Gavin Floyd Dejected and Rejected

It did not take long after Gavin Floyd’s horrendous outing last night for Pat Gillick to realize that Floyd could no longer be part of the Phillies starting rotation.  This morning Gavin was optioned back to Scranton where he spent most of last season.  It should not have come as a surprise to Gavin or anyone, especially after last night’s 7-2 loss to the Dodgers after which Charlie Manuel commented, "We’ve got some weaknesses on our ball club and we need to take care of it."  Pitching coach Rich Dubee spoke more directly about Floyd saying, "I’m not sure he knows how to close out an inning."  In 23-year old’s eleven starts this season he went 7-3 with a 7.29 ERA – the highest in the National League.  Although he did officially pitch a complete game shutout (5 innings versus the Mets), he served up 14 home runs in just over 54 innings which was most on the team and seventh-most in the majors.  He ranked 490 out of 496 in VORP among all pitchers with a -11.6 mark, which essentially means almost anyone else could have done a better job than Gavin.

This of course opens a spot for Cole Hamels to seamlessly return to the rotation.  The Phils coordinated Floyd’s turn to start with Hamels’ rehab assignment last night just in case a situation such as this arose.  Cole pitched well last night

in 5 and two-thirds innings giving up three hits (including a home run) while striking out three and walking two.  Most importantly he showed no signs of shoulder discomfort and is expected to start Tuesday in Arizona.  Also affected by the Floyd fallout are Eude Brito, who was called up to take Gavin’s place and will likely remain a starter for the duration of Lieber’s time on the DL, and Brian Sanches, whose potential demotion to Scranton in favor of Brito will no longer be necessary.