Over the next few weeks, Phillies Nation will break down each player on the Phillies roster and grade their 2009 season on a very unofficial 1-10 scale. The players will be chosen in no particular order.
Coming off a year in which he posted a 2.87 earned run average, Chad Durbin’s expectations were high coming into 2009. During arbitration, Durbin was given a well deserved $735,000 raise. Durbin wasn’t expected to duplicate his 2008 season, however he would serve as a reliable long man or right handed specialist.
Unfortunately, injuries played a part in Durbin’s season. In July, Durbin was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right latissimus strain.
Overall, Durbin had a solid season. He went 2-2 with a 4.39 ERA. He saved 2 games in 3 opportunities, and had 8 holds. He held opponents to a .234 batting average with runners on base. He had a decent strikeout ratio: 8.01 per nine innings. When he started to walk batters, he got into trouble. Durbin did not allow many hits; his WHIP was high because he walked 6.07 batters per nine.
The bullpen was such an important factor, especially Durbin. When Durbin did well, the team usually did well. In both the division and championship series, Durbin did not allow a base runner. However, when Durbin struggled, so did the Phillies, as shown in the World Series. During the regular season, Durbin gave up at least one earned run in 20 games. The Phillies lost 14 of those games.
2009 numbers: 59 games, 2-2, 69.2 IP, 4.39 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 62 K/47 BB, .220 BAA
GRADE: 5 — Durbin was pretty average. There were times he came up big. But there were also times where he was unable to.
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