It’s funny how important putting together a postseason roster can be. If you really think about it, the core part of the roster is already determined and the only players Charlie Manuel, Ruben Amaro and the rest of the gang are discussing are bench and complimentary bullpen pieces.
In other words, the most debatable parts of the 25-man playoff roster are for spots filled by guys Manuel hopes he won’t even have to use.
Funny, isn’t it?
So in the take two edition of the Phillies playoff roster, here’s the 25 we’ll go with. By Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. we’ll see if this is the way it works out:
Starting pitchers (4) Cliff Lee * Cole Hamels * Joe Blanton Pedro Martinez
Relief pitchers (8) J.A. Happ * Ryan Madson Brad Lidge Scott Eyre * Chad Durbin Brett Myers Kyle Kendrick/Tyler Walker Sergio Escalona*/Clay Condrey/Antonio Bastardo*
Catchers (2) Carlos Ruiz Paul Bako *
Infielders (6) Ryan Howard * Chase Utley * Pedro Feliz Jimmy Rollins # Miguel Cairo Greg Dobbs *
Outfielders (5) Raul Ibanez * Shane Victorino # Jayson Werth Ben Francisco Matt Stairs *
* lefty # switch hitter
With Jamie Moyer, Chan Ho Park and J.C. Romero out for at least the first round of the playoffs, the decisions got much easier for the Phillies in the bullpen. Otherwise, Manuel says he would prefer to have three lefties in the bullpen—including situational man Scott Eyre—which is why Escalona could find his way on there. Kendrick gets on as the long man, and if Brett Myers gets on, there might not be much of a need for Clay Condrey since they both do the same thing (more or less).
Forget about Myers pitching in the end of the bullpen. Scouts tell me his stuff just isn’t there… and never was.
Probably the toughest decision is whether or not to have Pedro Martinez or J.A. Happ as a starter. Logic tells me that Happ is the best choice based on how consistently good he has been all year. However, based on some of Manuel’s comments over the past few days, it seems as if he likes Happ as the wild-card pitcher. Happ could come in for the seventh and close out a game, he could come in if a starter gets knocked out early, or he could take the ball and start if need be.
Pedro, on the other hand, is likely effective only as a starter. Anyone have doubts whether or not he’ll dial it up for the playoffs?
So there it is… for now. We’ll see what Charlie and Ruben come up with on Wednesday.