Phillies Nation

Thats why you need another guy in there, especially with Romero gone, to take the load off of Durbin. Durbin was very shaky in the postseason and at the end of the season…and with romero out for several games the phillies really need to get another solid relief arm in that bullpen. joe beimel is a local philly native, maybe hed be a good fit. still think the phillies could use another guy to compete for the 5th starter job. that way the guys that lose out for that job and still make the roster will at the very least be good depth additions to the bullpen. if happ and park lose out to someone else, then the bullpen is that much better, but if happ beats out everyone else then that means hes pitching well and there are no worries.

Yeah Springer would be nice. Would probably accept a one year deal. I dont think hell cost a draft pick either.

Russ Springer’s carries to high a price, I expect Park and Durbin to split to bulk of middle relief innings and some set-up duty and close games and for the first 1/3 of the season the Phils just need a body in the pen to soak up some innings and not look too bad along side Condrey. I’d like to see that guy be a lefty to take the role vacated by Eyre likely pitching Romero’s innings untill his return and a cheap veteran option like Mercker looks good. We don’t need another set-up guy or high-price bullpen arm, just a body until the already upgraded pen returns to full strength.

Thats correct phillygirl…a lot of ifs in there, thats why one more quality reliver is needed. jsut one. dont have to go crazy and sign someone really expensive or anything. just one more solid guy should do it.

I can still see him as a 6th or 7th inning guy with Eyre, and Madson pitching the later innings obviously madson would pitch the 8th as primary setup man to Lidge with Romero out for 50 games.

Rather than hoping that Chad Durbin stays in shape for 2009, I’m praying Jamie Moyer can at least go 5 full innings this year and next.

There are many veteran starters on the ‘heap this year. last years scrap starter didnt even make a contribution (benson), so this year ai hope they get someone that can contribute in some way. odalis perez is floating around out there…

I think that we need to be very careful… we can’t push guys harder to get extra innings if that means that we’re going to be increasing the risk of an injury. Would I like to see Blanton/Happ go 6-7 consistently? Absolutely but this is not a sprint. If we can get through the first half of this season within striking distance, I think that we’ll have a great shot (and not just because the Mets have made a name for themselves as choke artists in September). Romero’s return will reviatlize this team and someone else pointed out that he was out of gas late last season. He’ll be strong and well rested and we’ll have a clear understanding of what we need at the AS break… in my opinion, the keys this year will be our focus in April/May and the overally production of Werth, Myers, Feliz/Dobbs and Durbin. I think that the Utley/Feliz injuries could be a blessing; that could help the rest of the team come out of the blocks hard. It’s going to give some guys the opportunity to prove themselves and it might help our veterans come together. I think we are in good shape but time will tell.

btw, yorman bazardo is a relief pitcher. he could be a good steal for this bullpen later int eh year. he was once a fairly well touted prospect.

I’ve honestly never been so confident about the Phils going into a season. Besides the Cubs, nobody with any offense in the NL is even close to us in pitching. the Mutts are a starter away from being in competition, and the best team out west looks like the offensively disinclined Giants. The great thing about having Carrasco, Happ, and Kendrick competing for that 5th starting spot is that as soon as somebody starts nonperforming, there are multiple guys ready to come take their job. Once Utley and Romero get back, this team should roll to a pennant with ease.

Actually, I think once the mets sign oliver perez and the braves sign derek lowe those two rotations will be very competetive. the phillies would still have the edge over the mets, but a braves rotation of lowe jurrgens vazquez kawakami and with hudson returning before the all star break i really think that rotation rivals our own. i think its rather delusional to ignore the moves that the braves have made to improve their rotation. jair juurgens owned the phillies a few times last season and hell only get better.

the reality is that if our bullpen isnt as good as it was last year, our starting rotation suddenly isnt really as good as you think it is. blanton, myers, moyer, happ/5th starters were all baied out after 5-6 innings by this bullpen. if the bullpen does not repeat this performance then its all on the 2-5 starters to log more innings or else the rotation will regress.

i recommend bringing in another starting pitcher or another bullpen arm or both ro really bolster this staff. they have to without romero. look, i dont think they need to go out and spend all kinds of money and sign all kinds of people, but sitting back and saying they dont even need to bring in just simply reenforcements to cover for romero or to compete for the 5th starter spot is just being too complacent. its ok if they have a logjam in their bullpen when romero comes back, in fact, i want that to be the case. it means theyre in great shape and they then have more assets with which to improve whatever other areas of the squad may need help midway through the season.

so, at the very least, id like to see them sign joe beimel or russ springer, and odalis perez. that should all be really cheap, affordable options who at the very least can come in and log innings for this staff. perez can compete for the 5th starter spot. also….the longer ben sheets lingers out there the more his price and year commitment will come down…once the desperate mets, braves and angels make their moves, there will be a paucity of spots left for some quality starters out there and the phillies can grab one of them like garland or sheets for cheap. thats a possibility at this stage because the prices after lowe and oliver perez are going to go way down.

i recommend a few astute bargain moves, like some of those by the red sox, would plug some holes in this squad and bolster a pithcing sraff that could use a few fresh arms in there to make it dominant once more.

The edge the Phillies have throughout the pitching staff is stability, the additions have been to improve upon and not fill holes. I’d favour the Braves rotation over the Mets purely down to Braves history of being a strong pitching team when healthy, as for the Mets it’s the same story and the problems haven’t gone away it’s just different names that will be the scapegoats or heroes.

Remember Springers a type A FA. Mercker looks the best fit in the short-term, he’s a veteran who had a very good year last year and he’s down in the pecking order with so many decent relievers still available.