You've probably heard that the Phillies' #5 starter/albatross Adam Eaton was pounded again in his second spring training start yesterday. Bill Conlin, who for all his asshattery still has the connections and, at least sometimes, the prose, describes it thusly:

Eaton made his second exhibition start against the young Tampa Bay Rays yesterday. You knew it would be bad when leadoff hitter Akinori Iwamura, a non-home run hitter, inside-outed Eaton's second pitch into the leftfield seats. When No. 9 hitter Jason Bartlett tripled with one out in the second, the Rays had achieved the "Unicycle" - a first-at-bat cycle: Iwamura homer, Carl Crawford double, John Rodriguez single, Johnny Gomes double, Bartlett triple. No. 451's ERA for two starts: 15.75. Disabled list ahead? Book it. The very expensive righthander is ramrod stiff in his motion and just isn't getting the ball down. As Mitch Williams said on "DNL," "If he gets on top of the baseball he can pitch. If he doesn't, it's batting practice." Actually, Eaton's number is 21 - 451 is the temperature at which paper ignites. Looks like the Phillies are about to burn another $7 million.
Eaton has complained about back pain, and between that and his rather extensive injury history, he's more likely to take a long-term seat in the trainer's office than a regular turn in the rotation. But the way he characterizes the back pain is what's pissing me off this morning: Eaton said he first injured his back in the batting cage last July, but he never told the Phillies of any discomfort or problems over the winter while he rehabbed his right shoulder, which put him on the disabled list late last season. Even though he has experienced some discomfort in his back this spring, he has been able to pitch. Through July 8, his last start before the all-star break, Eaton's 2007 season was bad enough, but not on a track for infamy: he was 8-5 with a 5.69 ERA that had been inflated by five horrible starts (5 IP or less, 5 ER or more) out of 17. He also had eight quality starts in that 17. From that point on, though, he was 2-5 with a 7.38 ERA, or "Adam Eaton," and he failed to record a quality start the rest of the season. Perhaps the unmentioned back injury had a little something to do with that.

Other options for the fifth-starter spot include Chad Durbin (7.20 ERA this spring, 5 strikeouts in 5 IP), J.D. Durbin (7.50, 6 IP, 4 HR allowed), Travis Blackley (0.00, 3 IP), and Francisco Rosario (1.69, 5 1/3 IP, 7 K). Given that Chad Durbin is likely to claim long-man relief duties and that Blackley, Rosario and J.D. Durbin are all likely lost to the team if they don't make the roster, I'm guessing one of those three starts the year at the back of the rotation.

On the other hand, the Phillies don't "need" a fifth starter until April 9, and then again until April 19. The problem is that both games are against the Mets, which raises a whole additional set of considerations. Get well soon, Kris Benson...