As most of you already know Pat Gillick sought inject some positive life into the club by trading for left handed reliever, Fabio Castro. This pictogram about sums him up:
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Seriously though, Castro has gone 0-0 in four games (8 and 1/3 innings) with Texas this year while recording a 4.32 ERA, 7 BBs, 5 Ks, and an opposition batting average of .200. Heading to the Lone Star State will be the Phillies young starting pitching prospect, Daniel Haigwood who was acquired in the Jim Thome deal. Castro is slated to join the roster now which mean someone from the current squad will be dropped. Clay Condrey seems like a likely candidate since the Phils have been forced to keep their young starters in the rotation and probably won’t retain 14 pitchers. This move would normally signal a "we’re trying to win now" attitude, which leaves most of us scratching our heads. Haigwood certainly had potential and as many commenters believe, Pat Gillick is more focused on the future (which is what the Daily News and NY Post think as well). But apparently the Phils have had their eye on this guy and feel he can make an immediate impact…or rather cushion the blow of a dramatically falling club.
One parachute that did open last night was the one pulled by Ryan Madson who pitched 26 outs of shutout baseball before turning the game over to Tom Gordon. It was an encouraging outing by Madson who ordinarily would seem pleased on the night; however The Inquirer reported:
Madson declined to comment, telling Phillies media-relations manager Greg Casterioto that he didn’t want to talk to reporters until he put together back-to-back strong outings.
"He’s been up and down and he doesn’t want to talk until he does it two times in a row; he didn’t do the star-of-the-game show, either," Casterioto said.
I find that a bit strange and even more annoying. What’s so hard about discussing the game after an excellent outing? This is exactly what I’m talking about with the club not being open enough. I realize Madson doesn’t want to hear the questions surrounding his inconsistency, but come’on grow up and at least chat for 10 minutes – I mean you did improve to 8-5 which makes you the de facto ace of the staff.
Tonight in Toronto, the Phillies send Adam Bernero to the mound for his first start since 2004. In Scranton, Bernero complied a 1.57 ERA in three starts of 23 total innings. On his career, Bernero has seen stops in Detroit, Colorado and Atlanta he has 34 starts in his 146 appearances. The righty is 0-2 with a 5.54 ERA in three career games, including two starts, against the Blue Jays. He last pitched in the Major Leagues on July 9, 2005 for Atlanta. Fortunately, the Blue Jays are also sending out a rookie who is 0-3 in his last three starts. Meanwhile, it looks as if Ryan Franklin will likely get the nod for the Phillies on Sunday.
Finally to take you into the weekend, have a gander at Bill Conlin’s latest article which is a nice complement to my rant yesterday. Go Phils!
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