Yes, I know talking about the postseason is verboten when the team has yet to clinch a spot, but screw it. They’re pretty much a lock for the playoffs at this point.
With the end of the season nearing, most of the attention has been focused on the self-destruction of the bullpen. However, there is one very important part of the team that has kind of fallen off the radar lately. The bench.
Who is going to make up the bench for the postseason? Right now, the Phillies are carrying a lot of extra players because they can. When the playoffs start though, the roster limits drop back down again.
We can be pretty positive that Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs, Eric Bruntlett, Ben Francisco, and Paul Bako will make the postseason roster. Depending on injuries, there may be some changes.
The biggest issue with the bench has been lack of playing time. Stairs has 14 plate appearances in the month of September. Hard to keep yourself prepared to play when you barely get in the game.
Last season was an odd one for the Phillies’ bench, as injuries allowed the bench players to get a lot of playing time during the season. It’s hard for a manager to get bench players time when none of the regulars are getting hurt. They really only get to play when a regular needs a day off for whatever reason.
Basically, it boils down to the fact that the bench is as big of a question mark heading into the playoffs as the beck end of the bullpen is. The Fightins’ were lucky to have an experienced and well prepared bench for last season. The bench has another year of experience under its belt, but is no where near as prepared as they were last year at this time.
With the bullpen issues and the questionable bench, you can bet that at the very least, the postseason will be interesting.
