Philadelphia's sports attention is focused primarily on the Stanley Cup run
of the Philadelphia Flyers, with the Phillies lack of offense and fall from
first place in the NL East running a close second. Actually, the Phillies should
be thankful that the Flyers are captivating the Philadelphia faithful, because
otherwise, the Phillies would be getting scoured on local sports talk radio and
in the newspapers and blogs around the City of Brotherly Love.
What's gone unnoticed has been the work that the Phillies formerly
beleaguered bullpen has turned in during the team's recent fall from grace.
While the Phillies are just 2-9 over their last 11 games and hitting at a horrid
.197 pace over those games, the bullpen has turned in strong performances and a
combined ERA of 3.30 in 30 innings of work. And when you consider that all of
those innings have come without the presence of Ryan Madson, who is on the DL
with a broken big toe, and only one of those innings has come from Brad Lidge,
who has just returned after his second trip to the DL this season, the work of
the bullpen has been especially impressive.
The Phillies signing of Danys Baez and Jose Contreras during the winter was
seen as somewhat of a blunder at the time. Surely, these two aging stalwarts
couldn't contribute much to the Phillies bullpen which was in desperate need of
a rebuilding, but both have pitched well for the Phillies this season in
somewhat of a return to form for both. Contreras, who has successfully made the
conversion from being a starter, even took over the role of closer with both
Lidge and Madson on the DL and did a nice job for the club back in the days when
they actually needed a closer. Contreras converted all three of his save
opportunities and has a 1.08 ERA in 19 games this season as a reliever. Baez has
pitched in 24 games and while his season stats aren't as good as Contreras -
2-1, 3.91 ERA - he currently has a string of ten innings without allowing a run.
David Herndon, a rule five addition from the Los Angeles Angels, has
struggled at times throughout the season, but has quietly become a dependable
arm out of the bullpen for manager Charlie Manuel. Over his last ten
appearances, Herndon has an ERA of just 1.59 and he's recorded three groundball
outs for every flyball out, thanks to his rather wicked sinker which comes in
very handy at Citizens Bank Park. That sinker is exactly the reason why the
Phillies selected Herndon from the Angels and after struggling to adjust to
major league hitters early on - Herndon had an ERA just over seven back in late
April - the 24 year-old right-hander is showing his value now and shouldn't have
any trouble sticking with the Phillies for the remainder of the season.
Another young pitcher, Antonio Bastardo (0-0, 4.35) has been contributing
against left-handers, filling the formerly open hole for a second left-hander in
the Phillies bullpen. Left-handed hitters are batting just .111 against
Bastardo, who had been bouncing back-and-forth between Philadelphia and Triple-A
Lehigh Valley earlier in the season, and he's been tough to hit with runners on
base (.125) and even tougher with runners in scoring position (.100). Bastardo
has also been taking some shots for the team lately as Charlie Manuel had to
increase his role because of a short start by Cole Hamels in a rain delayed game
in Atlanta and Bastardo went from being a left-handed specialist to giving the
Phillies 1 1/3 innings of work, allowing one run in the stint. A sure sign that
the Phillies are gaining more confidence in the 24 year-old came to light when
Lidge was recently activated from the DL, signaling what would have normally
been another trip to Lehigh Valley for Bastardo; instead, the Phillies
designated veteran Nelson Figueroa for assignment and kept Bastardo on the
roster.
Bastardo aids J.C. Romero, who battled an injury early in the season, but is
shaping into form lately as the primary left-hander out of the pen. Romero has
gone seven outings - covering 5 1/3 innings - without allowing a run and helped
out by converting two save opportunities that he was given, which is a very
unfamiliar role for the veteran lefty. Romero played a huge role on the 2008
team that captured the World Series, but slid off his game slightly last season.
A return to 2008 form would be a welcome thing for the Phillies bullpen.
While Chad Durbin has had some recent struggles, generally, he's been
dependable and consistent throughout the season, just as he's been in the past
for the Phillies. Durbin has been asked to fill various roles, pitching in long
relief, middle relief and also coming through in key situations with runners on
base.
There's no doubt that the Phillies slide has been the result of bad hitting,
but it has certainly overshadowed the success that the bullpen has had of late.
With a pretty hefty workload for the relievers, both the young pitchers and the
veterans have come through for the Phillies even though they've often been
pitching out of their usual roles. Over the same period of time, the starters
have been literally perfect once - thanks to Roy Halladay - and have also been
battered at other times. If not for the strength of the Phillies bullpen, which
was thought to be a weak-link coming into the season, things could be much worse
for the Phillies than they are right now. And with a maximum of four games left
in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Phillies are about to take center stage in
Philadelphia.