The last time the Phillies were in first place was after winning that wild 13-inning game over the New York Mets on Aug. 26 at Citizens Bank Park. The club had battled back from a 7-0 deficit against Pedro Martinez and a Mets' bullpen that had been weakened by the loss of closer Billy Wagner to claim that clash, 8-7.
That game reminded me of a similar contest on July 11 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which the Phils won, 6-5, in 12 frames. Manager Charlie Manuel did the same thing in both games.
Remember that this is not a criticism but an observation. I'll leave the criticism to the experts.
Manuel tends to manage games for nine innings only. If he needs a hit or an out in a given situation, he'll use a pinch-hitter or a reliever for one out, and then that player is out of the game. Consequently, it is not uncommon for the manager to run out of position players.
On Aug. 26, the Phillies had closed the gap from 7-0 to 7-6 when Jimmy Rollins singled in Carlos Ruiz in the eighth inning. Chris Coste also singled for Gregg Dobbs in that frame. Dobbs had already replaced starter Pedro Feliz, so even though Manuel got the desired result at the plate, both third basemen were out of the game by the end of the eighth.
Manuel claimed that he didn't want to put Eric Bruntlett — his last move — at third because he wanted one more pinch-hitter available for the ninth. That's how catcher Ruiz ended up playing an inning at the hot corner — a position that he had never played before.
Why didn't anyone remind Charlie that Coste was the everyday third baseman at AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before his Cinderella entrance into the major leagues as a 33-year-old rookie in 2006?
Fortunately, nobody hit anything his way during the ninth, so Ruiz didn't even get a defensive chance to add to his career stats, but I think Coste would have been the better option. He may not do it anymore, but Coste routinely took ground balls at both first and third base during his first two years in Philadelphia, and he has played a few games at first base for the Phillies.
Of course, Bruntlett doubled in the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, so Charlie looked like a genius after that win.
The skipper was not a genius, in my opinion, because Bruntlett was his last move, and he went to the plate in that situation with a .214 batting average. Charlie played a hunch, and it paid off. It happens at racetracks across the nation every day. A bettor plays a hunch, and a long shot wins.
The problem, in this case, was that there were no more batters available, and Manuel had to use pitchers Cole Hamels and Brett Myers as pinch-hitters in the extra innings. Manuel didn't have that luxury in the July 11 game against Arizona.
J.A. Happ made his last start for the Phillies on July 9 and would not make another start until after the all-star break at minimum and possibly longer because Myers was expected back from his minor-league stint. Happ was optioned to AAA so that the Phillies could bring in infielder Mike Cervenak as an extra bat for the weekend series with the D-backs.
Jamie Moyer started the July 10 game and was given special permission to return home early because he also would not make another start until after the break. The rotation for the weekend games with Arizona was Kyle Kendrick on July 11, Adam Eaton on July 12 and Hamels on July 13.
When Cervenak made his debut as a pinch-hitter in the 11th inning of that July 11 game, Manuel didn't even have a starting pitcher left on the bench to use as a pinch-hitter. Happ had been optioned; Moyer was in Seattle, and Kendrick was out of the game. The manager couldn't risk using Eaton or Hamels because if either had been hurt, who could have started the next two games?
Manuel has been successful as a manager in Philadelphia, but it's things like this that drive me crazy.
Interestingly, Eaton was lit up again during that July 12 game, but since Manuel had used six relievers the previous night, the bullpen couldn't salvage that game, which the Phillies lost, 10-4. Likewise, seven relievers pitched in that thrilling 13-inning victory over the Mets on Aug. 26. It was not a surprise that an overworked bullpen couldn't hold close leads in the next three games.
Of the seven players that the Phillies brought up from the minor leagues when rosters expanded on Monday, only Happ will be of any help during the stretch run. Eaton went 0-5 with a 7.02 earned-run average during his seven starts down on the farm.
Outfielder Greg Golson and catcher Lou Marson are the top two position prospects in the system, but they've only played as high as AA Reading. I think they might be a little too green to make anything but token contributions at this level.
The other three guys are journeymen who had good seasons for AAA Lehigh Valley, but they didn't do much in their limited time in the big leagues.
Cervenak is this season's Chris Coste story without the Hollywood ending. His debut in that July 11 game came just one month shy of his 32nd birthday (Aug. 17). Thus far, he is 1-for-7 in the majors. (All stats are through Sept.1.)
Infielder Andy Tracy, 34, pinch hit in the 13-inning game against the Mets in his only plate appearance of 2008. His previous at bat was in 2004 with the Colorado Rockies. He brings along a lifetime average of .223 in 138 big-league games.
Likewise, left-handed hurler Les Walrond, 31, is 0-4 with a 7.39 ERA in 21 major-league games, including four with the Phillies a few weeks ago. He previously pitched for the Kansas City Royals (7 games in 2003) and the Chicago Cubs (10 games, 2006).
All of these guys just provide Manuel with a few extra bodies to use in one-out or one-at-bat situations.
The acquisition of Matt Stairs to fill the left-handed outfielder slot created by the loss of Geoff Jenkins to a hip injury only reminded me of similar moves the Phillies have made in recent years by trying to fill a need with another team's castoff.
It might be a little too early to pass judgment on this one, but right now, I'd say that Stairs probably isn't quite as good a move as Jeff Conine was in 2006, but he's miles ahead of Russell Branyon in 2007.
That's my opinion. What do you think? Click on the "Comments?" link below and let me know.
Next post: Sept. 17
© 2008 www.Bill-McFarland.com
Visit the Phillies Web site.