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Playoff Roster Spots

With the Phillies inching closer and closer to *actually* clinching a playoff birth, it's that time of year where decisions will be made about who is in or out of the 25-man playoff roster. The starters are assumed, so I'll just get right down to the good stuff.

Star-divide

The Bench:

Paul Bako, Ben Francisco, and Greg Dobbs are all easy shoe-ins for the first three bench spots. Despite his poor hitting over the course of the season, you would think that Matt Stairs is also a virtual shoe-in at professional hitter. Charlie will most likely have to choose between Eric Bruntlett and Miguel Cairo for a fifth bench spot. The "better" choice is Bruntlett, based on the fact that he's been in the majors longer than Cairo this year. The only guy I haven't mentioned is John Mayberry Jr., who Charlie will probably leave off because of a lack of experience.

The 4th Starter:

Assuming that Charlie Manuel goes with a four-man rotation in the playoffs, like he did last year, the first three spots are easy to fill in. Discussions about who is "the ace" are kind of irrelevant. I feel just as good about Hamels/Lee/Blanton as I do about Lee/Hamels/Blanton. The fourth starter is a lucky situation, because we have two guys who can do a fine job in J.A. Happ and Pedro Martinez.

The Milwaukee series will be telling for this competition. Happ will start Thursday, and then Pedro will go on Saturday. Neither of these guys looked good in their last starts, despite both having built up nice resumes over the course of the season/six weeks.

The momentum has to be with Martinez right now, partly because of his eight innings against New York two weeks back, mostly because he's got the freshest arm on the team. It's likely that both Happ and Martinez will be on the playoff roster, but in what capacity each of them will pitch is the question.

The Bullpen:

It's certainly time to rehash the season-long question of whether or not Brad Lidge should be left off the playoff roster. We don't need to talk about his struggles, because we all know them. There's been a lot of discussion in the last two months about Lidge's role as the closer. Whether Madson can close, or whether Myers can close. Hell, how about Pedro closing?

As far as the rest of the bullpen goes, Brett Myers just had a minor strain on his lat muscle and should be back sometime next week. Same goes with Chan Ho Park, who's still recovering from his hamstring injury. Scott Eyre is also ready to go. Clay Condrey, Tyler Walker, and Ryan Madson are clearly in the equation.

Assuming that Charlie carries both Happ and Martinez, as well as five guys off the bench, it leaves seven bullpen spots. There's those six guys, there's also Chad Durbin, Brad Lidge, and Jamie Moyer. Personally, I'd rather have either Moyer or Durbin on the playoff roster than Lidge.

Poll
Do you think Brad Lidge should be on the Phillies 25-man Playoff Roster?
Yes
11 votes
No
23 votes

34 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs  |  Comment 4 comments

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Comments

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Dude… c’mon. Brad Lidge WILL be on the roster. It’s not even debatable.

by Boundforbeach on Sep 22, 2009 10:37 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Agreed

Are there serious fans who think the Phillies would not put Lidge on the post-season roster? This isn’t about whether to use him as a closer or who would be a better closer. This is asking to remove Lidge from the team for the playoffs. This seems like somebody venting because of disappointment in Lidge’s performance rather than making the right choice for the team.

by phillyinportland on Sep 23, 2009 1:14 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Would not? Not as issue. He will be there.

Should not? Very much an issue. Forgot for a moment that he’s Brad Lidge and that he’s been anointed with the magic closer label. We’re talking about a pitcher who has an ERA of about 7 and a half; a pitcher who is giving up about 2 base runners per inning. He is a very bad pitcher right now and there’s no real reason to think he’s going to immediately turn it around.

Actually no, it’s not an issue. There’s no way a pitcher as bad as Lidge is right now should be on a playoff roster. The Phillies left off Adam Eaton last year. Lidge is a worse pitcher right now.

by Jeff Hildebrand on Sep 23, 2009 11:53 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

In that vein...

Bruntlett will also be on the roster — end of story. But I think Cairo will make it as well, as we go with 12 pitchers instead of 13.

If it were my decision, I’d probably go with 11 pitchers and include Mayberry, or maybe even Andy Tracy; I don’t see any universe in which you need more than 7 relief pitchers on a postseason roster, but that’s not going to happen.

6 bench players leaves you 8 bullpen guys, and if everyone was healthy, I’d bank on Charlie going with this…

Lidge
Madson
Myers
Happ
Park
Eyre
Walker
Moyer

I love the guy, but I don’t really see the point of adding Moyer to the playoff roster. That being said, we know it will happen anyway. Anyway, with Park injured, I’d expect Condrey to be next in line for his place, and if Myers or Eyre can’t go, then Durbin and Escalona enter the equation.

by PhillyFriar on Sep 23, 2009 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

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