First, we have the Travis Blackley situation
“I honestly don’t know,” the lefthander said after pitching a scoreless ninth inning yesterday against the Reds, “but it feels like it.”
Blackley, a Rule 5 selection from San Francisco, had been competing for the No. 5 spot in the rotation, but he has pitched just three innings combined in his past two appearances and said he has been using the warmup routine of a reliever.
“I normally would take 50, 60, 70 pitches before a game as a starter,” Blackley said. “I’ve been throwing 40 here, and they want me down to 30.”
Hmmm. So I guess we can scratch Blackley off the list for the #5 spot. But with the Phillies desire to carry a 2nd lefty in the pen, you’d think he’d have an advantage over a guy like Youman or Castro, who both have options.
Then we have a nice article on Jason Jaramillo. He seems to indicate that he enjoys the defensive aspect of the game quite a bit, which is probably the part that will carry him in the majors. But, he’s not Yadier Molina defensively, so he is going to have to hit, even if its only an empty .280 batting average, or he won’t justify a spot in the regular lineup. He’s still got time, and should be the full time catcher in Allentown this year, ready to take over as a backup next season in the majors.
Finally, the Inquirer weighs in on the pitching situation.
Figure seven pitchers in the ‘pen.
The Phillies have mentioned the possibility of carrying six relief pitchers, but Manuel said yesterday they might be able to carry only six relievers the first couple weeks of the season. They could do that, but if they carry seven relievers as expected there are two bullpen jobs available with Brad Lidge, Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin as absolute locks.
The race for those two jobs is wide open.
That’s because, much like the competition for the rotation, nobody has seized the moment. Competitors include Francisco Rosario (0-1, 5.91 ERA), Clay Condrey (0-0, 4.32 ERA), Fabio Castro (0-1, 6.00 ERA), J.D. Durbin, Blackley and others.
The Phillies are pursuing relief help from outside the organization, but it’s unknown if they will be able to strike a deal.
So. Chad Durbin is in. That makes sense, given his contract. If I had my druthers, the final two spots would go to Rosario and Blackley, but I don’t know that Rosario merits the spot over Condrey. Sure, Rosario is younger and has better raw stuff, but he also struggles with command and control, and if Manuel is afraid to use him, its just going to tax the rest of the pen. Condrey at least understands what its like to pitch consistently in the big leagues, and he was a good soldier for the organization last season. If the Phillies waive Condrey he has to pass through waivers, and with the relative lack of pitching available, he will probably be claimed by someone. Rosario is even more likely to be claimed. Its not an easy situation for the Phillies to be in at this point, but it could be made easier if someone would actually pitch well and make the decision easier. Right now, I’d guess the pitching is as follows
Myers
Hamels
Moyer
Kendrick
Eaton
Lidge > Gordon/Romero > Madson > CDurbin > Blackley/Condrey
It could be a very very long season.
Phuture Phillies 
How can the Phillies go north without another lefty in the pen behind Romero? But when choosing which pitcher to lose to another club, would you really keep Blackley over Rosario or Condrey?
It’s also a shame to think about letting Wes Helms go for nothing when he’s got some value left.
This might sort itself out over the last 2 weeks of ST. We may see a deal before the start of the season. Otherwise someone has to be stashed on the DL or we’ll lose guys to waiver claims.
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I dont really believe in having a lefty just because hes left handed. Castro is left handed, but if he can’t get guys out, carrying him is a negative. Hopefully when Zagurski is healthy (if he ever is), he can get into a groove in Allentown and come up and help.
I do believe they’ll try and trade Helms for a LHP. But what is the market for a guy coming off the season Helms had?
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I don’t know if I’d say Helms has any value. If he did he would’ve been traded already. If there aren’t any teams willing to give anything up for him I’d say he has little to no value. At best right now I think he’d be a guy off the bench for an AL team. He’s not a good fielder, and isn’t a good enough hitter to be a DH on a winning team; and a losing/rebuilding team probably doesn’t want to pay (in both money and players) for mediocre talent.
On a side note, Durbin hasn’t given up a run yet. Not the cleanest looking performance but it’s better than giving up 5 in one inning.
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Seems clear Helms will play somewhere this season, so he’s got some value left. The FO isn’t in a good bargaining position though, unless two teams express interest. If only one team has interest they can just wait for him to fall into their lap when the Phillies release him.
Romero as the only lefty in the pen is a recipe for burnout. And yet, losing Rosario for nothing to keep Blackley instead has “mistake” written all over it.
I’d rather see Rosario or Condrey traded than simply claimed–the good news is that more than one team would want to claim Rosario, so there might be room to strike a deal.
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Are we sure that Condrey would get claimed? He made it through waivers a couple of times last year, if I recall correctly, and I kind of figured that’s what the Phils would do with him this time around.
Sad that J.D. Durbin couldn’t get his act together.
As James said, hopefully someone will pitch his way onto the roster in the last two weeks to make it an easier decision for the Phils. Let’s not hold our breath though.
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The dodgers are desperate for third base help right now with the injury to LaRoche… might make for a trade partner for Helms.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
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Chad Durbin went 5 innings today. 4 hits, 3 ER, 2 BB & 1 K. Not impressive but maybe passable. Condrey pitched well. Gordon got tagged for a HR. I’m worried about Gordon. Lots of people looking for relievers right now. I don’t think Gordon’s worth anything. Rosario’s got to be worth something to Detroit but they don’t have any minor leagers left after the trades over the winter.
Hitters are showing a little life. CM has been talking it up in the media. He’s put the challenge out there. Rollins, Utley and Victorino did some damage today. Phils can win those 6-4 ballgames if the starters can get them into 6th or 7th without a hole to crawl out of.
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You won’t get a quality prospect from LA, but they have tons of intriguing arms, might be worth a look.
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I think Condrey had options last year, so he could be sent down…..he has none this year however (I could be wrong on that). Could we offer Helms in place of keeping Blackley? The unfortunate thing is that barring any 3B injuries in the next few days (Dodgers aside), Helms has no real value and teams know that he will be released, so they certainly wont get any major league ready talent.
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I was an advocate of trading Gordon to LA last year when rumors came up about them being interested. Praying we could trick them into trading one of their numerous 3rd base prospects. Looks like
Gordon worries me too but aslong as he is relagated to a 7/8th inning role I think he will be successful. The less time spent closing the better.
I also don’t think Rosario has any trade value since if he shows he can pitch at all he’ll make the Phils for a practical reason, meaning if they keep him they intend on using him. Otherwise, he’ll be released and teams know he will be released and wouldn’t trade a thing for him. And even if we can find a team willing to take Helms we wouldn’t get much for him, we’d get a toss in body like when we sent the young Dubee away last year.
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I’m convinced Chad Durbin is the #5 (unless they acquire someone) and I think he might do well. He has a killer curve. If he can spot the fastball, I can see him giving us a decent 6 or 7 innings most nights. Based on track record and what I see, I think he can be a little better than last year’s Moyer, not quite as consistent as last year’s Kendrick.
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One of the papers speculated a Wes Helms for Steve Kline deal makes sense. At least they’d get something potentially useful for Helms if they could.
Also, Ramon Ramirez is pitching well for Colorado but doesn’t seem to have a place on the roster- there was some speculation he could be dealt, but it seems to me he still has options. Didn’t do well last year, but was good in his rookie year. And the phils tried to sign him when he came to the states from the Japanese leagues- he was a guy who really impressed me with a real good arm and sinker.
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Condrey did not have options last year. Link.
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Condrey cleared waivers after the first deadline. Once he cleared, the Phillies could option him up and down. He had to clear again after the July 31 deadline, which he did, and that meant he could again be shuffled up and down.
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