Ruben Amaro came out today and said that J.A. Happ will remain in the rotation. That is going to make things very interesting for Charlie Manuel.
Amaro also said that it’s not out of the realm of possibility to go with a 6 man rotation. With the rotation set with Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer, and J.A. Happ, there’s really no one to be dropped to make room for Pedro Martinez when he comes off the DL.
I was a supporter of moving Happ to the bullpen, but his results on the mound as a starter have convinced me, and obviously Amaro, that he needs to stay where he is.
One idea being thrown around is to have Moyer go to the DL with an ‘Injury.” I don’t like that at all. I continue to tout the fact that Jamie leads the team in wins, just like last season. He just wins games. Yes, he gets rocked sometimes, but he still wins more than he loses, which is what you want from a pitcher in the 4/5 slot, which is realistically what Moyer is at this point in his career.
Another idea being tossed around is to go with a 6 man rotation. That usually doesn’t happen very often, but there have been some instances of it. The benefit to this strategy would be that it would give the starters a bit more rest, which is always a good thing. With the NL East pretty much wrapped up, the Phillies good go this route and not have many worries. The biggest downside to this is that it takes away starts from the “aces” of the staff, Lee and Hamels. I’d love to see Hamels and Lee pitch as often as possible, but if going to a 6 man rotation would put them at 100% for the playoffs, I’m all for it.
Another downside is that the bullpen is hurting right now and could really use the extra help. Romero, Durbin, and Condrey are all on the DL and having an extra arm like Martinez thrown in there would help immensely. The problem is that Martinez signed with the expectation of being a starter, so I’m sure he’ll get at least a few starts.
It looks like the Phillies will go with a 6 man rotation for a least a few turns and see what happens. If Moyer can turn it around and Martinez struggles, Pedro goes to the pen. If Moyer struggles, well, let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that. It would be a very awkward situation for the club.
The Fightins’ are just preparing for the post-season at this point. With a potential playoff rotation of Lee-Hamels-Happ/Blanton, this team is going to be dangerous.
Having too many pitchers is a good problem to have at this point on the season. Many other clubs are hurting for pitchers, so the Phillies should be counting their blessings.
For Colly and Amaro’s sake, let’s hope the situation resolves itself.
