When the no-waivers trading deadline came and went last Thursday, the only question remaining with the Phillies was whether pitcher J.A. Happ would be a starter or reliever.
This non-activity reminded me of something that Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said during his last post-game media session before the All-Star break.
"There are four teams that can take this division, and all four of them have holes," said the skipper about the National League East. "Whichever team makes the best move to plug that hole will have the advantage."
The Atlanta Braves dropped out of the race when the club put third baseman Chipper Jones and pitcher Tim Hudson on the disabled list and traded first baseman Mark Teixiera to the Los Angeles Angels. The New York Mets didn't make any trades, but its pitching staff took a couple of hits in the last few days when starter John Maine went on the disabled list on Sunday, followed by reliever Billy Wagner on Tuesday.
I'm not sure if the Florida Marlins improved with the acquisition of left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes. The 38-year-old hurler didn't impress me when he went 0-5 with a 5.32 earned-run average in 52 games with the Phillies in 2006. Rhodes underwent Tommy John surgery after that season and missed all of 2007.
Before the Fish traded for him, the reliever did have good numbers this year with the Seattle Mariners (36 games, 2-1, 2.86 ERA). Who knows what he has left? Maybe Rhodes could help Florida in this race. He struck out the only batter that he faced in his one appearance in a Marlins' uniform going into the current series with the Phillies.
(Bear in mind that this column was uploaded before the conclusion of Tuesday's Phillies game, so all statistics and situations do not include the Florida games this week.)
As for Philadelphia, it's too soon to pass judgment on the Joe Blanton trade, although he did crank out a pretty good game in St. Louis on Saturday. If he turns out to be for real and Brett Myers' last two starts weren't an illusion, this team might have enough pitching to get to the playoffs, barring any serious injuries.
I think there will be more tooling with the staff. There's another name that I'd like to toss out, but more on that in a moment.
While researching facts for another column, I came across a few tidbits, one of which was pretty interesting. The Phils signed So Taguchi because he was the best pinch-hitter in the National League last year (.406 avg.). He has been somewhat disappointing in that role this season. He has just three hits in 24 pinch-hit appearances (.125).
Interestingly, Taguchi has only 11 starts this season, but his average is .293 in those 11 starts. Maybe Manuel should start the guy a little more. It could help wake up his sleeping bat.
Last time out, I wrote that lefty Cole Hamels had a chance to win 20 games this season. I no longer think so. He's pitched well in some hard-luck losses and some no-decisions, but he's also had one or two bad outings. He's also headed for the most innings that he's ever thrown in one year, and who knows if his arm will hold up? It might be too much to ask for 20 wins from Hamels.
That said, a transaction caught my eye the other day. Minnesota designated right-handed pitcher Livan Hernandez for assignment on Aug. 1. The younger brother of El Duque was 10-8 with a high ERA (5.48) in 23 starts for the Twins this summer, but perhaps a change of scenery and a more-potent offense could help him.
Hernandez's best year was 2000 when he went 17-11 for the San Francisco Giants. The 33-year-old has been in double digits in wins every year since then, including this season.
The Phillies already have one 10-game winner on the starting staff (Jamie Moyer) and could have three by the time you read this because Kyle Kendrick (9-5) and Hamels (9-7) were slated to pitch Wednesday and Thursday against Florida. And what would be so bad about having four 10-game winners heading into the stretch run?
Minnesota has until Aug. 10 to trade or release Hernandez, and I say the Phillies should take a flier on him and give him a few starts. In this scenario, Happ would return to Lehigh Valley and start every fifth day.
Also, it's almost a given that one of the other starters will miss a turn due to soreness or overwork, so having a six-man starting staff isn't so bizarre in this case. Playoff rosters become a factor on Aug. 31, and the Phillies will be better able to determine the five best starters by then.
That's my opinion. What do you think? Click on the "Comments?" link below and let me know.
Next post: Aug. 20.
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