The Phillies might have missed the Byrd

By Bill McFarland

Some of you were quick to point out that I had no sooner written that the Phillies should have considered taking a chance on pitcher Livan Hernandez, who had been designated for assignment by the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 1, when the right-handed hurler was claimed off waivers by the Colorado Rockies.

Hernandez has been rocked since suiting up for the Rockies. In two starts, he has pitched 8.2 innings and given up 17 hits and 15 earned runs, so maybe it was a bad idea after all, but there was some logic to my thinking.

It is not uncommon for the Phillies to acquire a player that the team had previously stated no interest in, and usually it's a money issue. Hernandez was available to the Phillies first because Colorado went to the World Series last year and waiver claims are honored in a worst-to-first-place scenario.

Had the Phillies claimed Hernandez, the club would have had to pay the waiver fee and the remainder of Hernandez's contract. Had the pitcher cleared waivers and was released unconditionally, the Phils could have signed Hernandez for the prorated major-league minimum salary for the last few weeks of this season, and Minnesota would have had to honor the difference in pay.

Money issues aside, after the non-waivers trading deadline, the Phillies stated that they had talked with a few clubs about a left-handed relief pitcher and a starter for the back end of the rotation. Hernandez fit the latter category.

As for the former category, the team acquired lefty Scott Eyre for the bullpen for Single-A prospect Brian Schlitter. Heading into the current series with the Washington Nationals, Eyre has faced eight batters in three appearances for Philadelphia and has retired six of them (two innings pitched, one hit, one walk). If all the Phillies need from Eyre is to get a batter or two out in a given situation, he could be a good fit for this bullpen.

(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 Washington series this week.)

As for the starting staff, Joe Blanton still remains a question mark, and Kyle Kendrick seems to have hit a brick wall, so I still think that the Phillies should be looking for an experienced starter for the stretch run.

That said, I was somewhat surprised that the team also passed on veteran Paul Byrd — remember the worst-to-first waiver system — who went from the Cleveland Indians to the Boston Red Sox last week. For those who don't remember when the right-hander pitched in Philadelphia, here's a refresher.

The Phillies claimed Byrd off waivers from the Atlanta Braves on Aug. 14, 1998, and immediately threw him to the wolves. On his first day with our club, he threw a complete-game shutout against Randy Johnson, who was with the Houston Astros and in his prime at the time. No runner reached second base in that game, which the Phillies won, 4-0.

Byrd went 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA in eight starts for Philadelphia in 1998, and he won 15 games and went to the All-Star Game in 1999. An injury hampered his 2000 season (2-9, 6.51), which ended with arthroscopic surgery on Aug. 2. The Phillies traded him to Kansas City in 2001.

Like all good battlers, Byrd was able to right his sails and has become a crafty veteran at age 37. He won 17 games for a Royals' squad that lost 100 games in 2002, 12 games for the Los Angeles Angels in 2005 and 10 and 15 games, respectively, for the Cleveland Indians in 2006 and 2007.

In between, he missed the 2003 season, due to Tommy John surgery, and he went 8-7 in 19 starts for the Atlanta Braves in 2004. He also has post-season pitching experience with the Braves (2004), the Angels (2005) and the Indians (2007).

He got off to a slow start this season (3-10 in 21 starts), but he won his first four starts, with a 1.24 ERA, since the All-Star break and before the trade from Cleveland to Boston. Since starter Tim Wakefield had to go on the disabled list, the Red Sox obviously thought that Byrd could help them during the stretch run.

Am I the only one who thinks that Byrd would have been a good addition to the Phillies' rotation?

That's my opinion. What do you think? Click on the "Comments?" link below and let me know.




Before you send the e-mails, I should point out that the Phillies' main problem these days is not the pitching, which has been pretty effective.

I was mildly amused the other day when befuddled manager Charlie Manuel was quoted in many media outlets about how frustrated he was in trying to figure out the solution to the Phillies' anemic offense. Good-time Charlie said he was open to suggestions from anyone — even the president.

Considering the state of our economy and the situation in the Middle East, I think the last person that Charlie should seek advice from is George W. Bush.

Next post: Sept. 3

© 2008 www.Bill-McFarland.com

This column was posted on Aug. 20, 2008. It may not be reproduced anywhere else without permission.

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