bats than Bell.

So, this brings up tonights game where Polanco got the start at 3rd base and Utley at 2nd. This could be a harbinger of things to come. Certainly Polanco can put up about the same numbers as Bell, just look at their track records, and are they that much different defensively? Don't get me wrong, I love Bell's attitude and clubhouse presence, but if he isn't producing at the plate, why not go with Polanco there. And really, shouldn't that be the platoon. Let's give Utley a chance to play everyday, if he isn't able to handle it, then we can put Polanco back in there, however, the crystal ball says if you give Utley his 500+ at bats he will put up Kent-esque numbers. Certainly a 25HR / 85RBI campaign isn't too much of a reach for the kid. That would put him in the top 5 in all of baseball for second basemen.

So, finally we see Utley start a game in which Polanco is also playing. Hopefully there will be more of that to come. Of course, the Phillies win the game tonight thanks in part to Bell's pinch hit that scored Bobby Abreu for an insurance run. Utley, he was 0-4, but Loaiza threw like his 2003 self, so that's not very telling.

Let's see what Friday brings. Hopefully more Utley in the lineup, and a Fish beating.

Floyd Phollow-Up

As predicted, the Phillies made the right choice in sending Gavin Floyd back to the minors. Manuel has realized the error of his decision, and to his credit, reversed his thought process based on the facts. As MLB.com reported..."I want him to go down there and get his stuff back, and he'll be fine," said Manuel. "He's got a future with us. He's going to be with us a long time. I think it's just a matter of him going down there and pitching." It's good to see that Manuel doesn't have an ego about these things; many managers might have stuck with the guy and tried to get him to pitch through his problems, and caused even worse damage.

Though I suppose it couldn't have been much worse. Gavin racked up a 31.91 ERA in his 3 2/3 innings of relief. That's a whopping 13 runs. It's clear he wasn't comfortable in the roll.

Given that AAA was the original plan before the bullpen experiment, hopefully he will get himself back on track and be back up with the big club the next time he is needed. It says here that we will see him again this year. While it would be nice for the starting 5 to avoid injury, the reality is that someone is likely to go down, even if it is for a short stint.

By the way, Padilla looked much better in his second start off of the DL. Hopefully he is getting back to his former self and can give the Phils 20 or so quality starts.

What the Phl*#$@yd?

Ok, after seeing Gavin Floyd implode in both of his 2 stints out of the bullpen, isn't it time to stop this experiment? I understand the thinking of keeping your best pitchers in the majors, but can't we agree that Gavin's ascention to the "future ace of the staff" is taking a turn for the worse by pitching out of the bullpen. It's certainly not his fault, he has conditioned himself to be a starter. Whether it's due to the shorter warm-up time, or the mental preparation of coming into a game to mop up, it's just not working out.

It's important to remember that Floyd only made the big league squad because of Padilla's injury, and a strong spring training. The plan all along was to send him back to the minors for more seasoning. Management seemed to already know that he needed fine tuning, so why make him toil in mop up work in the majors. Can't the Phillies find other options for this. Options that don't mortgage the future of the club.

Hopefully the damage done to this young man's confidence is reversible. Please send him to the minors now! I for one would much rather see Floyd fine tuning in the minors rather than taking his lumps in the bigs. Once the inevitable DL stint comes into play for one of the everyday starters, don't we want him ready to go 6 strong innings. He's certainly shown the capability to be a quality starter, so let him mature into that role.

Look for Gavin's demotion to AAA tomorrow and consider it a blessing. For the good of the club, he needs to continue progressing as planned.